Chief Multnomah

{{Short description|18th-century Willamette leader}}

File:Chief Multnomah (75545).jpg

Chief Multnomah is theorized to have been an 18th-century Willamette leader in the Columbia River Valley. Thought to be a fictional or mythic character, some recent study of the work of Ann Fulton suggests he may have been a real individual who held significant power in his prime.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.pdx.edu/magazine/news/chasing-the-multnomah-myth|title=Chasing the Multnomah Myth: A history professor uncovers the stories behind the ubiquitous Oregon name.|date=May 2, 2005|accessdate=February 23, 2014|first=Melissa|last=Steineger|journal=Portland State Magazine|publisher=Portland State University}} He is depicted in Hermon Atkins MacNeil's 1904 sculpture, Coming of the White Man, located in Washington Park in Portland, Oregon.{{Cite web|url=http://racc.org/public-art/search/?recid=1193.196|title=Coming of the White Man|publisher=Regional Arts & Culture Council|accessdate=February 23, 2014}}{{Cite web|url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!13616~!0#focus|title=Coming of the White Man, (sculpture).|accessdate=February 24, 2014|publisher=Smithsonian Institution}} However, it is a generally agreed upon fact that Chief Multnomah was an invention of 19th century writer Frederic Balch in his text titled The Bridge of the Gods: A Romance of Indian Oregon.