"The study of the past is a transformative experience, one that fosters personal growth and professional development."

Dr. Melinda Marie Jetté

Associate Professor of History
Public History Program Coordinator
History/Humanities 

Ph.D. History, University of British Columbia
M.A. History, Université Laval
B.A. History and French, Catholic University of America

Courses Taught
Introduction to Public History
U.S. History Survey
Oral History
Public History Internship
History and the World Wide Web
Salem to Gettysburg: Exploring Local and National History
Topics in U.S. History: American West, Native American History

Research Interests & Areas of Expertise
French-speaking peoples in U.S. History, American West, Nineteenth-Century America, Public History.

Honors & Awards
2011   Joel Palmer Award, Oregon Historical Quarterly
2008   Joel Palmer Award, Honorable Mention, Oregon Historical Quarterly

Publications and Presentations

“At the Hearth of the Crossed Races: A French-Indian Community in Nineteenth-Century Oregon" [book forthcoming from Oregon State University Press].

Andrew Fisher and Melinda Marie Jetté. “‘Now You See Them, Now You Don’t: Chinook Tribal Affairs and the Struggle of Federal Recognition, 1851-2011.” In Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia. Edited by Kenneth Ames, Robert Boyd, and Tony Johnson [chapter in book forthcoming from University of Washington Press].

“Betwixt and Between the Official Story: Tracing the History and Memory of a Family of French-Indian Ancestry in the Pacific Northwest.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 111:2 (Summer 2010): 142-183.

“Ilot oublié de la diaspora canadienne-française: la vallé de la Willamette en Orégon.” In Retour sur la Franco-Amérique. Edited by Dean Louder and Erica Wadell. Quebec City: Les Éditions due Septentrion, 2008, 281-292.

“‘We Have Here Almost Every Religion But Our Own’: French-Indian Community Initiatives and Social Relations in French Prairie, Oregon, 1834-1837.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 108:2 (Summer 2007): 64-87.

‘Beaver are Numerous, but the Natives . . . Will Not Hunt Them’: Native-Fur Trader Relations in the Willamette Valley, 1812-1814.” Pacific Northwest Quarterly 98:1 (Winter 2006/2007): 3-17.

Professional Memberships

  • American Historical Association 
  • National Council on Public History
  • Organization of American Historians
  • Society for Historians of the Early American Republic
  • Western History Association 

Conferences Attended 
Western History Association Annual Meeting
National Council on Public History Annual Meeting
American Historical Association Annual Meeting

Grants Received 
2011-2013   Faculty Development Research Grants, Franklin Pierce University

Service

  • Curriculum Committee
  • International Studies Committee
  • Monadnock Institute Executive Committee
  • Women in Leadership Steering Committee

Personal Interest 
Travel, French language study and conversation

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