Paving Over the Past: Oregon Historical Markers, White Innocence, and Manifest Destiny

In this article we examine how Oregon’s highway markers represent settler colonization and White supremacy. The data consist of 141 historical highway markers developed by the Oregon Travel Information Council (OTIC), a state-led tourism and transportation agency. We coded the data set based on the extent to which markers acknowledge White supremacy or settler colonization or represent multiculturalism. Although the markers employ multiple narratives, we found that the vast majority deny histories of White supremacy and colonization. We argue that one reason for this is because hegemonic cultural memory is invested in preserving White innocence, which is central to the legitimacy of the White nation. There are numerous ways that White innocence is produced, including centering Whiteness; obscuring Black, Indigenous, Mexican, and Asian American history; erasing settler violence; and celebrating and normalizing settler colonization. Within the data set, Manifest Destiny is the most fully articulated discourse of White innocence. Our findings illuminate how White supremacy and Manifest Destiny are foundational to Oregon and are expressed through state-sponsored White innocence to absolve racial violence and dispossession.