The Kalapuya tribes' traditional homelands were the Willamette Valley of present-day western Oregon in the United States, an area bounded by the Cascade Range to the east, the Oregon Coast Range at the west, the Columbia River at the north, to the Calapooya Mountains of the Umpqua River at the south.

[2] The Kalapuyan people were not a single homogeneous tribal entity but rather were made up of eight autonomous subdivisions, loosely related to one another by three language dialects, which were mutually intelligible.

The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community have renamed it as Chinuk Wawa, and developed a language immersion program for children to create new generations of native speakers.

During the spring and summer, some members split off into smaller groups and traveled to other areas to gather seasonal food and raw materials for basketry.

[6] Bands frequently had a single leader or chief— generally the wealthiest man — who would resolve arguments, settle collective debts of the community such as those incurred through gambling, and would provide food for feasts.

[7] Northern Kalapuya groups, such as the Tualatin and Yamhill, obtained slaves through conquest, raiding bands located on the coast or further south in the Willamette Valley.

[7] Slaves were considered a form of wealth; they were traded to obtain desired commodities, including beads, blankets, and canoes.

[7] Slaves lived with the families who owned them, working side-by-side in gender-specific daily tasks and performing chores such as the collection of firewood and water.

These people were believed to possess supernatural predictive or healing powers and could have their origin in any group; they might be male or female, free individual or slave.

[8] Women worked to gather and prepare the staple plant foods that were the basis of the Kalapuyan diet, set up temporary camps, and constructed baskets and other craft products.

[2] The various Kalapuyan bands were hunter-gatherers, gaining food by fishing and hunting by the men, and gathering of nuts, berries and other fruits and roots by the women.

[2] The tribe made use of obsidian obtained from the volcanic ranges to the east to fashion sharp and effective projectile points, including arrowheads and spear tips.

[10] Prior to contact with white explorers, traders, and missionaries, the Kalapuya population is believed to have numbered as many as 15,000 people.

"[5] By 1849 Oregon territorial governor Joseph Lane reckoned the remaining Kalapuyan population at just 60 souls — with those survivors living in the most dire of conditions.

Adrien Croquet (Crocket) of Belgium was the Roman Catholic missionary at Grand Ronde and established St. Michael's church.

In the late 20th century, the Kalapuya and other peoples in the confederated tribes reorganized to assert their Native American culture.

This community is working to revive a common creole Native American language, long used for trade among various tribes and now known as Chinuk Wawa, by developing an immersion program for their children.