Uncovering Stories of Oregon’s Past

Kid Reporter Owen Marksbury and documentary producer of "Oregon Experience," Kami Horton, at Oregon Public Broadcasting studios

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go back in history? Well, bringing history to life is what Kami Horton does every day. Horton is a documentary producer for “Oregon Experience,” a television series on Oregon Public Broadcasting that explores the history of the Pacific Northwest.

Horton has worked at Oregon Public Broadcasting for 22 years. Though she started her career as a news journalist, covering the daily news, she eventually discovered she liked the story-telling aspect of producing documentaries. “I love history, I’m from Oregon, and I really like documentaries,” Horton told me during a recent interview. “It seemed like the perfect combination of the things I was interested in.”

Horton mentioned that when she makes a documentary, she spends a lot of time conducting research. “I do a lot of it online, but I might also go to historical societies or museums,” she said. As she researches the topic, she gathers images to tell the story. Finally, she works with her team to record interviews and edit the documentary.

Discovering the Oregon Black Pioneers

One of the documentaries Horton produced for Oregon Experience was the 2019 “Oregon’s Black Pioneers,” an episode that examines the experiences of the earliest African-Americans who settled in Oregon in the 1800s.

Horton became interested in making the documentary after hearing the story of Letitia Carson, one of the first Black settlers in Oregon. Carson, who not only traveled the Oregon Trail in 1845, was also the first Black woman in Oregon to claim land under the Homestead Act of 1862. Horton learned more about Carson and other pioneers from experts at the historical society, Oregon Black Pioneers.

Horton says learning this history helps us understand why our society is the way it is today. She is inspired by stories of people who lived long ago. “I like history because I’m interested in individual lives,” she said. “A lot of times, it really is individuals that are just going about their lives that end up doing extraordinary things.”

Horton has advice for aspiring journalists and documentary producers. “Getting good,” she says, “like anything else, takes practice.” Horton also comes back to the importance of in the process of telling a good story or making a good documentary. “You want to make sure your facts are right, and you’re not just repeating rumors, or repeating things that aren’t true.”