SILETZ INDIANS OF OREGON

THESE INDIANS LIVE BY A BAY AND THE SILETZ RIVER. THERE WERE WIDESPREAD EPIDEMICS AFTER COLUMBUS CONTACTED NATIVES ON THE EAST COAST. THEY ALSO HAD THESE DISEASES ON THE OREGON COAST FROM SPANISH EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS IN THE 1400'S.

THE FUR TRADE IN THIS AREA IS DESCRIBED BY THE INDIANS AS TAKING ANIMALS WITHOUT PERMISSION. BY 1805 LEWIS AND CLARK AND THEIR PARTY WERE THE FIRST TO COME TO COLUMBIA RIVER. THEY WERE THE FIRST MAKE THE OVERLAND TRIP FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE U.S. TO THE COAST. THEY ESTIMATED SOME FUR TRADING POSTS AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. IN 1832 THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY CHIEF ATTACKED THE SILETZ INDIANS AT FORT VANCOUVER.

IN 1905 THEIR POPULATION WAS 324. THEY WERE THE SOUTHERN MOST TRIBE ON THE COAST OF OREGON. THEY HAD ONLY BRIEF WITH SETTLERS BEFORE 1854. THOSE WHO LIVED ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER HAD MORE FREQUENT CONTACT WITH THE LUMBER MILLS, FUR TRADING POSTS, MISSIONARY STATIONS AND THEY OBJECT TO STRANGERS USING THEIR LAND AND RESOURCES. IN 1787 CONGRESS PASSED AN ORDINANCE THAT PROMISED INDIAN RIGHTS TO THEIR PROPERTY AND THEY WOULD NOT BE DISTURBED. GREAT BRITAIN DETERMINED THE BOUNDARIES RECOGNIZED BY CANADA AND THE U S. AFTER THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE WAS SETTLED 3000 MORE SETTLERS CAME TO OREGON. AND IN 1848 CONGRESS PASSED THE ORGANIC ACT CREATING THE OREGON TERRITORY. JOSEPH LANE WAS INSTALLED AS A LEADER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS TO DETERMINE THEIR POPULATION, LAND DIVISIONS AND DEVELOP AN INDIAN POLICY. IN 1850 CONGRESS PASSED THE OREGON DONATION ACT PROMISING PARCELS OF LAND TO THE US EMIGRANTS. BY THIS TIME MANY SETTLERS WERE NOT OPPOSED TO VIOLENT EVICTION OF THE NATIVES AND IT BECAME COMMON PRACTICE SHOOT AT ALL NATIVES WHO WERE IN VIEW! THE SUPERINTENDENT WANTED TO HAVE ALL THE OREGON TRIBES SIGN TREATIES. AGREEING TO CEDE ALL THEIR LANDS AND MOVE TO A PERMANENT RESERVATION IN CENTRAL OREGON DESERT. THEY NOW LIVE ON THE LUMMI RESERVATION. OVER 2 MILLION ACRES WERE TAKEN UP BY THOUSANDS OF US CITIZENS. IT IS REPEATED THROUGHOUT OUR COUNTRY THAT ONCE MINERS, FARMERS, TIMBER BARONS, AND SETTLERS BECAME INTERESTED IN THESE LANDS, NATIVE AMERICANS HAD TO LEAVE THEIR LANDS TO THE ANGLOS BY FORCE.



IN 1851, THE ARMY FOUGHT THE SILETZ AND ATTACKED THEIR VILLAGES ON THE ROUGE RIVER. THEY KILLED ABOUT 50 INDIANS AND TOOK 30 WOMEN AND CHILDREN PRISONER. AND ABOUT 30 NATIVES DIED AT BATTLE ROCK. NEAR PORT OXFORD. MINERS ESPECIALLY INVADED SECLUDED NATIVE TERRITORY AND THE NATIVES WERE THREATENED BY EXTERMINATION. THE NATIVES INSISTED ON RESERVING A PIECE OF THEIR LANDS AND RESERVE THE RIGHTS TO FISH IN THEIR ACCUSTOMED AREAS.


NEW TREATIES WERE MADE BETWEEN 1853 - 1855 IN ORDER TO HELP HAVE RESPECT ON THEIR LAND. JOEL PALMER WAS HIRED TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION AND WAS RESPECTED BY THE NATIVES. IN 1853 THERE BEGAN A WARFARE IN MEDFORD AND PALMER WAS ABLE TO EFFECT A CEASE FIRE AND HOLD A MEETING TO DISCUSS HAVING A NEGOTIATION. THE NATIVE HEADMAN WANTED TO GATHER THEIR PEOPLE . IN 1853 NEGOTIATIONS WERE MADE AND THE TREATY IS CALLED THE ROGUE RIVER. THE NATIVES CEDED LITTLE TO THE UPPER ROGUE RIVER VALLEY. HOWEVER, THEY HAD THE RIGHT TO REMAIN ON A TEMPORARY RESERVATION WITHIN THE CEDED AREA. ANOTHER TREATY WAS MADE BY THE PALMER WITH THE TUKELMAS IN THE SOUTH UMPQUA VALLEY. THEY ALSO GAVE UP ALL THEIR LANDS BUT COULD STAY ON A TEMPORARY RESERVATION WITHIN THEIR HOME TERRITORIES, UNTIL THE PRESIDENT SELECTED A PERMANENT RESERVATION. OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS THEIR ANCESTORS WERE FORCED TO SIGN A TOTAL OF SEVEN TREATIES WHICH CEDED THE ENTIRE AREA BETWEEN THE COLUMBIA RIVER AND THE SUMMIT OF THE SISKIYOUS - ABOUT 15 MILLION ACRES! SIX OF THE TREATIES GAVE THEM TEMPORARY RESERVATIONS AND ONE WAS FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF PERMISSION TO CONFEDERATE TRIBAL GROUPS WITH ROGUE RIVER TREATY TRIBES. THEIR LANDS WERE GIVEN UP TO EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT AND THERE WERE MISINTERPRETATIONS TO RESERVATION SYSTEM THEY DEVELOPED WITH PALMER. THE MAJORITY OF THEIR LANDS WERE GIVEN UP TO COMPENSATION. THE ALSO GAVE UP ANOTHER 191,000 ACRE RESERVATION IN 1892 BECAUSE THEY ONLY HAD TEMPORARY USE AND OCCUPANCY RIGHTS TO THE LANDS. THEIR ANCESTORS SIGNED A NUMBER OF TREATIES IN THE 1850'S NINE DAYS AFTER THE ROGUE RIVER TREATY WAS SIGNED. AND THE TREATY FOR THE NATIVES IN THE COW CREEK DRAINAGE WERE PROCLAIMED LAW BY THE PRESIDENT. THEY WERE RATIFIED ON APRIL 1854. IN ESSENCE THE SENATE DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO CREATE A PERMANENT TREATY RESERVATION UNDER THESE 2 TREATIES ABOVE. THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE WAS TO COLLECT ALL THE SCATTERED TRIBES AND CONCENTRATE THEM ON 1 LARGE RESERVATION. AWAY FROM MINING SETTLERS TO LESSEN CONFLICTS.

JOEL PALMER WROTE A LETTER TO THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS SAYING THAT HE HAD GIVEN THE SETTLERS IN OREGON NOTICE THAT THE AREA BY SILTCOOS RIVER AND CAPE LOOKOUT WOULD NOT BE OPEN TO SETTLEMENT BY NON NATIVES. IT WAS THEIR PRIMARY RESERVATION FOR THE COASTAL TRIBES. HE ASKED THE COMMISSIONERS FOR PERMISSION.

DELAYED REACTION CAME INTO PLAY WITH PALMERS REQUEST TO ESTABLISH THE COAST RESERVATION. HE WORKED ON A COAST TREATY THAT WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE COAST TREATY REQUEST TO ESTABLISH THE COAST RESERVATION. THIS TREATY WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE APRIL REQUEST. THIS TREATY DESCRIBED A RESERVATION OF 800,000 ACRES. FINALLY IT FELL INTO PLACE BY THE EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR A RESERVATION WHICH INCLUDED 1.1 MILLION ACRES.





CTTSI.NSN.US

ACCESS GENEOLOGY