The Willamette Valley Treaty Podcast for the Grand Ronde Tribe

The ratified treaties series, just completed today (1/17/2018), was inspired by a request from Dean Rhodes, Media Director at Grand Ronde, for me to tape a podcast about the Willamette Valley Treaty, as its anniversary is coming up soon. I figured, I should write a post about each treaty, and include the treaties so people can easily find them. Dean is a great newspaper manager and has allowed me to place stories and editorials into the paper over the years. He has been patient, as I am not a journalist and my writing style can be a bit dry. So … Continue reading The Willamette Valley Treaty Podcast for the Grand Ronde Tribe

Rogue River Treaty of 1854, Negotiated November 15, 1854, Ratified March 3, 1855

The second Rogue River Treaty, that of 1854, was a treaty of peace and ratifying the joint occupancy of the Table Rock Reservation by many tribes subject to the treaty in the region. The Chasta treaty of 1854 states that the tribe will remove to Table Rock Reservation, where the Rogue River Tribes are already removed too. This treaty of 1854, ratified that the tribes will live peacefully on the reservation, and confederate together. There is no additional land ceded in this treaty. Tribes in the region would typically raid one another for slaves and resources. It was common for … Continue reading Rogue River Treaty of 1854, Negotiated November 15, 1854, Ratified March 3, 1855

Treaty with the Chasta, Negotiated November 18, 1854, Ratified March 3, 1855

The Treaty with the Chasta was signed on November 18, 1854, ceding a good portion of the Illinois and Rogue River areas, west of the Rogue Valley, to the United States. The Chasta, or Chasta Costa, were athabaskan speakers, like the Tututni, Upper Umpqua, and Tolowa Deeni peoples of the region. The Athapaskans are theorized to have been one of the more recent migrations into the area, perhaps 1200 years previously. Tolowa Deeni oral history suggests they migrated with canoes from the frozen north, landed at Yontocket (Burnt Ranch) a village site just south of the Smith River in Northern … Continue reading Treaty with the Chasta, Negotiated November 18, 1854, Ratified March 3, 1855

Rogue River Treaty of 1853, Negotiated September 10, 1853, Ratified April 12, 1854

The Rogue River Treaty of 1853 was negotiated at the base of the Lower Table Rock, between the base and the river. Accounts of the treaty signing suggest that the Rogue River tribes were assembled at the top of Table Rock and looked down at the proceedings. In this manner  they were protected from attacks from the Americans. The atmosphere was tense as the treaty negotiations began, because there was a state of continued attacks between the rogue militant American gold miners, and territorial Ranger Militia, and the tribes in Southwestern Oregon and Northern California.  This time period has been … Continue reading Rogue River Treaty of 1853, Negotiated September 10, 1853, Ratified April 12, 1854