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 … [Read more…]
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 … [Read more…]
The Treaty with the Molala is the last treaty negotiated for western Oregon. Joel Palmer heard late in 1855, in fact in October, that there was a tribe of Indians in southern Oregon not yet treated with. (New information suggests he already knew about this tribe, see below) Palmer was able to quickly get down … [Read more…]
Anson Dart, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon, from 1850 to 1852, remains an enigma. His nineteen treaties with the tribes of western Oregon, negotiated by the Willamette Valley Commission, all failed to be ratified. Because of the lack of ratification, these treaties have not been well studied as they were not considered important … [Read more…]
In 1855, the United States was on a campaign to purchase all of the land from the Oregon Tribes and remove them to reservations. Joel Palmer, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon, was working hard to make all arrangements for the removal of the tribes. In January of 1855, he met with the Kalapuya, Molalla … [Read more…]