Category: Siletz Reservation

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation, Umpqua Valley, Willamette ValleyLeave a comment

The First Census of the Coast and Grand Ronde Reservations: 1856

David G. Lewis, PhD

In 1856, Joel Palmer had some 4000 Natives removed from their homelands to the Coast and Grand Ronde Indian Reservations. Up to at least April of 1856 the primary location of the removal of the tribes was the Grand Ronde addition to the Coast Reservation. In this early period Palmer did not conceive of the two reservations as separate and he had already created the Coast Reservation in 1855 under presidential executive order. The Grand Ronde addition was not yet thought of as permanent and yet the majority of all tribes removed first settled at Grand Ronde due to the … Continue reading The First Census of the Coast and Grand Ronde Reservations: 1856

colonization, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, Siletz ReservationLeave a comment

A Policy of Forfeiture of Rights and Annuities under the Peace Treaty of 1853

David G. Lewis, PhD

In numerous essays on this blog I have noted that many of the tribes considered the most violent, and those who had participated in the wars in southwestern Oregon were placed on the Coast Reservation. This was not an arbitrary decision because in 1856 the tribes on the Oregon coast and from the Rogue River basin had participated in numerous conflicts and wars. The Rogue River Confederacy were considered one of the most violent groups of tribes, having participated in at least three wars in southern Oregon, in 1850-51, in 1853, and 1855-56. The Coquille tribes were also considered violent … Continue reading A Policy of Forfeiture of Rights and Annuities under the Peace Treaty of 1853

Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, Siletz ReservationLeave a comment

The Second Plague: Indian Reservations

David G. Lewis, PhD

Much has been written about the impact of pandemics on indigenous populations. Columbus and his exploratory contemporaries brought slavery (some tribes had slavery already) and conquest to the new worlds, and that conquest was greatly aided by the fact that the conquistadores passed on numerous illnesses, diseases and viruses, to these new worlds. These illnesses attacked virgin populations of indigenous peoples who for the first time had to contend with new strains of influenza, smallpox, malaria, measles, and other illnesses that carried away millions of people to their graves. The estimated worldwide deaths by epidemics are in the 90 million … Continue reading The Second Plague: Indian Reservations

Anthropology, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation, Termination, treatiesLeave a comment

John Collier and Indian Termination Policy

David G. Lewis, PhD

As Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier was a long-term advocate for Indian tribes. In the 1920s, John Collier, a trained sociologist, led efforts in Washington, D.C. to repeal the Dawes Indian Allotment Act (1887) and its overt attempt to assimilate Indians. John Collier was very critical of the Indian Office and in 1928 wrote the Meriam Report, published as, “The Problem of Indian Administration” with the support of Congress. In 1962, John Collier had this to say about his earlier understandings of Indian society. “In those years, I still took for granted our modern fatalism: that the Indian’s spirit, … Continue reading John Collier and Indian Termination Policy

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, Siletz Reservation, treaties, Washington TerritoryLeave a comment

J. Ross Browne Investigation as Reported to the SF Herald, 1857

David G. Lewis, PhD

Special Indian Agent J. Ross Browne famously came to the Northwest reservations in 1857 and wrote reports of the conditions of the tribes on the reservations. The following appears to be the results of Browne speaking with a reporter in San Francisco for the Herald in October 1857. Revealed are additional details of the reservations and his interactions with tribes and tribal chiefs, with whom he held councils with. Sacramento Daily Union October 16, 1857 INDIAN AFFAIRS IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON TERRITORIES. Our readers will be interested in a perusal of the following account of the present condition of the … Continue reading J. Ross Browne Investigation as Reported to the SF Herald, 1857