Tag: depredations

colonization, General History, Native Issues, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, treatiesLeave a comment

Forced to Pay for the Rogue River 1853 War

David G. Lewis, PhD

One of the most egregious of acts against the Rogue River tribes in southern Oregon was making them pay for the destruction of the property of the American squatters out of their treaty payments, after years of illegal and poor treatment at the hands of the settlers. The Americans began traveling through and prospecting in southern Oregon in the late 1840s following the California Gold rush. During the rush and the Oregon gold rush two years later, many thousands of miners invaded the territory and began having conflicts with the tribes. The Rogue River people gained a reputation for being … Continue reading Forced to Pay for the Rogue River 1853 War

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Depredation Claims: Everyone Gets Paid Except Natives

David G. Lewis, PhD

In the story of the American West, the notion of depredations is significant. Depredations in the West refers to the conflicts when Native peoples attacked American settlements and caused damage, or stole the settler’s belongings. These actions resulted in depredations claims by the settlers, ranchers or miners within the next few years, to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recovery of the monetary value of the depredations. Depredations claims usually had some sort of testimony from the settler, miner or rancher, of the things they lost in the attack or raid. The claims may be a few dollars to thousands … Continue reading Depredation Claims: Everyone Gets Paid Except Natives