Tag: Table Rock

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

Near Extinction of the Grave Creek Band

David G. Lewis, PhD

The experiences of the Grave Creek Indians of southwestern Oregon mirror those of the other tribes in the region. They however hardly survived the 1850s as most of their people were exterminated by settler and militia before they could be saved by federal Indian policies of removal. Hardly anything is known of the Grave Creeks, because few of these people lived to talk to anyone of their culture. Their area was south of the Cow Creek Umpqua basin and north of the Rogue River. They were related to and likely spoke the Takelma language like their neighbors. They wee never … Continue reading Near Extinction of the Grave Creek Band

California Natives, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation3 Comments

Ka’hosadi Shasta Peoples of Oregon and California

David G. Lewis, PhD

Chief John, Tecumtum, was the leader of the Rogue River Confederacy for over a year in southwestern Oregon. The Confederacy formed when tribal bands on the Table Rock Reservation were attacked by Americans seeking to punish and exact retribution on the Indian there for previous battles, skirmishes, and petty thefts in the region. The region of southwestern Oregon and northern California was a conflict zone for about eight years by 1856 with settlement and gold mining causing numerous territorial conflicts in the region. Gold miners, in particular, were apt to make a try at gold mining for a year or … Continue reading Ka’hosadi Shasta Peoples of Oregon and California

California Natives, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, Siletz Reservation4 Comments

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

David G. Lewis, PhD

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

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, Siletz Reservation3 Comments

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

David G. Lewis, PhD

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

education, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Rogue Valley, Siletz Reservation1 Comment

The Takelma Tribe’s Stories

David G. Lewis, PhD

For more than 10,000 years the Takelma peoples lived in a vast area of southern Oregon encompassing Table Rocks. Their close neighbors were the Athapaskan, Molalla and Shasta tribes who they traded and had political relations with. The region of these tribes included the Table Rocks area (Rogue River Valley) which was the traditional homelands of the Takelma tribe. The Takelma were divided by the upland Takelma and valley Takelma. They were the original Rogue River Tribe  who lived along the Rogue River and Illinois rivers. They became one of the “Rogue River tribes” along with the Athapaskan (Chasta Costa), … Continue reading The Takelma Tribe’s Stories