Tag: Takelma

Anthropology, General History, Oral History, Oregon indians, Umpqua Valley3 Comments

Native Details of the Battle of Hungry Hill

David G. Lewis, PhD

As noted by Dr. Mark Tveskov in his 2017 article “A “Most Disastrous” Affair: The Battle of Hungry Hill, Historical Memory, and the Rogue River War” (OHQ Vol. 118, no. 1- find the full text on Academia.com) the battle was one of the most famous for Oregon and perhaps the most disastrous for the Oregon Territorial volunteer militia troops. Tveskov tracked down many accounts for his narrative from newspapers and military sources and was able to show how the descriptions of the battle were altered by some of the narrators. Tveskov remarks that it is likely the case that the … Continue reading Native Details of the Battle of Hungry Hill

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

California Natives, General History, Native Issues, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, Uncategorized4 Comments

The Land is Our Heart: Protect the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument spans more than 66,000 acres of forest lands in southern Oregon and Northern California. These are the traditional homelands of the Takelmans, Athapaskans, Shastans, and Klamath peoples. The Rogue River tribes, as they are known today at Grand Ronde and Siletz reservations, were the Takelma, Athapaskan, Shasta and some Umpqua tribes of the region. Therefore, this monument, established in 2000 at around 24,000 acres, and expanded by president Obama in 2016 to over 66,000 acres, spans the territory of three tribes from Grand Ronde, and including the western edge of the Klamath territory. In this territory … Continue reading The Land is Our Heart: Protect the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

columbia river, education, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, Umpqua Valley, Uncategorized, Willamette Valley1 Comment

Forming the Grand Ronde Tribal Confederation 1850s

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Grand Ronde Tribe is a confederacy of tribes.  The history of research on how many tribes came to Grand Ronde has greatly progressed in recent years. For a time in the 1990s, Grand Ronde noted five tribes (the primary tribal groups- which encouraged some people to believe that there were only five tribes).  In the 2000s historians and researchers at the Grand Ronde Tribe had enumerated 29 to 35 tribes. Counting them again, we are finding many more bands than previously mentioned, perhaps as many as 48 tribes and bands. The definition of a Tribe is important. We now … Continue reading Forming the Grand Ronde Tribal Confederation 1850s

Rogue Valley, UncategorizedLeave a comment

On a Whim, Upper Table Rock

David G. Lewis, PhD

Down in Southwestern Oregon, along the Rogue River are not just one Table Rock, but two. They are Upper and Lower Table Rocks, horseshoe shaped buttes that were part of the Table Rock Reservation. We have spent quite of bit of time with Lower Table Rock as this butte was fully contained within the reservation, and the tribes saw this butte as a sacred place. The butte served as a natural fort, to protect against invaders, and was used by the tribes during the signing of the Rogue River Reservation in 1853 as a safe place for the people while … Continue reading On a Whim, Upper Table Rock