TRIBAL HISTORY
A Piece of Siletz History
by Robert Kentta, Cultural Resources Director
This article is the sixth in a series of brief articles, each
focusing on a specific time period in our history. The last article
was about the early treaty-making period of 1851, under Anson
Dart. He was the first superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon
Territory, an office that was established by Congress. Before that
office was set up, “Indian Affairs" was an extra duty of the territorial
governor. As was related in the last article, Dart’s treaties were
ineffective because the U.S. Senate refused to ratify them. Settlers
in Oregon Territory also strongly opposed the ratification of those
treaties. Dart, unable to keep any of the promises he had made,
lost all credibility with both Indians and whites, and
eventually resigned.
Part VI - The Western Oregon Treaties
of 1853-1855
Joel Palmer was appointed as the new superintendent of Indian
Affairs for Oregon Territory just as mining activity was bringing Indian/
white relations to the breaking point. Palmer, an early arrival in the
Oregon country, seems to have had an unusual amount of
compassion and understanding of our people’s situation, at least
for a man of his time. He soon became known and respected among
our people by a name that translates as “knows in his head.”
During the late summer months of 1853, the Rogue Valley near
Jacksonville and what is now Medford was the scene of open
warfare and brutality. Our people, seeing their lands and resources
overrun and their rights invaded in every way, had resorted to open
conflict. Palmer was able to effect a cease-fire and hold a meeting
on Evans Creek to discuss potential treaty negotiations. The
headmen wanted time to gather the people, who were scattered
from the Rogue/Umpqua divide to the summits of the Siskiyous.
On Sept. 10,1853, treaty negotiations were held at the base
of the cliff at Lower Table Rock. They nearly came to a halt when a
tribal member ran into camp, sweat streaming from his body, and
threw himself upon the ground. After getting his breath, he announced
that a headman from down river had been tortured and hanged by
some miners. Good sense and calm eventually prevailed, with
promises that the men responsible would be properly punished.
We would like to thank everyone on behalf of our mother,
Madge Mason. You were all so kind and thoughtful! Our friends and
relatives really come through in a time of crisis. Thank you to:
+ Chinook Winds blackjack dealers for the beautiful plant
arrangement and donation. You really made mom’s face
light up!
♦ Chinook Winds and Gordon Dickie for the wonderful flower
arrangement. It was the first arrangement mom received and it
meant a lot!
+ Gladys Bolton for the gorgeous flower plant. It’s still blooming!
You’re a good friend to our mother and we thank you for being
there for her.
♦ Siletz elders for the meaningful card and donation. You are all
wonderful! Mom misses all of you!
+ Uncle Mike for working sooo hard at contacting Uncle Joe and
bringing him over to see mom. It really made her day!
♦ Uncle Bill for making the long drive to go see mom while she
stayed with Diane and Ed. You always keep her on her toes.
+ To SIHA staff for the awesome flower arrangement done by
tribal member Linda Rilatos, Posey Peddler. The vase will forever
be cherished!
♦ To Aunt Pat who helped to reserve the Good Samaritan House
for family members to stay in while in Portland
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This treaty is called the “Treaty with the Rogue River” although
it represented three distinct language groups, the Takelma, Shasta
and Applegate River peoples. Under the 1853 Rogue River Treaty,
our ancestors agreed to cede (relinquish to the United States) title
to the entire upper Rogue Valley. Our people reserved, however,
the right to remain on a temporary reservation within that ceded
area until a permanent reservation was selected and made “by the
direction of the president.”
A few days later, another treaty was signed with relatives of
the Rogue River Takelmas who lived in the Cow Creek drainage of
the South Umpqua. They also ceded all their territory and reserved
the right to stay on a temporary reservation within their home
territory until the president selected a permanent reservation.
These first two of Palmer’s treaties moved together through
the full process of ratification. They were sent to the commissioner
of Indian Affairs, who forwarded them to the president, who in turn
forwarded them to the U.S. Senate for ratification, after which they
were proclaimed law by the president.
Over the next two years, our ancestors were forced to sign a
total of seven treaties, which ceded the entire area between the
Columbia River and the summits of the Siskiyous, and the summit
of the Cascades to the summit of the Coast Range (approximately
15 million acres). Six treaties were for actual cession of lands and
reserving temporary reservations; one was for the specific purpose
of permitting the U.S. government to confederate other tribal groups
with the original Rogue River Treaty tribes.
The only treaty signed in Western Oregon during this period
that did not receive the same recognition and become passed into
law was the summer of 1855 treaty with the coastal tribes of Oregon.
This treaty, though signed in good faith by our ancestors, was
supposedly lost in the D.C. shuffle (52 treaties were negotiated
between the United States and various Indian tribes in the period of
1853-1856). Although our coastal tribes were forced into abiding
by the terms of the 1855 Coast Treaty, the United States did not
hold up its end of the deal at all.
The next article will be about creating a “permanent reservation”
for all of our ancestral tribes of Western Oregon, and will begin to
explain some of the myths and confusion surrounding the history
of the Coast (or Siletz) Reservation.
+ To Terry and Wanda for the marvelous flower arrangement and
moral support.
+ Tina Retasket for visiting mom at her home. Family means a lot
to her and you were a welcome sight. Thanks.
♦ If we have forgotten anyone, please accept our apologies. It
was not done intentionally. We truly are thankful and blessed to
have such an inspiring community. Everyone really steps up in
the time of need and we really did need each and every one of
you and for that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
God Bless! Tamara Morrow
Happy 18th Birthday on April 4, Eddie! We all miss you and
love you lots. We can’t believe our baby brother is finally 18.
Shannon, Steve, and Cheney; Selina and Leroy; Carrie,
Scott, and Emily
Happy Birthday to my Sister Wormlips on April 12. Can you
believe we are both over 30 now?
Love, your sister - GLW
To our friends and relatives: You are invited to the wedding
and potluck reception of Joel Mark Strong and Candace Elaine
Tabbert on May 17, 2000, at 5 p.m. at the Eagles Club in Newport.