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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 2003)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Page 11 1853 land treaty traces history of Rogue Valley By MEDFORD ‘MAIL TRIBUNE’ Nearly all landowners in Jackson and Josephine counties can trace the ori- gins of their property to Sept. 10, 1853. That’s the day the Rogue River Treaty of 1853 was signed near Ta- ble Rocks, resulting in a huge expanse of land esti- mated to be more than two million acres being given to Uncle Sam for $60,000. “Everybody’s land title in the Rogue Valley area is rooted in this treaty,” said Robert Kentta, cultural resources director for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. “This is a very impor- tant part of Oregon’s his- tory, not just Indian his- tory,” he added. “It reflects the history of how the United States acquired the Indian land so legal settle- ment could be accom- plished.” Kentta’s Indian ances- tors once lived on the land purchased by the treaty. It was the first in the Oregon Territory -- Oregon be- came a state in 1859 -- to be ratified by the U.S. Sen- ate when it was approved in April 1854. President Franklin Pierce signed the treaty in 1855. Basically, the treaty gave the U.S. all the land from what is now Mount McLoughlin west to a point one mile downstream from the mouth of the Applegate River, and from the Umpqua Divide south to Siskiyou Summit. The 1853 price was $60,000, less $15,000 to be paid to settlers for various costs incurred before the treaty was signed. The treaty was initially signed by Chief Sam, known as Ko-Ko-Ha-Wah, meaning “wealthy,” and four other chiefs along with Gen. Joseph Lane of the United States. Besides declaring an end to hostilities between the Indians and the settlers, it established a temporary reservation based around Table Rocks. That reserva- tion was roughly in the area between Lower Table Rock and the mouth of Evans Creek, Kentta said. But after hostilities resumed in 1855, the In- dian people were moved by force in 1856 to the Siletz and Grand Ronde reservations west of Sa- Please don’t drink and drive Additional Listings Besides the program listings Provided, the following also are among those available from Charter Communications. For information about costs that might apply, contact the company. 1-800-338-8838 *12 - QVC *14 - Better Life TV *16 - Home Shopping *23 - Community Bulletins *25 - Fox News *26 - C-Span/House of Rep. *27 - C-Span 2 (Senate) *28 - ESPN 2 *31 - CNN Headline News *33 - Fox Sports Northwest *36 - Country Music TV *37 - Nashville Channel *40 - The History Channel *41 - The Learning Channel *42 - Cartoon Network *43 - Home & Garden TV *44 - The Weather Channel lem. “There was resistance to the removal because people thought they would be allowed to stay at Table Rock,” Kentta said. Between 900 and 1,000 people were forced to move, in clu ding Kentta’s ancestors. Although the treaty refers to all the native peo- ple as “Rogue River Indi- ans,” there were three lan- guage groups involved, including the Takelmas, the Shastas and the Apple- gate River Athabascans, Kentta said. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the early 1800s, the groups had lived in the region for countless generations, trad- ing with each other and living off the land, he said. “The people were made poorer by the signing of the treaty and by their removal to the reserva- tion,” he said. “It threw the tribal economies and social system into chaos.” Recognizing the past helps put the world into perspective as well as helping to avoid a repeat of past mistakes, he said. “There are a lot of things that shouldn’t have happened but they did hap- pen,” he said. “It’s not healthy to sit around and be bitter.” Beginning Saturday Sept. 20 4 p.m. to closing Slow-cooked ‘Home Style’ POT ROAST DINNER served with potatoes, onions & carrots cooked in its own gravy, biscuit & butter, soup or salad, plus dessert $8.99 or large portion $10.99 EVERY WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY We offer a kids meal menu staring at $2.99 Cocktails, beer & wine available with meal