Near Extinction of the Grave Creek Band
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…
Tag: Rogue Valley
Forced to Pay for the Rogue River 1853 War
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…
Removal of Four Tribes from the Umpqua Reservation 1855-1856
Between the time of the formation of the Umpqua Reservation in the Umpqua basin (1854) and the removal of the four tribes to Grand Ronde Reservation, in late…
The Second Plague: Indian Reservations
Much has been written about the impact of pandemics on indigenous populations. Columbus and his exploratory contemporaries brought slavery and conquest to the new worlds, and that conquest…
Causes of the 1853 Rogue River War
The first Rogue River War was a series of skirmishes and battles between mainly gold miners and the tribes. The miners had no regard for the tribes and…
Major Benjamin Alvord discusses Eastern Oregon Settlement, 1853
In 1853, the former Superintendent of Indian Affairs of Oregon Anson Dart had been forced to resign as none of his nineteen treaties with the tribes were ratified.…
J. Ross Browne Investigation as Reported to the SF Herald, 1857
Special Indian Agent J. Ross Browne famously came to the Northwest reservations in 1857 and wrote reports of the conditions of the tribes on the reservations. The following…
Acknowledgement is Long Past Due for Attempts to Exterminate the Tribes of Oregon
Presently, there is an apology bill being considered in the Oregon State Senate for the Modoc Indian War of 1872-1873. This apology is long past due to the…
Battle Rock the First Colonization on the Southern Oregon Coast
In July 1851, Captain William Tichenor decided to begin his project to colonize and claim the Port Orford area. He envisioned that the establishment of a town at…
History in the Vouchers: Joel Palmer’s Expense Journal
I have spent much time on Palmer’s and other early settler’s and explorer’s letters that I have gained a good understanding of the history of the tribes. Some…
Joe Lane 1849 : Report of the Tribes and Bands of the Oregon Territory
General Joe Lane was an early politician and war hero for Oregon. He served as the Indian Superintendent for Oregon as well as Governor of the territory in…
Joe Lane’s Report of the Rogue River battle at Evans Creek, 1853
In 1853, the Oregon Territorial militia commanded by General Joseph Lane was fighting a series of battles in the Rogue River valley, the main battle at Evans Creek.…
Indian Catchers of Coastal Oregon 1850s
A truly remarkable fact of Oregon history presented itself whole conducting some coastal research. In 1856 and for years after, the Indian agents employed and Continue reading
Medicinal Plants of the Rogue Rivers at Grand Ronde, 1858
When the tribes got to the reservation in 1856, the federal Indian agents were then 100% responsible for feeding them and caring for their health Continue reading
A Hot Bed of Disease and Death, Anson G. Henry Physician at Grand Ronde
In 1857, Doctor Anson G. Henry wrote a report on the health conditions at Grand Ronde. A few days before he had written another report, Continue reading
The Gateway on the Central Oregon Coast, Fort Umpqua and the Umpqua Sub Indian Agency
The southern and central Coast of Oregon is a relatively unknown area in Native American history. As the area is not well researched it Continue reading
War on the Umpqua Tribes and Removal to the Umpqua Reserves
Much has been written and published of the Rogue River, Modoc, and Yakima Wars in the Oregon Territory. These wars were, by-and-large, reactions of the Continue reading
Treaty of Peace with the Rogue River Tribes, September 8, 1853
Previous to the seven ratified treaties with the tribes of western Oregon there were two treaties of peace with the Rogue River tribe. The treaty of 1850, is…
Rogue River Treaty of 1854, Negotiated November 15, 1854, Ratified March 3, 1855
The second Rogue River Treaty, that of 1854, was a treaty if peace, and ratifying the joint occupancy of the Table Rock Reservation by many tribes subject to…
Treaty with the Chasta, Negotiated November 18, 1854, Ratified March 3, 1855
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…
Rogue River Treaty of 1853, Negotiated September 10, 1853, Ratified April 12, 1854
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…
Treaty with the Molala, Negotiated December 21, 1855, Ratified March 8, 1859
The Treaty with the Molala is the last treaty negotiated for western Oregon. Joel Palmer heard late in 1855, in fact in October, that there was a tribe…
Rejection of the Nineteen 1851 Oregon Treaties
Anson Dart, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon, from 1850 to 1852, remains an enigma. His nineteen treaties with the tribes of western Oregon, negotiated by the…
The Original 1855 Belden Map, Compared to the Redrafted Version
In 1855, the United States was on a campaign to purchase all of the land from the Oregon Tribes and remove them to reservations. Joel Palmer, Superintendent of…