The Oregon Encyclopedia tells us that according to oral histories, the Athapaskan people of southern Oregon & northern California arrived from the north in ancient times, traveling by canoe. Linguists estimate that they arrived in the region about 700 years ago. The Athapaskans lived in the valleys on the Rogue & Illinois rivers, where the land is steep & mountainous, & along the northern California & southern Oregon coasts. Many made their homes along the Coquille & Umpqua rivers.
The Athapaskans participated in an extensive socio-political trade network, & their seasonal rounds consisted of moving to temporary camps to harvest, fish, & hunt. Coastal tribes set up summer fishing camps, where they caught smelt, picked strawberries, & hunted for otter. Later in the year, they moved into the Coast Range to hunt for elk & gather plants for basket-making. Many Athapaskan villages were situated on prime river terraces, land that was coveted by American settlers & miners. The Rogue River Indian wars—an effort by Americans to exterminate Native peoples in the region—began in 1850 as a series of skirmishes with early miners & white settlers. In 1853, the battle of Evans Creek was waged near Battle Mountain, & two years later warriors fought gold miners at Applegate Creek to protect tribal homelands. The last of the Rogue River wars was sparked by the delay of the U.S. Congress to ratify the second round of Oregon treaties. Gen. John E. Wool, commander of the Department of the Pacific in 1855-1856, vilified the actions of the militia, blaming it for much of the warfare & for invading tribal territories. "Whilest I was in Oregon," Wool wrote on February 12, 1856, "it was reported to me, that many citizens, with due proportion of volunteers...advocated the extermination of the Indians."
Between 1853 & 1856, Athapaskan tribes & bands were party to treaties negotiated between agents of the federal government & tribal headmen. The ratified treaties are with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua (November 19, 1853), the Rogue River Tribes (September 10, 1853, & November 11, 1854), the Chasta Costa (November 18, 1854), & the upper Umpqua & (non-Athapaskan) Kalapuya (November 29, 1854). The coastal bands of Athapaskans were party to the unratified Coast Treaty of 1855. The treaties remain in effect today & constitute the foundation for many of the tribes' sovereign rights. In 1854, many Rogue River peoples were removed to the Table Rock Reservation, north of the Rogue River. In 1855, Superintendent of Indian Affairs Joel Palmer gathered many of the Athapaskans at Port Orford & transported 1,400 of them to the Grand Ronde Reservation on two ships. Another group was marched to Siletz Agency on the Coast Reservation, a long & harsh trek that, along with the forced movement of a group from the Table Rock Reservation to the Grand Ronde Reservation, is characterized as the "Oregon Trail of Tears." In 1857, over 2/3 of the Rogue River Native Americans were removed to the Siletz Agency.
