Short hisory of the Umpqua Indian Tribe and neighbors.
In 1850 Umpqua river valley was inhabited by the Coquille tribe .
The tribe ceded most of its land to the U.S. government in the 1854 Treaty with the Umpqua and Kalapuya, agreeing to move to a reservation in Lincoln County as part of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz.
The Umpqua River valley was inhabited by several different bands of Indians: primarily the Athabaskan speaking Upper Umpqua, Takelman speaking Cow Creek Band of Umpqua, the Yoncalla (Kalapuyan) in the north, and the Quich (Lower Umpqua) from Scottsburg/Wells Creek to the coast. The Quich spoke a language distantly related to the Alsea Yakonan and the Coos Bay languages.
The Cow Creek band of the Umpqua Tribe were peaceful people, but the chief and seven families refused to move to Grand Ronde where their enemies lived. Instead they vanishing into the hills to live their life styles for decades, avoiding white people and staying out of trouble, and out of sight.
Around 1984, the government set the Cow Creek Umpqa up with their own land and financed their seven feathers casino. Each feather stands for one family of the seven that fled into the hills to live life their way.
They are among few Indian groups who never lived on a reservation.
Long History of the Umpqua Indians.
