61

homeland of the burns paiute

BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION

This region is the homeland of the ‘Wadatika’ (wada seed eaters), a nomadic band of Northern Paiute Indians. Today, the descendents of these people are known as the Burns Paiute.

Armed conflicts between ranchers and the ‘Wadatika’, during the late 1800s, led President Ulysses S. Grant to create the 1.8 million-acre Malheur Reservation in 1872. Pressure from settlers opened portions of the reservation to grazing and settlement by 1876.

Denied access to traditional lands, the ‘Wadatika’ soon faced starvation. Continued encroachment, combined with the U.S. Government’s failure to fulfill promises of food, shelter, education, and agricultural supplies, resulted in open warfare – the Bannock War of 1878. Upon defeat in 1879, the Paiute were forcibly marched to distant reservations. Congress terminated the Malheur Reservation in 1883 and made the land available for settlement.

Some Paiute drifted back to the region by the early 1900s. Most lived in extreme poverty either on land allotments too arid for farming, or in makeshift tents on the outskirts of Burns. In 1972, the Burns Paiute purchased 771 acres on which to live – and with this land base, they are regaining self-sufficiency and tribal identity.

FACT BLOCK

LOCATION:
Riley
Harney COUNTY

GPS COORDINATES: 
43.53003,-119.3023

OTIC topic:
Indian Tribes

beaver board text CODED AS:
Acknowledges white supremacy in the taking of Indigenous land and life by white settlers throughout the 1800's in a continued, aware, and entitled pattern from the perspective of white settlers. Discusses the breaking of specific boundaries and treaties established between the US government and the Burns Paiute people. Narrates a story of violence surrounding settlement of Oregon.
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MULTICULTURAL

published online:
september 19, 2011
62

Homeland of the Cow Creeks

BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION

Photo: Geological Society of America
View across and along Cow Creek
This portion of the southwest Oregon is homeland to the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians. They thrived here for thousands of years before contact with Euro-Americans.

Living in plank-house villages, they followed a seasonal round of resource use. Moving from summer camas meadows and salmon fisheries along the rivers to the high country, they picked huckleberries and hunted for deer in the fall. By late fall they returned to the valleys to collect acorns and prepare for winter.

A rapid influx of miners and settlers after the discovery of gold in 1851 forever changed the Cow Creek world. Critical food sources declined and the newcomers brought infectious diseases – Chief Miwaleta was among the casualties. Within a few years the tribe was reduced to starvation. The loss of land and resources led to violent confrontations throughout the region.

Despite a treaty with the US Government – one of Oregon’s first – clearly defining boundaries of their homelands, a federal program of Indian removal attempted to forcibly remove the Cow Creeks to reservations in northwest Oregon. Many members eluded capture by hiding in remote parts of the region – seven core families maintained a continuous presence in the area. The U.S. Government ceased pursuing them by the 1870s, and tribal families began gradually returning.

FACT BLOCK

LOCATION:
Surprise Valley
Douglas COUNTY

GPS COORDINATES: 42.942996,-123.293467

OTIC topic:
Indian Tribes

beaver board text CODED AS:
WHITE SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
Discusses the presence of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians in the area for thousands of years. Acknowledges the influx of settlers and miners to the area and the resulting effects of disease, violence, and resource destruction. Acknowledges the breaking of treaties by the U.S. government and their policy of forced removal for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians. Discusses the resilience and survivance of members in eluding capture and remaining in the area.
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MULTICULTURAL

published online:
september 19, 2011
63

indian trails

BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION

map: Lyn Topinka
Columbia Plateau and Cascade Range
An ancient trail passed through here as part of an extensive Indian trade network linking peoples of the Northern Great Basin and Columbia Plateau to those living west of the Cascades. Obsidian, bear grass, and slaves were transported over these trails to major trading locations along the Columbia River in exchange for dried salmon, smelt, sturgeon and decorative sea shells. The long established route was later used by Peter Skene Ogden’s fur trapping expeditions in 1825 and 1826.

Fur trader Nathaniel Wyeth was here in the 1830s. Captain John C. Fremont followed this route on his 1843 explorations for the United States and Lt. Henry L. Abbot headed a Pacific Railroad survey party along it in 1855.

FACT BLOCK

LOCATION:
Antone
Wheeler COUNTY

GPS COORDINATES:
44.53258,-119.74396

OTIC topic:
Historic Routes

beaver board text CODED AS:
NO WHITE SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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MULTICULTURAL

published online:
september 19, 2011