A Bibliography of Books and Articles on Subjects Related to the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

Although the situation has gradually shifted over the years, there is still a general lack of accurate, comprehensive and readily available resources on the history, culture and lifeways of the members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and their ancestors. All, or nearly all of the past writing on western Oregon native history has definitely been written from a non-native perspective. Another common problem has been that content and chronology have often been the subject of a convenient sort of fact-editing, so that ethnic bias and general historical mis-interpretation are the result.

Recent publications such as E.A. Schwartz The Rogue River Indian War And Its Aftermath, 1850-1980 come a long way in describing the general conditions, personalities and politics that led up to: the Rogue River Wars; the establishment of the Coast Reservation; removal to the Coast Reservation; and the deliberate and unjustifiable reduction of the reservation without treaty agreement or compensation to the people for lands, waters, food and other resources lost to them by those actions. However, one still needs to read a variety of sources, educate themselves on the issues & read in between the lines to gain any clarity on these issues.

What follows, is a brief bibliography of books, articles, published reports and other resources that will give everyone from the casual reader to the most avid researcher a place to start, if just beginning to delve into the subject of Siletz Tribal History and Culture. Sometimes these books are out of print, or are hard to find. Some of the resources are in unpublished, raw fieldnote form. Many of these are available at the University of Oregon's Knight Library, Special Collections: Southwest Oregon Research Project collection. We, at our program offices have copies of most of the books, articles and microfilm reels listed here, but if you live out of the Siletz area, and are not able to obtain copies through your local library's inter-library loan program, or for those wanting to discuss additional resources, you are welcome to contact me at:

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Attn: Robert Kentta, Cultural Programs
PO Box 549
Siletz, Oregon 97380

Ph. (541) 444-8244 or (800) 922-1399

Material Culture:

"Survival For An Artifact - Siletz Indian Basketry"
By: Leona Letson Kasner
Printed by the Lincoln County Historical Society
579 SW 9th Newport, Oregon 97365

(good for describing the materials& techniques of classic Siletz spruce and hazel basketry)

"American Indian Basketry and Other Native Arts
Traditional Arts of the Indians of Western Oregon"
Vol. IV No. 2 (whole issue No. 14 in the series)
John M. Gogol, Editor and Publisher
American Indian Basketry
PO Box 66124
Portland, Oregon 97266

(good for a general description of pre and postcontact lifeways, especially as it relates to basketry, also mentions other traditional arts. Lots of good early photos).

There is a series of four books by Hilary Stewart that describe and illustrate traditional tools and survival technologies. The subjects are directed at British Columbia and SE Alaska people, but most of the shapes, styles and materials of objects and nearly all the technologies apply to the majority of Oregon Coast cultures, if not all of western Oregon.

Titles:
"Artifacts of the Northwest Coast Indians"
"Stone, Bone, Antler & Shell - Artifacts of the Northwest Coast"
"Indian Fishing - Early Methods on the Northwest Coast"
"Cedar"

I believe all but the first one are provided through the University of Washington Press, Seattle. Artifacts of the Northwest Coast Indians is published by Hancock House Publishers, LTD., North Vancouver, BC Canada.

Lifeways, Belief Systems:

"Handbook of the North American Indians"
Vol. 7 (Northwest Coast), Vol. 8 (California) and Vol. 12 (Plateau)
Smithsonian Institution

(The back end of the Northwest Volume has a good series of brief articles that cover the tribes and language groups from all parts of CTSI aboriginal territory, except the Shasta & Tolowa groups and the Molalla, which are in the California and Plateau Volumes respectively. There are also good articles on general topics such as regional traits in: Mythology [roles of certain beings and animals in the creation stories, etc]; Arts [although it mostly focuses on the people farther north], A history of the Shaker Church in the Northwest, etc.).

"The First Oregonians"
Published by the Oregon Council for the Humanities (revised edition being published in 2005)

(Various authors wrote articles on general introductions to the cultural regions of aboriginal Oregon and each of the Oregon Tribes submitted an article about their own tribal history and culture).

History:

"The Indians of Western Oregon - This Land Was Theirs"
By: Steven Dow Beckham

(A good general history of the native people of western Oregon, from contact to treaties, warfare, reservations, reduction of the reservations, termination and restoration).

"The Rogue River Indian War and Its Aftermath 1850-1980"
By: E.A. Schwartz

(A very good detailed history of the Rogue River Wars & how early political climates in Oregon effected Indian Affairs. Also covers the removal, reductions of the reservation, termination, restoration, etc. A well written, balanced perspective).

"A Plea For The Indians Of Oregon"
By: John Beeson
Reprinted By: Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, WA

(An amazing book written in the 1850's by a man chased out of the Rogue River Valley for speaking out against the treatment of our Indian people. His wife and child stayed at the farm, while he traveled back east, trying to raise general awareness about what was happening to Indian people. Many graphic descriptions of atrocities).

"Requiem For A People"
By: Steven Dow Beckham
Reprinted By: OSU Press, Corvallis, OR

(A good general History of the Rogue River Wars. A good early attempt to swing the written historical perspective into balance).

"The Siletz Indian Reservation 1855-1900"
By: William Eugene Kent
Printed By: Lincoln County Historical Society, Newport, Oregon

(Written as a Thesis, this is generally good, has some good information especially about conditions on the reservation in the early days. However, there is some incorrect information, such as the reservation boundary maps, etc).

"The Northwest Salmon Crisis - A Documentary History"
Edited By: Joseph Cone and Sandy Ridlington
Printed By: OSU Press

(Chapter IV has an article written by me, that explains the history of the reservation and how the lands and resources were (and continue to be) systematically withheld from the Siletz people. Many other articles on the history of salmon run declines in the northwest).

"An Arrow in the Earth"
By: Terrence O'Donnell
Printed By: the Oregon Historical Society Press

(A good biography of the life of Joel Palmer [Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon from 1853 -1856 and Siletz Indian Agent from 1871-1873]. He was a major player in getting ratified treaties in western Oregon, and selecting the Coast [Siletz] Reservation. His influence and motivation must have diminished after being Superintendent of Indian Affairs, because he stood by and watched the reservation he created get dismantled and taken away from the Siletz people - in violation of the treaties he drafted - without stepping forward. In spite of this, he was generally liked and respected, probably as a man "less bad" than the majority).

Biographies of Siletz Ancestors:

"She's Tricky Like Coyote" the life of Annie Miner Petersen
By: Lionel Youst

(Annie was a major contributor to the bulk of information known about both Hanis and Miluk dialects of the Coos Language. She was half Coos and spoke both dialects of Coos Language fluently. She was an expert storyteller, and knew much about traditional Coos culture. She lived at the Yachats sub-Agency of the Siletz Reservation in the early days, and married a full blooded Alsea man [Andrew Jackson]. They lived at Siletz Agency for a few years after the Yachats sub-Agency was closed, her husband was a Siletz Tribal Policeman. Eventually, she moved back to the Coos Bay country with her and Andrew's daughter, re-married a Norwegian man, and lived out her later years in Coos homelands.)

"Coquelle Thompson Athabaskan Witness"
By: Lionel Youst and William Seaburg
Published by: University of Oklahoma Press

(Coquelle Thompson Sr. was born on the Coquille River, the son of a Coquelle headman. His father signed the 1855 Coast Treaty as a representative of his people. At the close of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, Coquelle and all his father's people joined many other bands in being removed to the Siletz Reservation. Coquelle was only a half grown boy, but remembered many details of the early struggles of not only his own band, but many others who shared the Siletz Reservation. He lived a long life and carried the memory of many historical, cultural and linguistic details to pass on to the next generations and to share with the many anthropologists who interviewed him from the 1880's to the 1940's).

Videos:

Both available through the Public Information Dept of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Siletz, Oregon (800) 922-1399 ext 291

"The People Are Dancing Again" remastered from the original 1976 film

(made as a public relations film to introduce the Siletz people to the public and to promote support of the Siletz people's restoration as a federally recognized tribe. The film aided in the Siletz Restoration Act being passed by Congress and signed into Law in November 1977).

"Skookum Tillicum : The Strong People of Siletz"
By: the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, 2002
Produced by: Pacific Media Productions, Newport, Oregon: Dave and Julia Terry

(A 34 minute introduction to the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, its history, culture and contemporary challenges resulting from bad federal policy applied to the Siletz Reservation since it was established in 1855. This film is intended to correct many mis-conceptions about the Siletz Tribes and Western Oregon Tribal history generally. It is a strong statement of identity from the Siletz Tribal perspective).

Other Resources:

Microfilmed copies of the handwritten "Oregon Superintendency of Indian Affairs - letters sent and letters received",  "Siletz Agency Records and Correspondence", "Alsea Subagency records and Correspondence," etc., etc. We also have a good amount of historical documents, reports, etc. as well as large amounts of anthropological fieldnotes recorded in Siletz and around western Oregon by JP Harrington, Homer Barnett, Frachtenburg, Waterman, Drucker, Dorsey, etc., etc., etc. These can be seen only by calling ahead of time and making an appointment with me. Please give me as much advance request time as possible.