Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians

Confederated Tribes of the
Coos, Lower Umpqua and
Siuslaw Indians of Oregon
Drawing of an Umpqua man
Total population
526 (1990s)[1]
Regions with significant populations
 United States( Oregon)
Languages
English, formerly Coos,[2] Siuslaw,[3] and Kuitsh (Lower Umpqua)[1]
Religion
Traditional Tribal Religion
Related ethnic groups
Other Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw people

The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians of Oregon are a federally recognized Native American tribe of Hanis Coos, Miluk Coos, Lower Umpqua (or Kuitsh), and Siuslaw people in Oregon.[4]

Lands

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The service area of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians include lands a five-county area spanning Coos, Curry, Lincoln, Douglas, and Lane Counties.[4]

Government

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Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians

The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians are headquartered in Coos Bay, Oregon. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected general council, serving four-year terms. The tribal chief serves ten-year terms. The current tribal government leadership is as follows:

  • Chief: Warren Brainard
  • Chairman: Mark Ingersoll
  • Vice-Chair: Teresa Spangler
  • Councilperson: Doc Slyter
  • Councilperson: Beverly (Beaver) Bowen
  • Councilperson: Tara Bowen
  • Councilperson: Arron McNutt[5]

Languages

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Members of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw speak English. Formerly they spoke the Coos language and Siuslaw language (Siuslaw and Kuitsh dialects), which is a language isolate.[3] The tribe runs a language program to revive Coos and Siuslaw.[2]

Economic development

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The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw owns and operates:

History

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The tribes did not have contact with Europeans until 1792. In 1828, Lower Umpqua (Kuitsh) people massacred members of the Jedediah Smith Party and attacked the Hudson's Bay Company's fort in 1838.[1] Most of their population died in the epidemics which followed European contact.[7]

In 1860 the remnants of these and other tribes were forced onto the Siletz Reservation. The reservation was split into three parts, with one section being opened to non-native settlement and another becoming the Alsea Reservation, which was opened to non-native settlement in 1875.[8]

The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw formally organized in 1916.[8] They adopted their first constitution in 1938[9] and ratified their current constitution in 1987.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Pritzker 172
  2. ^ a b "Coos." Ethnologue. Retrieved 8 Sept 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Siulaw." Ethnologue. Retrieved 8 Sept 2013.
  4. ^ a b "About Us." Archived 20 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. 2013. Retrieved 8 Sept 2013.
  5. ^ "Tribal Council". Archived from the original on 18 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Three Rivers Casino & Hotel." 500 Nations. Retrieved 8 Sept 2013.
  7. ^ Boyd, Robert Thomas (1999). The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence: Introduced Infectious Diseases and Population Decline Among Northwest Coast Indians, 1774-1874. UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0755-5.
  8. ^ a b Pritzker 173
  9. ^ Pritzker 174

References

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  • Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1
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