Indigenous Peoples of Oregon

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United States

American Indian Research

Oregon

Indigenous Peoples of Oregon

Tribes and Bands of Oregon

The following list of American Indians who have lived in Oregon has been compiled from Hodge's Handbook of American Indians... and from Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America. Some may simply be variant spellings for the same tribe.

Ahantchuyuk, Alsea, Atfalati, Bannock, Cayuse, Chastacosta, Chelamela, Chepenafa, Chetco, Clackamas, Clatskanie, Clatsop, Clowwewalla, Coquille, Dakubetede, Hanis, Kalapuya, Klamath, Kuitsh, Latgawa, Lohim, Luckiamute, Lakmiut, Miluk, Mishikhwutmetunne, Modoc, Molala, Multnomah, Nez Perce, Paiute (Northern), Santiam, Shasta, Siletz, Siuslaw, Skilloot, Snake, Takelma, Taltushtuntude, Tenino, Tillamook, Tututni, Tyigh, Umatilla, Umpqua, Wallawalla, Walpapi, Wasco (Wascopum), Watlala, Yahuskin, Yamel, Yaquina, Yoncalla

Confederation Tribes:

• Burns Paiute Tribe
• Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
• Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
• Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
• Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
• Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
• Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes

Agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value were created by these offices.

The following list of agencies that have operated or now exist in Oregon has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians, and others.

• Chiloquin Sub-Agency
• Grand Ronde Agency
• Grand Ronde - Siletz Agency
• Klamath Agency 
• Malheur Agency
• Northern Idaho Agency
• Port Orford Agency
• Rogue River Agency
• Roseburg, Greenville, and Tule River Agencies (See also California)
• Siletz Agency, P.O. Box 539, Siletz, OR 97380
• Southeastern District Agency
• Umatilla Agency, P.O. Box 520, Pendelton, OR 97801
• Warm Springs Agency, P.O.Box 1239, Warm Springs, OR 97761

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• Vital records

History

Oregon Indians Voices from Two Centuries. FHL Book 970.1 B388o

Allotment Records

Allotted Tribes of Oregon

•Burns Paiute Reservation, Grande Ronde Reservation, Klamath, North Section Allottees, Siletz, Umatilla, Warm Springs •Klamath, Yakima

Indian Schools

The Office of Indian Affairs (now the Bureau of Indian Affairs) established a network of schools throughout the United States, beginning with Carlisle Indian School, established in 1879. Some of these schools were day schools, usually focusing on Indian children of a single tribe or reservation. Some were boarding schools which served Indian children from a number of tribes and reservations.

In addition, other groups such as various church denominations established schools specifically focusing on American Indian children. (read more...)

The following list of Indian Schools in Oregon has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians, and others.

• Chemawa Indian School FHL film 1028472
• Salem School
• Siletz School
• Warm Springs School

Reservations

From the mid-1800s, the official policy of the United States government toward the American Indian was to confine each tribe to a specific parcel of land called a reservation. Agencies were established on or near each reservation. A government representative, usually called an agent (or superintendent) was assigned to each agency. Their duties included maintaining the peace, making payments to the Native Americans based on the stipulations of the treaties with each tribe, and providing a means of communication between the native population and the federal government.

Sometimes, a single agency had jurisdiction over more than one reservation. And sometimes, if the tribal population and land area required it, an agency may have included sub-agencies.

The boundaries of reservations, over time, have changed. Usually, that means the reservations have been reduced in size. Sometimes, especially during the later policy of "termination," the official status of reservations was ended altogether.

For a current reservation map see the Oregon - Indian Reservations- The National Atlas of the United States of America. Federal Lands and Indian Reservations by the U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Geological Survey.

The following list of reservations has been compiled from the National Atlas of the United States of America, the Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America, and other sources. Those reservations named in bold are current federally-recognized reservations, with their associated agency and tribe(s). Others have historically been associated with the state or are not currently recognized by the federal government.

• Burns Paiute Reservation
• Celilo Village
• Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Reservation
• Coquille Indian Tribal Community
• Cow Creek
• Fort McDermitt Reservation
• Grand Ronde Reservation
• Klamath Reservation
• Malheur Reservation
• Siletz Reservation Federal /State, under the jurisdiction of Siletz Agency
• Umatilla Reservation: Federal, under the jurisdiction of Umatilla Agency, Tribes: Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla
• Warm Springs Reservation Federal, under the jurisdiction of Warm Springs Agency, Tribes: Warm Springs, Northern Paiute, and Wasco

Agency Records

The records are various and covers many different type of records such as births, marriages, deaths, land allotments, school records.

Census Records

Film #	Years Covered	Agency	Specifics
FHL film 1025313	1901-1950	Grand Ronde-Siletz	Contains registers of Indian families, 1901-1902, 1922-1927, 1940; census rolls, 1932-1945, 1950.
FHL film 1021379 item 5	1916-1925	Warm Springs	School census and related information
FHL film1021383 item 1	1880-1934	Warm Springs	Census 1880, 1882, 1915, 1934
FHL film 1021384 item 9	1897-1946	Warm Springs	Burns census (of Paiutes)
FHL film 1023185 item 2	1926-1944	Warm Springs	School census
FHL film 1022004	1920-1924, 1927	Umatilla	Umatilla Agency census
FHL film 576913 items 13-14	1892-1893	Klamath	Census for Klamath Indians in the Klamath Agency at Klamath, Oregon, 1892-1893
FHL film 576913 item 18	1896	Klamath	Census for Klamath Indians in the Klamath Agency at Klamath, Oregon, 1896
FHL film 576913 item 4	1886	Klamath	Census for Klamath, Modoc Indians in the Klamath Agency at Klamath Oregon, 1886
FHL film 576913 item 6-7	1887-1888	Klamath	Census for Klamath, Modoc Indians in the Klamath Agency at Klamath Oregon, 187-1888
FHL film 576913 item 10	1889	Klamath	Census for Klamath, Modoc Indians in the Klamath Agency at Klamath Oregon, 1889

• A useful guide is Charles E. McChesney, Rolls of Certain Indian Tribes in Oregon and Washington (Fairfield, Washington: Ye Galleon Press, l969) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 970.1 R659.

Military Records

Schwartz, E. A,. The Rouge River Indian War and Its Aftermath, 1850-1980. Norman, Ok: University of Oklahoma Press. c1997. FHL book 970.1Sch95r WorldCat

School Records

• Jesuits Mission 1853-1960 FHL film 1671639 (first of 34 films) (covering eastern Washington, northern Idaho, western Montana and northeast Oregon)

• Chemawa Indian School 1883-1947 FHL film 1028472 (first film) (based in Salem, Oregon)

Family History Library

The Family History Library has histories of the various tribes that have lived in Oregon. The library also has microfilm copies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' records of births, marriages, deaths, censuses, schools, land allotments, and heirships. In general, these are for 1877 to 1952 and include records of the Chemawa Indian School, Grand Ronde-Siletz and Klamath agencies and the Portland Area Office. The original documents are at the National Archives—Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle) and their internet site.See also the FamilySearch Catalog Oregon Native Races.

• Of special value are the Family Index Cards, 1938-1950 from the Portland Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs FHL film 1028470 item 4 to 1028471 and Family History and Medical Data, 1904-1937 from the Klamath Agency FHL film 1028454 item 2 to 1028455.

• Territorial Papers of Oregon 1848-1907, 12 films M1049, 1st film FHL film 1695681

• Department of Interior 1849-1907 FHL film 1695733

• Office of Indian Affairs Oregon Superintendency 1848-1873 FHL film 1617787 (first of 29 films)

• Oregon Superintendency 1842-1880

• Indians of Oregon Bibliography,1966-1983. by Betty Book. FHL Book 970.1 B639i WorldCat

• Other records may be found in the FamilySearch Catalog in the "Subject" Search using the name of the tribe, or in the Place-names Search of the Catalog under the name of the state and various subjects, such as PROBATE RECORDS and LAND AND PROPERTY.

Internet

• Oregon Indian Tribes at accessgenealogy.com

• Oregon's Indian Tribes at Oregon Blue Book

• Oregon Tribes at 500 Nations Includes address of tribal offices.

• Other website may be located by using a search engine with key words such as "Indians Tribes Oregon".

Articles

Church records for a list of missions

History for a calendar of events

Military for a list of forts

References

Bibliography

• "Accompanying Pamphlet for Microcopy 1011", National Archives Microfilm Publications, Appendix.
• American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998.
• Hill, Edward E. (comp.). Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981.
• Hill, Edward E. The Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880: Historical Sketches. New York, New York: Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc., 1974.
• Historical Sketches for Jurisdictional and Subject Headings Used for the Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880. National Archives Microcopy T1105.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington D.C.:Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #30 1907. Available online.
• Isaacs. Katherine M., editor. Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America. U.S. Data Sourcebook, Volume 11 Appendices, Bureau of Indian Affairs List of American Indian Reservations, Appendix E, Indian Reservations. Omnigraphics, Inc., 1991.
• National Atlas of the United States of America -- Federal Lands and Indian Reservations Available online.
• Preliminary Inventory No. 163: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Services. Available online
• Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.

Family History Library