Indigenous Peoples of Oregon

United States Oregon  American Indian Research  Indians_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

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
 * 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
 * Malheur Reservation
 * Siletz Reservation Federal /State, under the jurisdiction of Siletz Agency
 * [[Umatilla Indian Reservation (Oregon)|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

See Also:
Oregon- Church for a list of missions

Oregon-History for a calendar of events

Oregon- Military for a list of forts

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.


 * Of special value are the Family Index Cards, 1938-1950 from the Portland Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Family History and Medical Data, 1904-1937 from the Klamath Agency (


 * A useful guide is Charles E. McChesney, Rolls of Certain Indian Tribes in Oregon and Washington (Fairfield, Washington: Ye Galleon Press, l969) ;


 * Jesuits Mission 1853-1960, 34 films, 1st film 1671639] (covering eastern Washington, northern Idaho, western Montana and northeast Oregon)


 * Chemawa Indian School 1883-1947, 1st film 1028472] (based in Salem, Oregon)


 * Territorial Papers of Oregon 1848-1907, 12 films M1049, 1st film 1695681]


 * Department of Interior 1849-1907, 10 films M0814, 1st film 1695733]


 * Office of Indian Affairs Oregon Superintendency 1848-1873, 29 films, 1st film 1617787]


 * Oregon Superintendency 1842-1880

Other records are also listed in the Subject Search of the Family History Library Catalog under the name of the tribe or in the Place Search of the catalog under the name of the state and various subjects, such as PROBATE RECORDS and LAND AND PROPERTY.

Records available on the internet can be located by using a search engine with key words such as "Indians Tribes Oregon".

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