The People Are Dancing Again: The History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon

by Charles F. Wilkinson

The history of the Siletz is in many ways the history of all Indian tribes in a story of heartache, perseverance, survival, and revival. It began in a resource-rich homeland thousands of years ago and today finds a vibrant, modern community with a deeply held commitment to tradition.

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians―twenty-seven tribes speaking at least ten languages―were brought together on the Oregon Coast through treaties with the federal government in 1853–55. For decades after, the Siletz people lost many traditional customs, saw their languages almost wiped out, and experienced poverty, killing diseases, and humiliation. Again and again, the federal government took great chunks of the magnificent, timber-rich tribal homeland, a reservation of 1.1 million acres reaching a full 100 miles north to south on the Oregon Coast. By 1956, the tribe had been “terminated” under the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act, selling off the remaining land, cutting off federal health and education benefits, and denying tribal status. Poverty worsened, and the sense of cultural loss deepened.

The Siletz people refused to give in. In 1977, after years of work and appeals to Congress, they became the second tribe in the nation to have its federal status, its treaty rights, and its sovereignty restored. Hand-in-glove with this federal recognition of the tribe has come a recovery of some land--several hundred acres near Siletz and 9,000 acres of forest--and a profound cultural revival.

This remarkable account, written by one of the nation’s most respected experts in tribal law and history, is rich in Indian voices and grounded in extensive research that includes oral tradition and personal interviews. It is a book that not only provides a deep and beautifully written account of the history of the Siletz, but reaches beyond region and tribe to tell a story that will inform the way all of us think about the past.

Watch the book

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Native American History, Native Americans, Native American

580 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2010

Reviews

[Caseyfast · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived in Siletz, Oregon, as a boy, and remember classmates talking about the horror of their parents' resettlement onto the reservation. Hoxie Simons, Archie Ben, Robert Rilatos and others whose pictures are in the book, are folks I knew. Wilkinson tells their stories clearly, how gradually speculators, politicians, Indian Agents, logging/fishing interests and public apathy to the Indians' plight steadily carved away pieces of the reservation.

Most Oregonians do not know how Natives of the Willamette Valley mostly died out from diseases brought by the settlers. Nor do they know that Natives from Southern Oregon were forcibly moved to Siletz, despite their unfamiliarity with the weather, culture and survival requirements of that place.

I am sorry to say I have benefitted from the great losses endured by Oregon Native Americans. I owe them an apology and gratitude.

[Jackalacka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled onto this book by accident and because I grew up next door to Siletz and had a few friends from there, I thought I’d read up on the history of my childhood home, Lincoln County.
Ummm....how the hell did I not know that Lincoln City, Newport, Waldport, etc were all reservation land at one time?!
The US government created a reservation and forced multiple Oregon tribes to move to the coast and said they all had to live there together even though they didn’t speak the same language. Then then years later took it all away once whites found out how amazing the coast is. I’m pissed at how ignorant our community was and probably still is.

[Reiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library after becoming interested in the Native peoples who have long-inhabited the state I live in. The Siletz people have lived near the Oregon coast long before the first European settlers arrived in the area. This book gives a detailed the history of a people who survived through brutal acts of war and relocation along the Oregon coast. Their story after the arrival of settlers is a sad one, but it is also inspiring to read about a people who have been so resilient, especially in recent years. I especially enjoyed reading about what the Siletz are doing now to preserve their culture, including their dances and basket weaving. This book has forever changed what I think about when I hear people admiring the early pioneers on the Oregon Trail.

[Debra Lumbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written excellent story about the history of the Siletz tribe in Oregon. Resilience after shameful treatment by white colonialism. One of many such instances in the US

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We think of our ancestors, of what they went through. Their tracks are still in the sand, their breath still in the air, their hope still in our hearts." p386

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book varied in tone some, starting out fairly dry and academic, and then becoming much more enthusiastic, though perhaps not as well organized. I would say that the middle sections were strongest in terms of getting good solid information.

However, given the material, it is natural that the coverage of the prehistory would be drier, that as we move into firsthand accounts and records that it becomes more compelling, and that as we move into the legal fight to get the tribe restored, and what has happened since, that the author, one of the lawyers who worked on the case, would start feeling everything more, and that it would be more personal.

In addition, there ended up being a lot that is personal to me. I have been to many of these places, and I remember being aware of some of these things as they happened. The names are familiar, and it does make the story resonate more.

In terms of contribution to Native American history, some things about this book are invaluable. I would say that includes the count of their Trail of Tears, and also that we can see the termination and restoration of a tribe, with a feeling of optimism at the resolution. That is very worthwhile.

[John Mercurio · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it started out slow and a bit dry, once I got into the book, it turned into an excellent history of the Siletz people and their relations with the federal government and the state of Oregon. It does a wonderful job of showing the evolution of policy from removal and extermination to assimilation to termination to, finally, restoration and self-governance. I plan on using this text as a resource for my American government class. It is a good read, and worth the time.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew very little about the history of these people prior to reading this book and I think I'm more informed than most about Northwest Indians. A truly shameful part of our history and an inspirational story of resilience. An important book about Oregon's history.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an alright book. It was an easy read. My real problem was that I have heard the basics all before. It did at least tie these basics to the story line of a specific tribe though.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, well researched. Accessible for the layperson.