The Alsea are a Native American tribe of Western

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. They are (since 1856), confederated with other Tribes on the Siletz Reservation, Oregon, and are members of the

Confederated Tribes of Siletz The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the United States is a federally recognized confederation of more than 27 Native American tribes and bands who once inhabited an extensive homeland of more than 20 million acres from northern Califo ...

. Their origin story says that the Yaquina, Alsea, Yachats, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw people are all one tribe, and speak the same language. Today however, the Yakonan language branch is divided into Alsean and Siuslawan. The Alsean people (Yaquina/Alsea/Yachats) all practiced forehead flattening (by slight pressure applied in baby's

cradleboard Cradleboards (, , , , , Kazakh: ''бесік'', Kyrgyz: ''бешік'') are traditional protective baby-carriers used by many indigenous cultures in North America, throughout northern Scandinavia among the Sámi, and in the traditionally noma ...

) until about 1860. The Alsea signed the 1855 Coast Treaty, agreeing to share their homelands with other Tribes when the Siletz Reservation was to be established, the treaty not being ratified by the U.S. Senate, the appropriations never arrived. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, represented Tillamook, Yaquina, Alsea, Coquille, Tututni, Chetco aboriginal title compensation claims in the 1940s–50s. The lawsuit “Alsea Band of Tillamooks et al vs the United States”. The confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians won that case, and some compensation was received about 1959.

Name

The name "Alsea" comes from ''/alsíiya/'', the name applied to the Alseas by their neighbors, the Tillamook and Coos peoples. ''Kûnis'tûnne'' is their Chastacosta name. ''Päifan amím'' is their Luckiamute Kalapuya name. ''Si ni'-te-li tunne'' is their Naltunne name, meaning "flatheads." ''Tcha yáxo amim'' is their Luckiamute Kalapuya name. ''Tehayesátlu'' is their Nestucca name.

Geography

The Alsea lived on the western coast of Oregon, around what is now Alsea Bay at the mouth of the

Alsea River The Alsea River flows from Alsea, Oregon, Alsea, an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the coastal mountains of the U.S. state of Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean near the city of Waldport, Oregon, Waldport. It begins at the confluenc ...

Villages

Alsea villages include: *Chiink, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Kakhtshanwaish, on the north side of the Alsea River. *Kalbusht, on the lower course of the Alsea River. *Kauhuk, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Kaukhwan, on the north side of the Alsea River at Beaver Creek. *Khlimkwaish, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Khlokhwaiyutslu, on the north side of the Alsea River. *Kutauwa, on the north side of the Alsea River at its mouth. *Kwamk, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Kwulisit, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Kyamaisu, on the north side of the Alsea River at its mouth. *Panit, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Shiuwauk, on the north side of the Alsea River. *Skhakhwaiyutslu, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Tachuwit, on the north side of the Alsea River. *Thlekuhweyuk, on the south side of the Alsea River. *Thlekushauk, on the south side of the Alsea River.

John R. Swanton John Reed Swanton (February 19, 1873 – May 2, 1958) was an American anthropologist, folklorist, and linguist who worked with Native American peoples throughout the United States. Swanton achieved recognition in the fields of ethnology and ethn ...

wrote the following in his 1953 book ''The Indian Tribes of North America:'' "Mooney (1928) estimates the number of Indians belonging to the Yakonan stock at 6,000 in 1780. The census of 1910 returned 29 Indians under this name, and that of 1930 only 9 under the entire Yakonan stock."

Culture

The Alsea hunted seals and sea lions, fished for

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

, and gathered camas roots. Like many tribes in the area, they flattened the heads of infants. They placed their dead in

canoes A canoe is a lightweight, narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ''canoe'' ca ...

on isolated land jutting into

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

Language

Alsea was an Alsean language very closely related to Yaquina. By 1910, it was almost

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

, with fewer than six people having a speaking knowledge of the language.

Religion

Very little is known about Alsea religion. It is thought to be similar to that of the Coos. Alsea shamans promoted good salmon runs and the Alsea appealed to animal spirits and powers in nature for aid.

Arts

The Alsea wore robes of seal skin, wove baskets, and made grass raincoats.