The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, known to the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

(BIA) as the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians of Oregon is a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

based in

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is the most populous city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Oregon. It is located in the Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 at the 2020 census, making it the principal city of th ...

, United States. The tribe takes its name from Cow Creek, a tributary of the South Umpqua River.

History

Origins

The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians are descended from several different historical tribal entities, including Upper Umpqua Targunsans, Milwaletas, Takelmas, and possibly some Southern Molallas.Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown, ''A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest.'' Revised paperback edition. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992; pg. 66. The Cow Creek band were seasonally migratory, making use of permanent winter encampments and moving villages in pursuit of food sources during the warmer months. In October 1855, the Rogue River War erupted in the area and the peoples of the Cow Creek Band fled for safety in the hills, joining others there who similarly faced removal from their traditional homeland for concentration on the Grand Ronde Reservation located to the north.Ruby and Brown, ''A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest,'' pg. 67. This relocation proved inevitable however, and in January 1856 the bulk of the Cow Creek Band was moved to Grand Ronde, many forced to walk beside the inadequate 8 wagons appropriated for the move. Some refused to leave, however, with half the Milwaleta people dying of starvation and exposure when they remained in the hills. Several indigenous people were shot during armed forays into the hills in search of stragglers. The mountainous terrain near today's Canyonville provided cover for some, however, and efforts in May 1856 by Oregon Indian Agent James P. Day and in 1860 by the re-activaed

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

failed to round up remaining members of the Cow Creek Band.Ruby and Brown, ''A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest,'' pg. 68. The tribe survived by intermarrying with

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

fur trappers. https://www.cowcreek-nsn.gov/tribal-story/tribal-story-contact/

Claims

In 1910, the Cow Creek Band made its first attempt to regain a portion of its homeland through the legislative process. A bill was passed to compensate the tribe in 1932, only to be vetoed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

. Litigation commenced in 1936, with the Band in the case ''Rogue River Tribe of Indians v. United States'' (64 F. Supp. 339, Ct. Cl.). A second hearing was held four years later (89 F. Supp. 789, Ct. Cl.). Only two of the 17 tribes participating in these cases were successful, however, and the claim of the Cow Creek Band was dismissed. Decades of litigation followed, marked by a series of legal defeats based on aspects of the law surrounding the

Indian Claims Commission The Indian Claims Commission (ICC) was a judicial relations arbiter between the United States federal government and Native American tribes. It was established under the Indian Claims Act of 1946 by the United States Congress to hear any longstandin ...

. This was reversed on May 26, 1980, however, when the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

passed legislation paving the way for a lawsuit against the government on the basis that the amount paid by the federal government for tribal lands was unconscionably low. On December 29, 1982, an act of Congress granted the Cow Creek Tribal recognition.

The Cow Creek Band today

In the 21st century, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians is one of nine federally recognized tribal governments in Oregon and includes over 1400 members."Cow Creek Story,"
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians official website, www.cowcreek-nsn.gov/ Among the economic ventures of the Cow Creek Band is the Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort, located at Canyonville, Oregon.

Footnotes

External links

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
(official website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Umpqua Tribe Of Indians, Cow Creek Band 1853 establishments in Oregon Territory Canyonville, Oregon Federally recognized tribes in the United States