The Tribe and It's History

The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians is one of nine federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments in the State of Oregon. The Cow Creek Tribal Nation, located in southwestern Oregon, has nearly 1,300 members who are governed by an elected eleven member council known as the Tribal Board of Directors. The Cow Creeks have a rich history in southern Oregon that reflects hard work, perseverance and the desire to be self-reliant.

The Cow Creek Tribe is unique in that they, on September 19, 1853, were one of the first two tribes in Oregon to secure a Treaty with the United States of America. This Treaty, ratified by the U.S. Senate on April 12, 1854, established the Government-to-Government relationship between two sovereign governments. As a result of the Treaty, the Cow Creeks became a landless tribe, ceding more than 800 square miles of southwestern Oregon to the United States. The Tribe was paid 2.3 cents an acre for their land. The U.S. Government was selling that same land, through the Donation Land Claims Act, for $1.25 an acre to pioneer settlers. This Treaty between the United States Indian agent, General Joel Palmer, and the Cow Creek Indian people, had many deficiencies. Specifically, there was no understanding by the Indians of the language or the concept of signing (making their mark on) the Treaty document and further, there was no understanding by the Indians of land ownership, let alone land boundaries (hunting, fishing and gathering sites, as well as tribal composites, were well established).

The Treaty also promised health, housing and education to the Cow Creek people. However, the Treaty was ignored by the U.S. Government for nearly a century until the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act of 1954. This Act, advertised as legislation to "Set the Indians Free," caused federal relations with over 60 tribes and bands in western Oregon to cease to exist. The Cow Creek people had never received services or "recognition" since shortly after 1855. Ironically, however, they were “recognized” for the purpose of their involuntary termination in 1954.

The Cow Creeks received no prior notification of the Termination Act, as required by law, and because of that were able to obtain presidential action in 1980 to take a land claims case to the U.S. Court of Claims. The Court of Claims case was subsequently litigated by the Tribe to a negotiated settlement of $1.5 million. The Cow Creeks vested their entire judgment fund of $1.5 million in an endowment, from which they draw, on an annual basis, only the earned interest. These earnings have always been earmarked for economic development, education and housing, in order to create a higher quality of life for all Cow Creek Tribal members. As a result of legislation, which passed both houses of congress by “unanimous consent” on December 29, 1982, a “recognition” law was signed for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. This Recognition Act confirmed what Tribal members already knew for 129 years – that they were a sovereign tribal government as provided for in the Northwest Ordinance and the United States Constitution, Article I, Sec. 8, clause 3 and Article VI, Sec. 2.

Felix Cohen, author of the Tribal Handbook of Indian Law states “Perhaps the most basic principle of all Indian Law.......is that those powers which are lawfully vested in an Indian tribe are not, in general delegated powers granted by expressed acts of Congress, but rather inherent powers of a limited sovereignty, which has never been extinguished.”

The Northwest Ordinance...
Signed July 13, 1787

Excerpts from the Northwest Ordinance:

“The utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent: and in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time be made from preventing wrongs done to them and preserving peace and friendship with them.”

The United States Constitution...
Signed September 17, 1787

Article I, Section 8, clause 3, commonly referred to as the Indian commerce clause.This clause states that:
“The Congress shall have power... to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states and with Indian Tribes.”

Article VI, Section 2, states:
“This constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof and all treaties made, or shall be made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of the state to the contrary notwithstanding.”

Origins

The Cow Creeks lived between the Cascade and Coast Ranges in southwestern Oregon, along the South Umpqua River and its primary feeder stream, Cow Creek. This territory included the entire Umpqua watershed; however, the Tribe was very mobile. A vast area surrounding this watershed was known as their trade, hunting and gathering area. This area extended north into the Willamette Valley as far as the Columbia River and to the east to Crater Lake and the Klamath Marsh area. Deer and elk were abundant as were summer runs of silver salmon and winter runs of steel head. The Cow Creeks made extensive use of the huckleberry patches along the Rogue-Umpqua Divide and the hunting areas and “medicine” trees in the watershed of Jackson Creek. There was more broad usage of the South Umpqua Falls and Big Rocks for fishing and general subsistence purposes. Their homeland was one of beauty, but it also demanded work from its occupants. Cow Creek men carried their arrows in a quiver made of the entire skin of a fox or otter. Cow Creek women wove baskets of wild-hazel bark, bear grass and maidenhair fern stems.

Plant life was also an important source of food. In addition to gathering huckleberries, blackberries, and blackcaps, the Cow Creeks gathered tarweed, hazel and chinquapin nuts, wild onions, Indian lettuce, acorns, camas, mushrooms and lambs quarters.

Plants served medicinal purposes, too. Snakeweed was used for burns, cuts, and blood poisoning. Mullen leaves were steeped and made into cough syrup. Wild ginger teas cured fevers.

Cow Creek homes were designed in response to the seasons. The Cow Creeks constructed their winter houses primarily of pine boards over shallow excavations in the earth. There are records that rock shelters, with animal hides, were also used for homes.

During the salmon runs, the Cow Creeks built weirs across the streams and placed funnel-shaped basket traps made of hazel shoots in the narrow channels. According to pioneer settler, George Riddle (1851), “The salmon in great numbers would pass up by the side of the trap and, failing to get above the dam would be carried back into the open end of the trap, and the weight of the water would hold them.”

Survival

Survival for the Cow Creeks was very difficult during the 1850s. When gold was discovered, the area was flooded with miners from California who filed claims on the local rivers and streams. Hydraulic mining filled rivers with dirt and debris, destroying salmon runs. The filing for land by settlers under the Donation Land Claims Act in 1850 set the stage for increasing tensions between Indians and the newcomers. Epidemics swept through their villages, killing members of the Tribe, including their chief, Miwaleta.

Efforts were made to remove the Cow Creeks from the area to reservations in northern Oregon. Indian people were promised a wonderful life on the reservation. A young boy was sent to one of the relocation reservations to assess the condition of reservation life. He traveled during the night to avoid being captured. Once he arrived at the reservation, he was terrified by what he saw. Conditions on the reservation were deplorable. His first sight was of an infant sucking on its dead mother’s breast. Given the young scout’s information, most of the Cow Creeks resisted relocation efforts. In response to their deft avoidance of relocation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs sent exterminators to Oregon for the purpose of killing the Cow Creek people. The Cow Creeks remained in seclusion while maintaining their way of life. Eventually, many Cow Creek people married pioneers, miners and fur traders in the area. Names familiar to the south county area were Dumont, LaChance, Rainville, Pariseau, Rondeau and Thomason. Many of these names are still prevalent in the Cow Creek Tribe.

Indian Giving

The Cow Creeks have a long history of giving to the community. Their philosophy of giving and sharing was established in the earliest contacts that were made with wagon train families. History shows the Tribe shared subsistence necessities generously with the pioneers. The Cow Creek Tribe’s methods of fishing, hunting and gathering within their homeland were shared with all newcomers. Even when the Tribe had no financial resources, members shared food and shelter with those in need.

Today, the Cow Creek Tribe continues its generosity through financial support of community projects, education and schools, local government and other deserving projects that benefit family and community.

The Tribal Board of Directors supports and sponsors a wide range of projects. Schools, local festivals, camps, sports teams, community events, philanthropic organizations and many others benefit each year from the Cow Creek Tribal Board’s generosity. Many of the Tribal Board’s decisions regarding financial support are based on the fact that the Tribe places a high priority on education for the Tribe as well as other community members. Annually, the Tribal Board provides scholarships to Umpqua Community College to a deserving student from each of Douglas County’s fifteen high schools. The Tribal Board has always focused on building the strength of the community.

In 1997, the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation was established with revenues derived from the Tribal gaming operation. The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation awards grants semi-annually, and donates more than $1 million each year to Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lane Counties in southern Oregon. The focus of the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation’s giving is education, youth development and building families.

Tribal businesses play a significant role in the community through in-kind contributions to many organizations and events. Many charities hold major fundraisers in Tribal facilities at little or no cost. Organizations hold meetings in Tribal facilities without cost. Staffing, overhead, equipment support, as well as food and beverages, are frequently donated by the Tribe for these events.

The Cow Creek Tribe encourages its businesses to participate in community fundraisers. Tribal members and employees have often been the leading financial contributor to a community event. Cow Creek employees are encouraged to belong and be active in community organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.

Over the years, many organizations requiring assistance in order to make a fundraiser or idea succeed have approached the Tribe. The Cow Creek Tribe is known for its flexibility in giving.

Patriotism

Native Americans have played an active role in the military of the United States for over 200 years. From Valley Forge in the mid-1770s, to the war in Iraq in 2003, American Indians have proudly served their country. American Indians are known as strong warriors and for dedication to the defense of their country. In fact, Native Americans have served in the U.S. Armed Forces at the highest percentage of any ethnic group in the United States and hold the distinction of being the most decorated group for outstanding service in war in U.S. history.

In World War I, an estimated 12,000 American Indians served in the United States Armed Forces. This is particularly interesting given that citizenship for Native Americans was not provided until 1924 when the U.S. Congress passed the Snyder Act, which admitted all Native Americans born in the U.S. to full U.S. Citizenship. During World War II, more than 44,000 American Indians actively served in the U.S. military. Another 40,000 American Indians left the reservations and joined the war effort by going to work in various war industries.

Another example of the loyalty and courage of American Indians occurred during the Vietnam War. Of the 42,000 American Indians who fought in that war, more than 37,000 were volunteers. During the Persian Gulf War, approximately one of every three Marines was of American Indian descent.

This same allegiance of loyalty to country is present among the members of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. Throughout the history of wars and conflicts of the United States, the Cow Creeks have been well represented by their Tribal Veterans.

Today

The Cow Creeks never received the reservation their Treaty promised. Even without a reservation, the people remained in their homelands. They continued to meet and hold council as their ancestors had always done. Historical tribal documents from these meetings were instrumental in providing proof of the Cow Creek tribal ways. A more aggressive approach to restoration took place in the 1970s. Though they had no financial resources, tribal members began to energize to pursue the legal validation of what their ancestors had already known. Today, the Tribe is buying back its land and operating various business enterprises for the economic development of the Cow Creek Tribe and the communities in which they live.

The Tribal Government Office, located in Roseburg, Oregon houses not only the tribal government body and programs, but also the Cow Creek Tribal Gaming Commission and the Cow Creek Health and Wellness Center.

The tribal government is responsible for establishing the policies and procedures for the administration of tribal programs, economic development ventures and other governmental business.

The Gaming Commission is the regulatory body of the Tribe, responsible for compliance to rules and regulations as established by both the tribal government and the Tribal/State compact.

The Cow Creek Health and Wellness Center, which includes a comprehensive medical staff, is provided for the benefit of not only tribal members and their families, but also for Cow Creek Tribe employees and their families.

Visitors and Oregon natives who travel the I-5 interstate corridor cannot miss the presence of a Cow Creek business at Canyonville exits ninety-eight and ninety-nine: Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort.

Not as visible are the other businesses the Tribe owns and operates: Creative Images Media Group, Seven Feathers Truck and Travel Center, Umpqua Indian Foods, Canyonville Cubbyholes, Riverside Motel, Valley View Motel, Holiday Motel, Rio Communications, K Bar Ranch, Umpqua Indian Utility Cooperative and Umpqua Indian Development Corporation.

The Tribe is proud to be one of the largest employers in Douglas County, employing more than 1,200 people with an annual payroll of nearly $34 million. Benefits such as health insurance and retirement are provided to all employees. The Tribe puts great emphasis upon education and the development of youth, honoring the Tribe’s commitment to the Seventh Generation.