Coos
The Coos tribe, located in the Coos Bay area of southwestern Oregon, is part of the Northwest Coast culture area and consists primarily of the Miluk and Hanis communities. Historically, the Coos people inhabited a rich estuarine environment, which provided abundant resources for their sustenance. The tribe speaks dialects from the Kusan language, related to the Macro-Penutian language family, and shares cultural ties with neighboring groups like the Alsea and Siuslaw.
The Coos faced significant challenges following indirect contact with white settlers in the late 19th century, leading to their forced relocation to a reservation on the Siletz River. Despite these hardships, they formed the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians in 1855, which remains a recognized Indigenous nation in the United States. This confederation operates various businesses, provides community services, and advocates for the rights of its members, particularly concerning land management and environmental issues. The Coos tribe is dedicated to preserving its language, culture, and traditions while adapting to contemporary challenges and community needs.
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Coos
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northwest Coast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Coos
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Coos Bay, Oregon
- POPULATION SIZE: 274 of Coos ancestry (2000 Decennial Census American Indian and Alaska Native Demographic Profile); 1,314 in Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (2023 Oregon Blue Book)
The Coos tribe of the Northwest Coast culture area is a small estuarine community living in the Coos Bay area of southwestern Oregon. The words “Coos,” “Coosan,” and “Kusan” are of uncertain origins but might have originated with a word in their native tongue, Kusan (Coos language), described as a dialect of the Macro-Penutian language spoken by several tribes of possible Yakonan stock in southern Oregon and northern California.
The Coos's culture, composed primarily of the Miluk and Hanis communities, lived exclusively around Coos Bay, Oregon, and upriver along its tributaries. Two other related groups were the Alsea and the Siuslaw. These four groups shared territories covering parts of present-day Coos County. The name the people used for themselves was Miluk-Hanis. The Coos were four communities who spoke related dialects of a source tongue and shared an estuarine environment.
Western Coos County was home to the Coos peoples from Ten Mile Lake to the north to the south bank of the Coquille River and from two miles offshore inland to the crest of the Coast Range Mountains. The Miluk occupied the Coquille's north shore and ranged up Cape Arago's headlands from Coos Head to the place on the bay now known as Tar Heel Point. The Hanis resided on the bay's south side and up the estuary, from just south of the town of Empire to the downtown area of present-day North Bend.
The four branches of the Coos family lived peaceably together in a rich ecosystem. As a unit, they are often grouped with several other cultural units to the north, usually categorized by language affiliation or genetic stock, such as their ancestors from the Yakonan language family, who remain as the Alsea, Kuitish, Siuslaw, Umpqua, and Yaquina. To the south are the distantly related language groups and cultures of the Klamath Basin Culture Area. The Coos say they are not necessarily related to the riverine peoples to the north and south.
Indirect contact with the White settlers came in 1828. It is estimated that about two thousand people lived around Coos Bay at that time. White settlement of the bay area commenced in the late 1840s. The Coos did not fight; they tried to make treaties but were rapidly overwhelmed.
In 1855, they joined with the Lower Umpqua and the Siuslaw to form the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. At about that time, they were forced to move to a reservation on the Siletz River. They did not return for many years to their homeland, which was taken over by White settlers during their absence. The confederation endured and is recognized as an Indigenous nation by the United States government.
The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw is run by a democratically elected general council. They operate three businesses: Three Rivers Resort, Three Rivers Casino, and Blue Earth Services and Technology. The tribe provides services to its members, including youth and education programs, celebrations, and language lessons. They remain active in hunting and fishing rights and land management. The tribe filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to stop a wind energy lease auction, demanding further research into the environmental impacts of wind energy. The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw continue to adapt to meet the needs of its members by conducting studies to analyze demographic data and address the socioeconomic needs of its people. They seek to preserve their culture, language, and religion while continuing to grow as a community.
Bibliography
Beers, Jesse. "Abundance StoryMap." Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, ctclusi.org/abundance-storymap. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.
"Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI)." Oregon Blue Book, sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/national-tribes-coos.aspx. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.
"History." Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, ctclusi.org/history. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.
Samayoa, Monica. "Tribes File Lawsuit To Delay Southern Oregon Floating Offshore Wind Auction." Oregon Public Broadcasting, 16 Sept. 2024, www.opb.org/article/2024/09/16/tribes-file-lawsuit-delay-southern-oregon-floating-offshore-wind-auction. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.
"2000: DEC American Indian and Alaska Native Demographic Profile." US Census Bureau, 2000, https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDPAIAN2000.DP1?q=coos. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.