Umpqua

• CATEGORY: Tribe
• CULTURE AREA: Northwest Coast
• LANGUAGE GROUPS: Athabaskan, Penutian
• PRIMARY LOCATION: Southwestern Oregon
• POPULATION SIZE: 605 (2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Table: Umpqua tribal grouping alone)

The Umpqua people of the Northwest Coast culture area have traditionally lived along the Umpqua River of southwestern Oregon. The river flows from the Cascade Mountain Range in eastern Oregon to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The terrain through which it flows is mostly mountainous. The environments along its shores are varied, from cool, dry, upland coniferous forests in the east to lush, temperate-zone rain forests near the sea.

There are two fairly distinct Umpqua subgroups, the Upper Umpqua and Lower Umpqua. The people who live along the upper Umpqua River are most likely of Athabaskan origin, whereas the people of the lower river are likely more closely related to other Penutian speakers of Yakonan stock. These assertions are disputed by some. Many Umpqua people believe they originated in their traditional homeland. The dividing point between the upper and lower areas of the river is commonly considered to be the town of Scottsburg.

Before White contact in the early nineteenth century, the Umpqua lived relatively solitary lives, hunting, gathering, and fishing. They would join with their neighbors, the Siuslaw to the north and the Coos to the south, for common defense and occasional potlatches.

After contact with White settlers, the Umpqua were pushed toward the margins of their homeland and then placed on the Siletz reservation in the 1850s. The Lower Umpqua joined in political confederation and formed the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, which gained federal recognition in 1984. In the twenty-first century, the nation focuses on economic development, natural resource management, and cultural preservation. In 2024, the nation voiced its opposition to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's proposed wind energy projects.

The Upper Umpqua fought for their land and sovereignty and, in 1982, were recognized as the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians of Oregon by the US government. The nation’s governing body, the Tribal Board of Directors, has its offices in Roseburg, Oregon. In the twenty-first century, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians participates in cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and economic development.

Both nations provide services for their members, which are funded through successful gaming enterprises, among other business ventures. Into the mid-2020s, the US Census Bureau reported over 600 individuals with Umpqua heritage alone. However, there are believed to be many additional descendants of the Umpqua. 

Bibliography

Beck, David. Seeking Recognition: The Termination and Restoration of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, 1855–1984. University of Nebraska Press, 2009.

“Companies Back Away from Oregon Floating Offshore Wind Project as Opposition Grows.” Associate Press, 26 Sept. 2024, apnews.com/article/wind-energy-renewable-energy-floating-wind-304b5520fd9c80245f728b7ee5bfffee. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

"History." Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, ctclusi.org/history/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

"My Tribal Area: Cow Creek Reservation, OR." US Census Bureau, www.census.gov/tribal/?aianihh=0815. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Sleeper-Smith, Susan. Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians. University of North Carolina Press, 2015.

"Tribal Story." Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, www.cowcreek-nsn.gov/tribal-story/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

“2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Table: Umpqua Tribal Grouping Alone.” US Census Bureau, data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5YAIAN2021.B01003?q=umpqua. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Whereat, Don, et al. Our Culture and History: The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. Whereat, 2011.