In the 1850s, South Coast Indian tribes were in no position to bargain. European diseases had ravaged their populations. Their ancestral homelands stood in the path of white settlers’ relentless march. Three tribes — the Coos, Siuslaw and Lower Umpqua — signed a treaty surrendering 1.6 million acres in return for various promises. The result was a shameful history of betrayal, exile, imprisonment and neglect that all but extinguished the tribes. Given that record, a proposal to return a tiny fraction of the tribes’ traditional holdings deserves a favorable reception from Congress.Get the Story:
Editorial: Justice and opportunity (The Coos Bay World 3/25) Related Stories:
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