UMPQUA

The Umpqua are sometimes referred to as the Upper Umpqua to distinguish them from the Kuitsh, known also as the Lower Umpqua. An Athapascan-speaking people, the Umpqua lived along the upper Umpqua River in present-day southwestern Oregon; the Kuitsh, a Yakonan-speaking people, like the YAQUINA, lived along the lower Umpqua. The name Umpqua, pronounced UMP-quaw, possibly means “thunder” or “high and low water.

The Umpqua were among those ATHAPASCANS who broke off from kin in present-day northwestern Canada and migrated southward, settling on or near the Pacific coast. They are generally classified in the Northwest Coast Culture (see NORTHWEST COAST Indians). They made use of cedar for building homes; the Umpqua homes were built over a circular pit, whereas other Athapascans in the region, such as the HUPA to the south (who are classified among CALIFOR NIA INDIANS), used a square pit. Summer homes had woven mats of skins for coverings. The Umpqua depended on salmon as a staple food, as well as elk, deer, and smaller game and acorns, berries, and other wild plant foods.

From 1836 to 1852, the Hudson’s Bay Company was active at Fort Umpqua. The Umpqua, although only playing a minor role in the fur trade, frequented the post. During the same period, increasing numbers of non-Indians settled in Oregon, and the Native peoples suffered from a series of epidemics. During and after the Rogue River War of 1855-56, involving the TAKELMA and other tribes, many Oregon Indians were rounded up and sent to reservations. Most Athapascans were placed on the Siletz Reservation in northwestern Oregon. The Umpqua became part of the Grande Ronde Indian Community even farther to the north. Some managed to stay in their ancestral homeland. In 1982, their descendants, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe, also called the Nahankhuotana, were recognized by the federal government. They are based at Roseburg.