Land area
Land of the Umpqua (Cow Creek band) in Oregon, ceded 1853 (area 313)
- 1853
Ceded to the United States
By Umpqua (Cow Creek Band) at Cow Creek, Umpqua Valley, Oregon Territory (1853)
In the record
Ceded by the Cow Creek band of Umpqua in 1853, land in Oregon, while they kept a temporary reserve. The area covers about 404 thousand acres in what is now Oregon.
The 1899 record names Umpqua as the people of this land.
How it was taken: a treaty or agreement. The OSU treaty text records a negotiated cession with a temporary reserve and payments; the Siletz history does not describe the Cow Creek council, so no coercion is claimed.
Today, Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians carry the history of the people named here.
Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.
Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
- Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
- Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
- Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
- Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Working with these nations
- Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Nation government Rocky Shores parcel near Yachats (about 7 acres, purchase pending as of Oct 2026)
- McKenzie River Trust Allied land trust Brokered and fundraised for Rocky Shores parcel near Yachats (about 7 acres, pending as of Oct 2026)
Land return and Native-led work nearby
- Indigenous Land Relationship Fund (Oregon Land Justice Project / Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts), allied host Native-led Funds Indigenous-led projects to reclaim and reconnect to land and First Foods in Oregon Give on their site Website
- Na'ah Illahee Fund Native-led Indigenous-led regranting for Land Back (building on E'lip Tilikum Land Conservancy), land and water protection,… Give on their site Website
- Potlatch Fund Native-led Native philanthropy and grantmaking to Native individuals and Native-led organizations Give on their site Website
- Western Rivers Conservancy Allied land trust Buys river land and transfers to tribes (Blue Creek 47,097 acres to Yurok; Adler Ranch 1,199 acres to Esselen) Give on their site Website
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Nations named for this land 1, matched by the Forest Service, under review
- Umpquasuggested
Agreements recorded for this land 1
Located in 1
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1853-09-19primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1853-09-19primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Oregon 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
- USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work
The record’s fields
- Area number in the 1899 record
- 313
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1853-09-19
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Umpqua (Cow Creek band)
- States
- OR
- Counties
- Douglas
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Oregon 1
- Geometry
- Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps
Research notes
geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.
- Kind
- Land area
- Confidence
- Medium