Violation
Siletz and Western Oregon: Coast Reservation reduced, tribes terminated (1954), restored (1977)
Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.
Western Oregon tribes were moved to the Siletz reservation, cut by 1875; terminated in 1954, the Siletz were restored in 1977.
- Treaty
- Rogue River treaties (1853-55); Coast Reservation by executive order (1855)
- Nations
- Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; Western Oregon tribes
- When
- 1865-1954
- Land affected
- About 900,000 acres of the Coast Reservation plus termination-era losses.
- Acreage
- about 900,000 acres removed (1865/1875); 3,660 acres restored (1980)
- Legal aftermath
- Restoration 1977/1980; small purchases continue (2026).
What happened
The Siletz tribes' own history site traces the story in steps. It lists the Western Oregon treaties of 1853 to 1855, the creation of the Coast (Siletz) Reservation, the end of the wars and removal, an "Executive Order, December 21, 1865," and "Changing Federal Policy & Reservation Reduction, 1875." It then lists the Siletz allotments in 1891 and a "Surplus Lands" "Agreement" in 1892.
A KPTV report says the people's territory "shrunk to what was supposed to be, by U.S. treaty, 1.1 million acres as a permanent home." The reservation had already been cut by then. In 1954, KPTV says, the Western Oregon Termination Act ended the tribes' federal status, and "Along with their land, their federal recognition as a tribe was also taken."
The Oregon History Project describes the 1954 policy this way: "the federal government unilaterally dissolved its relationship with certain groups that had existed since the signing of the treaties in the 1850s." It says more than half of the 109 tribes and bands terminated had ancestral homelands in Oregon.
Restoration was slow. The Oregon History Project says a tribe had to find a champion in Congress and prove it had been a tribe continuously since before white contact. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians was restored to tribal status in 1977 and received a 3,730-acre reservation in 1980. That is small beside the 1.1 million acres KPTV mentions.
Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.
Along with their land, their federal recognition as a tribe was also taken.
Confederated Tribes of Siletz: From termination to restoration (KPTV)was restored to tribal status in 1977 and received a 3,730-acre reservation in 1980
Losses and Gains for Tribes (Oregon History Project)Executive Order, December 21, 1865
Introduction (Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians)the federal government unilaterally dissolved its relationship with certain groups
Losses and Gains for Tribes (Oregon History Project)
Research notes. Acreage lost between the original reserve and 1954 is not stated in these sources and is not given; the 900,000-acre and 700,000-acre figures in the old record came from Wikipedia or an unverified news item. The 1855 executive-order creation date was not found in an opened source and is omitted. The Siletz site pages were seen only as a list of headings on the introduction page, so the narrative reports the headings, not their contents. The 3,730-acre figure is from the Oregon History Project (older notes said about 3,660).
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
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
These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Nations named 1
Located in 1
Policy era 1
- Reservation1851
Concerns the instrument 1
Sources
The record’s fields
- What happened
- Siletz and Western Oregon: Coast Reservation reduced, tribes terminated (1954), restored (1977) -- An executive order of Nov. 9, 1855 created the Coast Indian Reservation (about 1.1 million acres), weeks into the final phase of the Rogue River Wars; most affected peoples were moved onto it. The reservation was reduced by roughly three-quarters (about 900,000 acres) in 1865 and 1875, which Wikipedia says violated treaties; a Siletz official said another 700,000 acres were removed in 1875. The Western Oregon Indian Termination Act (Pub. L. 588, Aug. 13, 1954) ended federal supervision; the remaining lands were sold except for Government Hill. The Siletz Restoration Act (Nov. 18, 1977) restored recognition and the Siletz Reservation Act (1980) returned about 3,660 acres. In 2026 the Tribe acquired about 6.82 acres at Rocky Shores near Yachats for $120,000 through partners (McKenzie River Trust, View the Future and The Nature Conservancy), with a tribal official saying 'those promises were broken.' (Closing was pending at the time of the source.)
- Kind
- Violation
- Confidence
- Medium
- Nation review
- Not yet reviewed by this nation
- Notes
- Some details not yet checked against a source
- Some details unverified