2011/01/01 by Roger L. Nichols · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #American Environmental and Regional History #Archaeology and Natural History
paper · doi:10.1353/ohq.2011.0060
openalex publication_date 2011/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
OHQ vol. 112, no. 2 reviews The People Are Dancing Again: The History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon by Charles Wilkinson University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2010. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 576 pages. 35.00 cloth. Thirty or forty years ago, many students of American Indian issues had given up on individual tribal histories. They labeled such studies as formulaic and as failing to offer new insights into the central events in past U.S. government–Indian relationships. The skepticism expressed at the time had a solid basis. Many so-called tribal biographies went no farther than to provide a list of examples of how the United States dealt with a particular group. Written almost entirely from archival and library materials, often these purported tribal histories ignored long-held oral traditions and related knowledge. Authors lacking personal contacts in reservation or other tribal settings failed to incorporate much, if any, of the Indian side of the story without expressly meaning to do that. Responding to such criticism , many scholars shifted their attention to other approaches. In this first-rate study of Siletz history, Charles Wilkinson demonstrates clearly that tribal studies remain an effective tool for bringing the Indian story to the reading public. As a professor of law and a long-time participant in Indian rights issues, he claims to have little or no formal training as a historian,yet it is clear that he has the research and analytical skills needed to write this penetrating account of Pacific Northwest Indian history. His personal experiences while working with the Siletz and other tribes in the region gave him personal knowledge of tribal traditions and stories that he uses effectively throughout the narrative. In fact, his stated goal is “to present the Siletz side” by using the “Native voice” as much as possible while still presenting nonNative versions fairly (p. xiii). In doing that, he weaves statements from tribal leaders and traditional accounts of group experiences into the story repeatedly, so the reader gets a clear picture of how the Indians interpreted their experiences. The People Are Dancing Again narrates the experiences of the many small tribes living between the Willamette River and the Oregon coast that came together on the Siletz Reservation during the 1850s. It follows the usual chronological format used in most tribal studies and presents the story in four clearly marked sections. Beginning with aboriginal times, the book moves to warfare and forced removal, traces the reservation experiences, and concludes with events into the present. Throughout the account, the Oregon tribes’ experiences repeat those of many other Native groups at the time.Once pioneers entered their homeland, misunderstandings, violent incidents , warfare, and forced removal occurred. Their first reservation, created in 1855 on Joel Palmer’s advice,stretched more than one hundred miles up the Pacific Coast from the Rogue River north to Cape Lookout. Incursions by miners,followed by demands from timber and fishing interests, led to federal actions during the next forty years that reduced the Siletz land base drastically. The reservation experiences echoed those of Indians elsewhere.Local teachers demanded that the children be removed from their “heathen ” families, so children went to boarding schools whenever possible. Federal officials suppressed Native dances and religious ceremonies .The 1887 DawesAct allotted the tribal holdings,and within a few decades,most Indians lost their land. This part of the narrative traces population loss, cultural uncertainties, growing health issues, and ever-present pov- Reviews erty. At the same time, however, the author shows how the Indians worked as hop pickers, lumbermen, and general laborers to persist as an identifiable group. This section concludes withathoroughlookatthefederalTermination process and its impacts on the Siletz. In part 4,“The Modern Era,”the narrative follows the successful effort to regain tribal status through congressional action, and then focuses on issues related to tribal sovereignty and presentday cultural practices. Wilkinson is an accomplished author, and this text is both readable and interesting. Because of his experiences helping tribes work their way through the legal and bureaucratic systems they faced, he traces the efforts to undo past harmful actions by federal and state officials. Nevertheless, through effective uses of local incidents and personal...