Umpqua people

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Native American settlement in the Umpqua region began at least 8,000 years before the arrival of European settlers.

[6] Prior to European settlement, the Lower Umpqua (Kuitsh) lived on the coast from Siltcoos River south to Tenmile Creek.

Today, the Cow Creek Band of Upper Umpqua are represented by the following tribes: The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Native Americans is one of nine federally recognized indigenous Tribal Governments in the State of Oregon.

The Native Americans who lived in the Umpqua region prior to European settlementwere highly dependent on the annual cycle of nature.

In the 1820s, the Hudson's Bay Company began intensive trapping of beavers and regular trade with the Native Americans in the Umpqua Basin.Relations with fur trappers were generally good, although there were occasional skirmishes.

An especially notorious conflict occurred in 1828 between the Lower Umpqua Indians and a party of fur traders led by Jedediah Smith.