The Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs was an official position of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and previously of the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

, that existed from 1848–1873.

Background

The

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

(BIA) was created in 1824 to regulate contacts between Native Americans and

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s. Territorial governors often served as ''ex officio'' superintendents of Indian affairs, and had a general responsibility for Indian affairs in a territory or other political region. In this capacity, they would help negotiate treaties and clear titles to land. A system of agencies was established under each superintendent where each agency was responsible for one or more tribes.

Indian agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government. Background The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...

s were appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

with approval of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Most agents reported to superintendents, while other reported directly to the central office in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and relied on local military posts for law enforcement as it related to Indians.

Oregon Superintendency

In 1842, an Indian subagency for the " country West of the Rocky mountains" was established and located in

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

. The Oregon Superintendency was established in 1848, when the Oregon Territory was organized. This was about the same time that the

Donation Land Claim Act The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Preem ...

opened Oregon to settlement. The superintendency had jurisdiction over the entire area west of the Rocky Mountains and north of the 42nd parallel. The territorial governor,

Joseph Lane Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. P ...

, acted as the ''ex officio'' superintendent until 1850, when a separate official was appointed. In 1851, the superintendency headquarters was moved from Oregon City to Milwaukie. Later moves included: 1853 to

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

; 1856 back to Oregon City; 1857 to

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

; 1859 to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

; and in 1861 back to Salem. When

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

was established in 1853, a separate superintendency was established there with jurisdiction over the area north of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

and the 46th parallel.

Agents

The first three regular agents were appointed to the Oregon Superintendency in 1850. There were previous agents, Joseph Lane and Josiah Parrish but the Indian agent roles were reduced until treaty making, and establishing the peace was necessary. They were assigned to geographical areas rather than to particular tribes. The Indian agencies in Oregon Territory were Coast (Siletz), Alsea, Grand Ronde, Warm Springs, Umatilla, Klamath, Nez Perce and Malheur. The agencies changed over time based on wars and the progress of treaty land cessions. The Oregon Territory also had numerous Indian management Districts

Puget Sound District Puget may refer to: *Puget (surname) *Puget, Vaucluse, a commune in France *Puget, Washington, a community in the United States See also *Puget Creek *Puget Island *Puget Sound *Puget-Ville Puget-Ville (; oc, Puget Vila) is a commune in the Va ...

, Southeastern District,

Port Orford Port Orford (Tolowa: tr’ee-ghi~’- ’an’ ) is a city in Curry County on the southern coast of Oregon, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. The city takes its name from George Vancouver's original name for nearby Ca ...

, Eastern (east of Cascades), Western (west of Cascades), Northern (north of the Columbia until the Washington Territory was sectioned off) Umpqua, Astoria (north Oregon coast and lower Columbia), Willamette Valley, Umpqua Valley, Klamath, and Rogue River. The Indian District configurations changed over time as tribes were moved to reservations, as the territory was divided between Oregon and Washington territories, and as wars and conflicts occurred. The agency structure in Oregon was complicated because of the removal of Indians from their original homes and the attempt to concentrate them on reservations. There were also many encampments, subagencies, special agencies, and local agencies, especially after the wars of 1855. The Northern district changed responsibility from the Oregon Superintendency to the Washington Superintendency several times in the mid-1850s.

Bands

A partial list of the tribes that were assigned to the Oregon Superintendency were the

Cayuse Cayuse may refer to: *Cayuse people, a people native to Oregon, United States *Cayuse language, an extinct language of the Cayuse people *Cayuse, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the United States *Cayuse horse, an archaic term for a feral or ...

, Chastacosta, Chetco, Clackamas,

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

Kalapuya The Kalapuya are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American ethnic group, people, which had eight independent groups speaking three mutually intelligible dialects. The Kalapuya tribes' traditional homelands were the Willamette Va ...

Klamath Klamath may refer to: Ethnic groups *Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon **Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon *Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people Places in the United States * ...

Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language **Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc *Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Mo ...

Molala The Molala (also Molale, Molalla, Molele) are a people of the Plateau culture area in the Oregon Cascades and central Oregon, United States. They are one of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, with 141 of the 882 member ...

Nez Perce The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...

, Rogue River, Shasta, Sixes (Kwatami), "Snake", Tenino, Umatilla, Umpqua, Wallawalla, Warm Springs,

Wasco Wasco is the name of four places in the United States: Places United States * Wasco, California, a city in California ** Wasco State Prison, located in Wasco, California * Wasco, Illinois, a former hamlet (unincorporated town) in Illinois, now pa ...

, and Yamel.There were upwards of a hundred tribes and bands in the Oregon Territory.

Dissolution

From 1857 to 1861, the Oregon and Washington superintendencies were combined. The Oregon Superintendency was abolished in 1873—the agents in Oregon then reported directly to the BIA in Washington, D.C.

List of superintendents

(1848-1850) (was Oregon Governor at the same time) *

Anson Dart Anson Dart (1797 – 1879) was the Superintendent for Indian Affairs in the Oregon Territory from 1850 to 1852. Dart negotiated treaties with the tribes in the territory (now the states of Oregon and Washington), thirteen of which were negotiated ...

(June 21, 1850 – 1852) *

Joel Palmer General Joel Palmer (October 4, 1810 – June 9, 1881) was an American pioneer of the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He was born in Canada, and spent his early years in New York and Pennsylvania before serving ...

(March 17, 1853 – August 16, 1856) (resigned) * Absalom F. Hedges (June 21, 1856 – May 1, 1857) *

James W. Nesmith James Willis Nesmith (July 23, 1820 – June 17, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Oregon. Born in New Brunswick to American parents, he grew up in New Hampshire and Maine. A Democrat, he moved to Oregon Country in 1843 where he ...

(March 12, 1857 – 1859) * Edward R. Geary (March 22, 1859-?) *

William H. Rector William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(June 13, 1861-?) * J. W. Perit Huntington (January 19, 1863-?) *

Alfred B. Meacham Alfred Benjamin Meacham (1826–1882) was an American Methodist minister, reformer, author and historian, who served as the U.S. Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon (1869–1872). He became a proponent of American Indian interests in the ...

(March 29, 1869–?) *

T. B. Odeneal The Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs was an official position of the U.S. state of Oregon, and previously of the Oregon Territory, that existed from 1848–1873. Background The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was created in 1824 to regulate ...

(January 8, 1872–?)

Agents

An incomplete list of Indian agents in Oregon includes: * George Ambrose *

Lindsay Applegate Lindsay Applegate (September 18, 1808 – November 28, 1892) was an American pioneer known for his participation in blazing the Applegate Trail, an alternative route of the Oregon Trail. The trail was blazed with his brothers Charles and Jesse in ...

(Modoc) * William Bagley (Siletz 1875-) *

Oliver Cromwell Applegate Captain Oliver Cromwell Applegate (June 11, 1845 – October 11, 1938) was an American politician, newspaper editor, and Indian agent in the U.S. state of Oregon. A member of the Applegate family that helped open the Applegate Trail, he was raised ...

* B. R. Biddle * Samuel H. Culver *Timothy Woodbridge Davenport * Joseph Emery (Klamath) * J.H. Fairchild (Siletz 1873-75) *

John P. Gaines John Pollard Gaines (September 22, 1795 – December 9, 1857) was a U.S. military and political figure. He was a Whig member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Kentucky from 1847 to 1849, and he served as Governor of ...

* Anson G. Henry * William Logan (1861-1865), U.S. representative (with J. W. Perit Huntington) for 1864 treaty establishing the

Warm Springs Indian Reservation The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of in north-central Oregon, in the United States, and is governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Tribes Three tribes form the confederation: the Wasco, Tenino (Warm Springs) and Pa ...

with the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin *

Lee Moorhouse Lee Moorhouse (1850–1926) of Pendleton, Oregon, United States, was a photographer and an Indian agent for the Umatilla Indian Reservation. From 1888 to 1916, he produced over 9,000 images documenting urban, rural, and Native Americans in th ...

(Umatilla) * Robert Newell (tribes south of the Columbia River) * Linus M. Nickerson (Klamath Agency, 1878-) *

Josiah Lamberson Parrish Reverend Josiah Lamberson Parrish (January 14, 1806 – May 31, 1895) was an American missionary in the Pacific Northwest and trustee of the Oregon Institute at its founding. A native of New York, he also participated in the Champoeg Meetings that ...

* Samuel Parrish *

William V. Rinehart William Vance Rinehart (28 December 1835 – 16 October 1918) was an American soldier who served as a Union Army officer in both the 1st Oregon Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. ...

* J. H. Roark (Klamath Agency 1877-78) * Patrick B. Sinnott * Alonzo A. Skinner * S. M. Smith *

Elijah Steele Elijah Steele (November 13, 1817June 27, 1883) was an American attorney, jurist, Indian agent, and pioneer of Wisconsin and Northern California. He served as a delegate to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention, and was a member of the Wiscon ...

Elijah White Dr. Elijah White (1806–1879) was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission in t ...

(Nez Perce, Walla Walla and Cayuse)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon Superintendent Of Indian Affairs Government of Oregon 1848 establishments in Oregon Territory 1873 disestablishments in Oregon