Tecumtum

Chief Tecumtum (died 1864), was the chief of the Etch-ka-taw-wah band of Athabaskan Indians and a leader in the Rogue River Wars. He signed three treaties with the United States between 1851 and 1854.

Biography

Tecumtum, whose name meant Elk-killer, was the chief of the Etch-ka-taw-wah Band of Athabaskan Indians who were the last to surrender in the Rogue River war in 1855–1856. He lived in Deer Creek in Illinois Valley. Prior to the Rogue River war, he signed three treaties with the US: the Treaty with the Rogue River in 1851, the Treaty with the Rogue River in 1853, and the Treaty with the Rogue River in 1854. The discovery of gold in this area led to high tensions between the white settlers and the native tribe. Two years later, Tecumtum and his son were imprisoned in San Francisco for "allegedly plotting an uprising". He died of old age on June 6, 1864, at Fort Yamhill. Not long after the lynching in 1855 of one of Tecumtum's sons and another tribe member, Jacksonville volunteers massacred a Native American village. During this time of such violence, leading Tecumtum and his men to flee into the mountains, he still requested and wanted to live in peace with the whites; however Tecumtum knew that wasn't an option for him and his men. “That he would rather die fighting for his rights than to…have his people killed for nothing when ever it suited the caprice of some men to do so.”

Cultural clashes

Tyee John was a Shasta chief who was faithful to the Table Rock Treaty. All the Indian agents regarded John as the most incredible and heroic chief in the Native history. But his life was never in peace. Chief John lived on Deer Creek near the Illinois valley, with his family, sons, and daughters. The major clash was with the gold miners who murdered Tecumtum's son and his fellow troop. Eventually, on the Coast Reservation, Over half of the Rogue Tribe was removed due to the Siletz Agency.