[OR_Archaeology] New book about Siletz Tribe

[Susan White]

An awesome archy recommended the book listed below--

Here's his brief review--
"You may want to promote the new book by Charles Wilkinson focused on the History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon.  I just got my copy and it is an excellent and in-depth presentation. Here is the web site from UW Press"

Dale R. Croes, Ph.D.
Anthropology, South Puget Sound Community College

And Robert Kentta gives it a big thumbs up too!

Hope the info is helpful, Susan Lynn White


https://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/WILPEO.html.  


The People Are Dancing Again
The History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon
Charles Wilkinson

    * paperback not available
    * $35.00 hardcover (9780295990668) Add to Cart

    * Published: November
    * Subject Listing: Native American Studies, First Peoples, Northwest History, Western History, Indians of the Americas
    * Bibliographic information: 576 pp., 100 illus., 28 maps, notes, bibliog., index, 7 x 10 in.
    * Territorial rights: World
    * Contents


The history of the Siletz is in many ways the history of many Indian tribes: a story of heartache, perseverance, survival, and revival. The history of the Siletz people began in a resource-rich homeland thousands of years ago. Today, the tribe is a vibrant, modern community with a deeply held commitment to tradition.

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians-twenty-seven tribes speaking at least ten languages-were brought together on the Oregon Coast through treaties with the federal government in 1853-55. For decades after, the Siletz people lost many traditional practices, saw their languages almost wiped out, and experienced poverty, ill health, and humiliation. Again and again, the federal government took great chunks of the magnificent, timber-rich tribal homeland, reducing their reservation from the original allotment of 1.1 million acres-which reached a full 100 miles north to south on the Oregon Coast-to what is today several hundred acres of land near Siletz and 9,000 acres of forest. By 1956, the tribe had been "terminated" under the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act, selling off the remaining land, cutting off federal health and education benefits, and denying tribal status. Poverty worsened, and the sense of cultural loss deepened.

The Siletz people refused to give in. In 1977, after years of work and appeals to Congress, they became the second tribe in the nation to have its federal status, treaty rights, and sovereignty restored. With federal recognition of the tribe came a profound cultural revival among the Siletz people.

This remarkable account, written by one of the nation's most respected experts in tribal law and history, is rich in Indian voices and grounded in extensive research that includes oral tradition and personal interviews. It is a book that not only provides a deep and beautifully written account of the history of the Siletz, but reaches beyond region and tribe to tell a story that will inform the way all of us think about the past.

Charles Wilkinson is Distinguished University Professor and Moses Lasky Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School. He is the author of many books, including Messages from Frank's Landing: A Story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way and Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations.

"In this beautifully written masterpiece by a master scholar of Indian law, Charles Wilkinson breathes life into these pages, re-creating the inner experience of being Siletz. This early-stage collaboration of author, tribal members, and the press working together is a groundbreaking approach for modern Indian history. For more than a hundred years of countless tribal histories written, this approach has produced an inner native perspective of history. This book proudly celebrates being Siletz from the heart and with inviting prose, a plethora of helpful maps, and photographs. Absolutely brilliant!" - Donald L. Fixico, Distinguished Foundation Professor of History, Arizona State University

"In this magnificent collaborative enterprise, Charles Wilkinson blends Native memory with the documented record to trace the Siletz story from aboriginal homeland to removal, the trials of reservation life, termination, and restoration. Copiously documented, The People Are Dancing Again is an encyclopedic representation of a new kind of tribal history." - William G. Robbins, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History, Oregon State University

"This story of the Siletz Tribe and its pre-contact flourishing, struggle and betrayal in its dealings with the United States, perseverance, final restoration, and rejuvenation is wonderfully told by Charles Wilkinson. He captures the long journey of the Siletz people with such warmth, insight, and engagement that a reader feels privileged to share in it. A journey that has in no way come to an end, and as Wilkinson artfully demonstrates, continues to challenge us all." - Frank Pommersheim, Professor of Law, University of South Dakota School of Law

Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/user/UWashingtonPress#p/u/1/NEtAIGxp6pc