Chief Kilchis facts for kids

Kilchis (born around 1806, died 1866) was an important leader of the Tillamook people, a Native American tribe. He was one of the last chiefs who led his people freely in their homeland near Tillamook Bay in Oregon. Kilchis and another chief, Chief Illga, were the main Tillamook leaders during the mid-1800s.

Kilchis's Background

Many people who met Kilchis noticed he looked different from other Tillamook people. He had curly hair and a beard, which was unusual. This led to stories about his family history.

Some believed Kilchis was a descendant of people who survived a Spanish ship wreck. This ship, called a Manila galleon, was likely the Santo Cristo de Burgos. It was lost in 1693 while sailing from the Philippines to Mexico. The wreck is famous for the large amounts of beeswax that washed ashore, so it's known as the beeswax wreck.

An early white settler named Warren Vaughn knew Kilchis well. Vaughn believed Kilchis's father was a "full-blooded negro" who had been a blacksmith on the "wax-ship" and had joined the Tillamook tribe. Kilchis's mother was said to be a Nehalem Tillamook woman. While the timing of the shipwreck (1693) and Kilchis's birth (1806) means his father couldn't have been a direct survivor, the stories suggest a unique family background.

Kilchis is even mentioned in the historical novel Trask by Don Berry.

Dealing with New Settlers

After 1850, many American settlers began moving into Oregon. The Donation Land Claim Act encouraged people to claim land, which often meant taking land that belonged to Native Americans. White settlers started crowding the Tillamook people off their traditional lands and beaches. This led to many disagreements and conflicts.

Chief Kilchis and Chief Illga tried to find peaceful solutions. They met with settlers like Elbridge Trask and Warren Vaughn to talk about peace. However, conflicts continued to happen from time to time.

Treaties and Peace Efforts

The United States government wanted to make treaties to get Native American land. Anson Dart, who was in charge of Indian Affairs in Oregon, tried to make a land treaty with Kilchis and the Tillamook people in 1851. However, this treaty was never officially approved.

Later, Dart's replacement, Joel Palmer, was able to make new treaties that were approved. These treaties took large amounts of Native American land, including land belonging to the Tillamook.

During the 1850s, there were many wars between Native American tribes and settlers in the region, like the Yakima War and Rogue River Wars. Some tribes, like the Klickitat people, tried to convince the Tillamook to join the fighting. But Chief Kilchis told his people to remain peaceful. He wanted them to show the white settlers that they were not looking for war.

Moving to a New Home

In 1856, after these wars, the Tillamook people were moved from their homeland. They were relocated to the Coast Indian Reservation. Today, this place is known as the Siletz Reservation. The Tillamook people became part of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.