Latgawa facts for kids
The Latgawa are a group of Native American people. They used to live in the Rogue Valley in southwest Oregon. Their name, "Latgawa," means "those living in the uplands" in their own language. The nearby Klamath tribe called them the Walumskni.
The Latgawa were closely related to the Takelma people. The Takelma were sometimes called "Lowland" or "River Takelma." Because of this, the Latgawa were often known as the Upland Takelma.
Latgawa History
The Latgawa people lived in the upper Rogue River valley. Their lands stretched east towards the old Table Rock Indian Reservation and Bear Creek. They also lived near the town of Jacksonville, Oregon.
The Latgawa were one of two groups who spoke the Takelma language. The Takelma mainly lived in the middle Rogue River area. This was around Grants Pass, Oregon. The Latgawa lived in the upper Rogue River area. Their lands included places like Applegate, Jacksonville, Talent, and Medford. They also lived near Eagle Point, Butte Falls, Shady Cove, and Trail. Their territory even went beyond Prospect and Union up to Crater Lake.
Life Before Europeans Arrived
The Latgawa people got their food by hunting, gathering, and fishing. They hunted animals, collected plants, and caught fish. For warm months, they built small shelters from brush. In colder months, they made stronger homes from sugar pine boards.
They decorated their clothes with Dentalium shells. They also practiced skin art regularly. The Latgawa shared some cultural traditions with groups from California. They valued obsidian (a type of volcanic glass) and special basket hats.
During winter, families lived in villages at lower elevations. These villages were often near where major streams met. This location was good for catching steelhead fish in the spring. From late spring to early fall, they moved to the uplands and mountains. They followed game and gathered plants as the snow melted. By autumn, hunters and gatherers returned to the lower streams. They joined village elders to catch the fall salmon run. This helped them prepare for the next winter.
Contact with European Settlers
In the 1850s, European settlers began to arrive. The Latgawa and Takelma peoples started to lose their homeland. Like other tribes nearby, the Latgawa fought to protect their lands. They became involved in the bloody Rogue River Wars of the 1850s.
Many Native Americans in the Rogue Valley were killed or captured. However, some managed to escape. The U.S. Army forced the remaining Takelma and Latgawa to move. They were sent to the Grand Ronde Reservation. This reservation was many miles north of their traditional lands. They traveled there both by land and by sea.
In 1853, a treaty created the Table Rock Reservation. This was done to open up the Bear Creek and Rogue Valley areas for white settlement. From 1855 to 1856, a final war took place across the Rogue Valley. The native peoples were again forced to move. They went from Table Rock to the Grande Ronde and Siletz reservations.
