Overview of the Environment of Native Inhabitants of Southwestern Oregon, Late Prehistoric Era Research and Writing by Reg Pullen Pullen Consulting RR 2 Box 220 Bandon,OR 97411 TELEPHONE: (503) 347-9542 Report Prepared for USDA Forest Service Rogue River National Forest, Medford, Oregon Siskiyou National Forest, Grants Pass, Oregon DOI Bureau of Land Management Medford District Office, Medford, Oregon 1996 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was directed by Janet Joyer of the United States Forest Service (Grants Pass), and Kate Winthrop of the Bureau of Land Management (Medford). Both provided great assistance in reviewing drafts of the manuscript, as did Jeff LeLande of the United States Forest Service (Medford). Individuals from three southwest Oregon Native American tribes participated in the collection of ethnographic and historic data contained in the report and appendix. Robert Kentta of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians reviewed ethnographic material from the John Harrington collection. Don Whereat of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians provided extensive help with records from the National Archives, Bancroft Library, and the Melville Jacobs collection. Troy Anderson of the Coquille Tribe helped to review materials relating to his tribe found in the Melville Jacobs collection. The staff of the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley helped to track down several early journals and diaries relating to the historic exploration of southwest Oregon. Gary Lundell of the University of Washington helped to locate pertinent materials in the Melville Jacobs collection. The staff at the Coos Bay Public Library assisted in accessing sources in their Oregon collection and through interlibrary loan. Other individuals who provided assistance through their comments, reviews, and/or help in locating relevant data include Thomas Atzet of the United States Forest Service (Grants Pass), Richard Drehobl and Larry Zowada of the Bureau of Land Management (Medford), and Ken Wilson of the United States Forest Service (Eureka, California). Table of Contents Pagzes Executive Summary 1-4 Map of the Study Area 5 1. Objectives and Purpose I-1 to I-2 2. Research Questions and Problems 11-1 to 11-5 3. Environmental Overview III-1 to 11-3 4. Cultural Overview IV-1 to IV-21 5. Land Management Overview V-1 to V-17 Table of Use of Fire follows 6. Native Environment VI-1 to VI-20 Table of Vegetative Cover follows 7. Recommendations VII-1-VII-2 Bibliography Appendix Index to Appendix I-EI I. Cultural Overview, including subsistence 11. Land Management Overview, including use of fire III. Native Environment, including historic references I Executive Summnary This project provides a comprehensive study of the native ecosystems of the Applegate and Illinois River watersheds of southwestern Oregon. Research conducted shows that the native people inhabiting this area combined trading I networks, inter-tribal marriage, careful resource and land management practices and additional skills to encourage the bio-diversity and food production necessary to survive. U The Applegate and Illinois Rivers of southwestern Oregon have their headwaters in the Siskiyou Mountains that separate Oregon and California. Both rivers flow in a northwesterly direction to confluences with the Rogue River, and are part of one of the largest drainage basins in Oregon. Much of the Applegate River was inhabited prehistorically by the Da-ku-be-te- J de people and the upper Illinois River by the Gu-sla-dada. These groups spoke dialects of the same language, Athapascan, and shared many cultural attributes. Both groups utilized large portions of their respective drainage basins in the quest for food and other resources. They also actively managed portions of the landscape, through the use of fire and manipulation of root and seed crops, in an I effort to maintain a desirable environment in which to live. This landscape reflected their presence in the form of a greater diversity of habitats, a broader expanse of oak-pine woodland, and higher populations of certain plant and animal species. The removal of Native Americans from southwestern Oregon in 1856 dramatically changed the environmental, as well I as cultural, diversity of the region. Hunting, fishing, and gathering were of relatively equal importance to the Native people. The elaborate fishing technology of the lower Klamath River, I with massive group efforts for weir construction, was paralleled on the Applegate and Illinois Rivers by an elaborate hunting technology and the | construction of sometimes miles-long fences that required a major group effort. It is probable that elaboration of ritual occurred with deer-fence construction, just as it did with weir construction on the Klamath River. I Snares were set in small openings in the fences. Snares were made of beargrass, which was a very important resource because of its role in the hunting technology. Beargrass was readily available in Applegate territory but not in abundance in Takelma territory in the neighboring Rogue Valley. Because of this, beargrass became an important trade item. Chapter 1: Executive Summary Page 1 Root gathering was of major importance to this area. A great abundance and diversity of root species were available, and comprised a major part of the diet during significant portions of the year. Although acorn production fluctuated greatly in the Applegate-Illinois area, root crops were relatively dependable. This situation was reversed in the Klamath region to the south, so the Applegate and I Illinois peoples were able to trade roots for acorns. Scheduling was a significant problem for the people of the Applegate and Illinois Rivers. Resources were abundant during certain times of the year, and almost non-existent at others (i.e., early spring). In addition, major fluctuations occurred in salmon runs and acorn crops. This created a cycle of periodic 3 abundance and scarcity of food, and a certain amount of stress. Planning, therefore, became an essential element of survival. Because of resource and scheduling problems, an elaborate regional l redistribution system (one based on trade, intermarriage, and social stratification) was developed to help compensate for periodic food shortages. This system was 3 destroyed during the historic era by the impact of epidemic disease, which cut across social lines and shattered trading networks and reciprocal relationships. Several subtle but significant differences, related to environmental factors, I appear between the Applegate and Illinois peoples. Illinois territory contained a greater diversity of resources, which may have allowed the Gu-sla-dada to live in semi-permanent villages for more of the year and to have larger village populations than the Applegate people. Tanoak, myrtle, and Sadler oak acorns are found in the Illinois drainage, but not in the Applegate. The Illinois has runs I of lamprey eels while the Applegate did not; and the Illinois possessed a run of exceptionally large salmon, as opposed to the Applegate, which was noteworthy only for its large steelhead population. In addition, several large falls along the Illinois provided for better fishing during the high winter runoff, whereas the Applegate River possessed no major obstructions to fish runs along its lower length. Biodiversity was extremely important as a survival factor for the Applegate a and Illinois peoples, and they managed the landscape in certain areas to promote it. This biodiversity, as exemplified by a variety of ecotones and vegetation communities, was maintained at lower elevations near semi-permanent | villages, and at higher elevations near seasonal camps. It included a mix of forest types, stands of chaparral, and prairies or meadows. One of the most important features of this environment was cover, including stands of chaparral. Villages were often built in heavy cover. Brush fences were constructed around houses as a windbreak in cases where vegetation was absent. Deer hunting usually took place in areas of considerable chaparral growth, both Chapter 1: Executive Sunmmary Page 2 l as cover for stalking hunters, and to make it easier for brush fences to force deer I into trails where snares were set. The berry of one of the dominant chaparral species of this area, manzanita, was also an important food resource. Fires were set during the spring, summer, and fall to promote a variety of | resources, both plant and animal. The Applegate and Illinois people were well aware of the varied impacts of burning by season. They developed the art of limited burning to achieve specific objectives to a well-defined science. I Fires were usually set by "specialists" who owned formulas that were prescriptions for successful burning. Temperature, wind direction, and impacts 3 to specific plants were all carefully considered before fires were set. Fire was viewed as a valuable tool, but it had the potential to damage precious resources that were essential for survival. I Some fires may have been set for ceremonial as well as utilitarian purposes. On the lower Klamath River, for example, certain mountain slopes were set ablaze each year as part of rituals to ensure a bountiful harvest and to protect against the death of married people. This practice may have been employed by the Applegate and Illinois peoples as well. I Research also indicates that root gathering areas were carefully managed to ensure sustainability and were "cultivated" to some extent. Methods employed included burning to remove competing vegetation, tilling, weeding, thinning, X replanting, and maintaining reserve areas. Grasses, tarweed, oaks, and deer browse may also have been spread by deliberate planting of seeds. j Conservation measures were employed in the management of fish and wildlife populations. Deer and elk were hunted before or after the mating season and springtime birthing. Fish harvests were carefully regulated through an I elaborate system of rituals, and a conscious effort was made to ensure that enough fish escaped to maintain the runs. The oak-pine woodland was much more prevalent than today, especially at lower elevations.