Takelma (people)

Takelm’s life is much less known than its neighbors — other Native American tribes in Oregon and northern California . White settlers came to the lands of takelma quite late due to the fact that they had a natural defense in the form of mountains that surrounded the valley. But when colonization began, it developed very quickly. The discovery of gold in California led to the appearance of the first white settlement in 1852. Takelma, survivors of the gold rush of lawlessness, were evicted on a reservation on the rainy northern coast of Oregon in 1856, so the coexistence of whites and Indians in the region lasted only 4 years.

Due to the fact that the territory of the takelma tribe included the most suitable agricultural lands in the Rog valley, in particular along the Rog river, these lands were quickly and actively "developed" by white settlers in the middle of the 19th century. The settlers showed no interest in the culture of their Native American neighbors and regarded them only as a danger or a burden. In this regard, only a small amount of historical information about takelma has been preserved - mainly mentions of conflicts. Compared to takelma, their neighbors, such as the Shasta and Atabascans of the Rog River, survived the colonization relatively well, preserving their culture in an almost untouched state, since their infertile lands were of little interest to whites.

Conflicts between white and local Indians led to wars on the Rogue River . At the same time, however, the activities of numerous mediators, both from whites and from Indians, led to a relatively peaceful resolution of the conflict - takelma and several other tribes of southern Oregon were resettled, and not destroyed in an unequal war.

The climate in the places where the takelma survivors of the war were resettled was rainy, which was very different from their former locality - dry, overgrown with oak forest. Many Indians died on the way to the Silets and Grand Rond reservations and later, on reservations, both from hunger and from an unusual new way of life.

Government Indigenous agents trained Takelm survivors in agricultural skills, and at the same time sought to wean them from their mother tongue, believing that integration into the English-speaking society was their most productive survival strategy. On reservations and beyond, takelma had to live with Indians of other cultures, which also did not contribute to the preservation of tribal traditions and language.

Only when the tribe was on the verge of extinction were anthropologists interested in it. Linguists Edward Sepir and John Peabody Harrington studied tackelma.

In 1980, Agnes Baker Pilgrim, the granddaughter of the leader George Harney, became famous for her actions in defense of the rights of takelma.

• Latgava
• Takelma (tongue)

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