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Exactly which Indian tribes lived in Southwestern Oregon is forever lost in the mists of antiquity. However, it is possible to make some generalizations about some of these Tribes.
Map 10: Southern Oregon Indian Tribes.
The Indians that lived south of the Cow Creek Umpqua homeland along the Rogue River upstream from the Pacific Ocean to Crater Lake are generally known as the Rogue Indians.
Generally the Rogues were Takelma-speakers and are sometimes referred to as Tutuni Indians. The Rogue Indians were closely related to the Cow Creek Umpqua Indians and probably included one or more sub-tribes. One sub-tribe might have been a very small, little-known group called the Southern Molalla, who lived to the north of the upper Rogue River.
West of the Cow Creek Umpqua homeland lived the Upper Coquille, Coos and Lower Umpqua Indians. The Upper Coquille occupied the headwaters of the Coquille River, but might not have had access to the Pacific Ocean. The Coos Indians did have access to the ocean occupying the area around Coos Bay and along the Coos River upstream to its headwaters. The Lower Umpqua Indians occupied the area from Scottsburg west along the Umpqua River to the Pacific Ocean.
To the north of the Cow Creek Umpqua homeland lived the Yoncalla Indians and the Molalla Indians. Not much is known about either of these tribes, but the Yoncalla did enter into a treaty with the United States, apparently signing as the "Calapooya Band." Some "Calapooya" later lived on the Grand Ronde Reservation with the Cow Creek Umpqua and the Rogues.
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