This Saturday, Oct. 14, a western Oregon tribe will celebrate the restoration of its federal recognition. And that event will happen at a site undergoing its own restoration.
The 1950s saw many tribes’ federal status terminated by Congress, resulting in decades of disruption and loss of ancestral lands.
The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians (CLUSI) were reinstated in 1984, after nearly three decades.
To mark that occasion, the tribe will hold several events recognizing its sovereignty, including one at the Siuslaw Estuary outside Florence.
CLUSI’s cultural stewardship manager Jesse Beers told KLCC that this former dairy farm will be restored to its pre-development status, which will benefit salmon and other wildlife. The restoration will also incorporate Native language and canoeing into its final design.
“Restoring the lands, the waters. Restoring the languages on the landscape, within our own hearts and minds,” said Beers. “And restoring all the pieces that were stripped from us during the reservation era, during termination, during the boarding school era, all those things.”
A blessing and naming ceremony will complete the project. Beers says CLUSI language experts are reviewing a number of suggestions on what to name the restored site, which is slated to finish in 2025.
