Reservation Era Begins 1850-1878

1854

Chetco Village River Massacre (Oregon)

Members of the Chetco tribe. Image: Harper's New Monthly Magazine
Members of the Chetco tribe. Image: Harper's New Monthly Magazine

Nine American settlers approach the Chetco Indian village on the Chetco River in Oregon as friends and induced them to give away their weapons as a show that friendship had been established. The settlers then turn on them and massacre 26 men and some women; most are shot in the back while fleeing. Two Chetco who fight them are then burned alive in their houses (“List of Indian massacres”).

Traumatic Event