Lincoln City is part of the ancestral homeland of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Take some time to learn about these First Peoples who continue to shape the land and culture of this place.
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians is the most diverse confederation of Native Americans on a single reservation in the United States. It is comprised of over 30 bands and tribes, including the Clatsop, Chinook, Tillamook, Lower Umpqua and Shasta. These tribes speak 10 completely different languages, each with multiple dialects, and have a combined ancestral territory of over 20 million acres in western Oregon, northern California and southwestern Washington.
In both the past and present, Siletz people have beenskilled basket makers, canoe carvers, architects, hunters and storytellers.
Siletz Dentalium Shell Necklace
The tribe has also faced relentless and brutal oppression over the past 250 years, including boarding school abuse, starvation, violence and disease. In 1954, the US federal government “terminated” the tribe, stripping it of its federally recognized status. This was part of a nationwide series of terminations that aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society and strip them of their traditional cultures and communities.
Yet, the Siletz people and culture endured. They united and organized. Through ingenuity, courage and hard work, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians restored their status as a federally recognized tribe in 1977, and became a sovereign nation once again.
Today the tribe’s headquarters is in Siletz, Oregon - about 30 miles southeast of Lincoln City. Siletz Dee-ni is the common tribal language, with an immersive language program being taught in schools.
How to Support the Tribe
Visit the casino and resort. The Siletz Tribe operates the Chinook Winds Casino Resort and RV Park in Lincoln City. The resort offers everything you need for a perfect weekend getaway - oceanfront rooms, multiple restaurants, a fun calendar of events and Vegas-level gaming.
Attend a powwow. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians host two powwows every year. The Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow is held on the second weekend of August in Siletz, Oregon, and the Restoration Pow-Wow takes place every third Saturday in November at the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City.
