The Confederated Tribes of Siletz is one of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon. The Siletz Tribe is made up of 27 bands that originated from Northern California to Southern Washington. The ancestors of the Siletz spoke ten different languages. All the different bands brought their own unique heritage and traditions so the Siletz Tribe had a rich and blended culture.
Starting in the 1770s the Siletz near the coast made direct contact with individuals on the trade and exploration ships. This early contact lead to a series of disease pandemics that plagued the Siletz Tribe members, leading to physical, social, cultural, political and economic devastation for the tribe. These pandemics wiped out 75% to 90% of the tribe population. The Siletz were subjected to the conversion to the “white mans” ways by the federal government, which increased the devastating loss of their distinct culture. In 1955 the United States Government terminated the Siletz Tribe, which basically declared them to be non-existence. Then in November 1977 the Siletz were fully restored to federal recognition. They were the first tribe in Oregon and the second in the United States to regain federal recognition. Finally, in1992 the Siletz gained self-governance. This gave the Siletz control over their tribal programs as well as funding.
