Uncovering the Words of Umpqua Chief Solomon Riggs

Umpqua Chieftain Solomon Gun-Conna-Cli Riggs 1827-1920

For many families, genealogy consists of names, dates, and official records. Every so often, however, a personal piece of history emerges that speaks directly across generations.

Recently, I came across a remarkable three-page letter written by my 3rd great-grandfather, Chief Solomon Riggs. Solomon Riggs was an Umpqua Chief who led his people through one of the most turbulent periods in Pacific Northwest history—including the forced removal from their ancestral homeland near Winchester to the Grand Ronde Reservation in the mid-1850s.

Beyond his leadership during the removal, Solomon served as a representative, agent, and advocate for the Umpqua people at Grand Ronde. This letter offers a rare, first-hand look into his work, his communication with government officials, and his ongoing effort to protect the rights and care of his tribal community.

Below, I have transcribed and shared all three pages of this document.

Official Office of Indian Affairs Docket Slip (1878)

Filing summary recording the receipt of Chief Solomon Riggs’s petition regarding the condition of the Native peoples at Grand Ronde Agency.

Historical Context at a Glance

• Sender: Solomon Riggs, Umpqua Chief & Representative/Advocate for the Native Peoples of the Grand Ronde Reservation

• Recipient/Location: Addressed to Dallas, Polk County, Oregon (care of J. F. Collins)

• Significance: Provides primary-source insight into mid-to-late 19th-century tribal leadership, reservation administration, and personal advocacy following the Grand Ronde removal. 

Page 1

Page 1

Transcription:

Hon. Commissioner of Indian Affairs

Washington, D.C.

We the Indians, of Grand Ronde valley

Polk and Yamhill Counties, Oregon,

Most Respectfully invite your attention, to our

deplorable situation, and we most humbly,

beg of you to consider our words & our actual

situation praying that you will take immediate action

on this petition. Whereas the Government Treaty with

us expired some 2 or 3 years past & that we are self

supporting people. Some time last spring we went to

the Ex Agent of Polk County, Oregon, Judge Collins

to write a letter to President Hayes, setting forth our griev-

ances &c, and rec’d an answer, but nothing being done

to our knowledge, we now state our case to you.

Whereas on the 12th of Oct. last, Inspector Watkins held

Council with us, we stated our grievances to him

demanding our Citizenship. We now propose to make

a statement of some of the principal reasons why we

want to be free. The Government, has already consented

through the influence of the Agent or some other misrep-

resentation, to teach our school, where there is not to exceed

twenty scholars, pays the enormous sum of $2,000 per

year, we are furnished with two Canadian sisters of charity

as teachers, we had four, but Inspector Watkins had two

of them discharged, our Children does not learn anything

compared with other free schools, these women teaches

a broken French & jargon that is of no use to our chil-

dren. We want the English language taught in our school

we want free schools on the American principle, we

want a voice. Whom our teachers shall be and in fact 

we don't want to be kept in ignorance like a load hidden profile. 

We wish to live under the laws of the U.S.

Key Takeaways & Commentary on Page 1

When reading my 3rd great-grandfather's words, several critical themes immediately stand out:

• Demanding Citizenship as Equal Human Beings: In the 1870s, Indigenous peoples were legally classified as "wards" of the federal government under appointed agents, lacking basic legal rights and constitutional protections. When Solomon demanded citizenship, he was advocating for his people to be recognized as full human beings with equal rights under U.S. law.

• Education as a Survival Tool: Solomon recognized that as the region was rapidly changing, tribal youth needed a solid English education to navigate treaties, legal rights, and trade. He wasn't advocating for assimilation for its own sake—he wanted his community equipped with the practical tools required to defend their rights.

• Cultural & Language Barriers in Reservation Schools: Under federal policy, reservation schools were often run by religious institutions—in this case, Catholic Sisters of Charity. Solomon pointed out that teaching in Chinook Jargon mixed with French was failing the children. He fought for free, English-language schooling on equal footing with American public schools.

• "Whereas the Government Treaty with us expired some 2 or 3 years past..."

  Solomon emphasizes that because the 20-year financial annuities and provisions from Joel Palmer’s 1854/1855 treaties had ended around 1875/1876, the people of Grand Ronde were now fully self-supporting. He uses this fact as a powerful argument: since the federal government was no longer providing treaty-annuity support, it no longer had any justification to control them as "wards" or dictate their local governance.

---

A Personal Reflection Across Generations

Reading Solomon’s petition firsthand makes this history deeply personal—and once again, we see a striking parallel to the patterns uncovered in my previous research (Reclaiming Our Family Ikanum: The Story of the 1871 Salem Council). Just as our tribal ancestors gathered at the 1871 Council to advocate for their rights, land, and sovereignty, Chief Solomon Riggs stood up in 1878 to demand that same basic human dignity and self-determination.

His insistence on education and self-determination echoes directly across generations through his grandson, my great-grandfather Abraham Tom.

This fight for basic human rights connects to another painful chapter in our family history. My grandmother recalled how during the Termination Era of the 1950s—when both the Grand Ronde and Siletz tribes were stripped of federal recognition—tribal members were once again legally classified and treated as "wards of the state." Nearly a century after Solomon stood up in 1878 to protest being treated as wards of the federal agent, our family and communities were forced to endure that same denial of legal rights and human dignity until our tribes fought for and achieved Restoration.

Following displacement on the Siletz Reservation, Abraham Tom made the difficult choice to relocate his family to Salem, Oregon. Facing the realities of the era, he told his children plainly that it was now a "white man's world," and that they needed to learn how to navigate and live within it to survive. Because of his vision and guidance, his children went on to pursue higher education and build stable, impactful careers working with both the State of Oregon and the Tribe.

While our ancestors had to adapt to survive in that world, the story does not end with assimilation. Today, we are seeing a powerful return to what was once taken or suppressed. Across our communities, Indigenous families and tribes are actively reclaiming our languages, traditions, and heritage:

• Grand Ronde has established thriving language programs, including an immersion school dedicated to teaching Chinuk Wawa to new generations.

• Siletz continues vital revitalization work through the Siletz Dee-ni language project, online dictionaries, and community classes.

• Countless descendants are seeking out the songs, words, cultural knowledge, and history of our ancestors.

Seeing Chief Solomon Riggs demand a voice and equal footing in 1878 shows where this strength began. What started as a strategy for survival has evolved into a movement of reclamation—ensuring that our children not only thrive in the modern world, but do so fully grounded in who they are and where they come from

Page 2

Page 2 (Full Transcription)

How, We want to govern our own local affairs. We

want to pay taxes & assist the government

we don’t want the Government to assist us only to

give us our freedom. Another, misfortune prevails the

Sutler store at this place manages to get everything

we raise. Whether there is an understanding between

him & the Agent we do not know, But it is 15 miles

to the nearest village or store from the Sutler store

that would make thirty miles travel either on foot or

horseback to trade or buy one dollars worth of goods, so you

see what a serious loss we labor under, by not being

allowed to invite competition with other Merchants.

We consider our demands reasonable,

as the Government thinks proper. Third, we want titles

given only to actual settlers, or to those Indians or their

descendants named in the treaty of Gen. Palmer 23

or 24 years past. We hope & trust in your Honor, in ar-

ranging our affairs, that every Indian belonging rightfully

to this Reservation should have a Certificate from the Co.

Judge, with two or more responsible persons as witnesses

as to those belonging & rightfully owning these different

tracts of land.

Key Takeaways & Commentary on Page 2

Page 2 outlines Chief Solomon’s specific demands for economic independence, self-governance, and long-term security:

• 1. Self-Governance and Taxpaying:

  Solomon explicitly states that the people of Grand Ronde want to govern their own local affairs and pay taxes to support the government. Rather than requesting government assistance or hand-outs, he makes a powerful demand for independence—asking only that the government give them their freedom and stay out of their local administration.

• 2. Breaking the Sutler Store Monopoly:

  Solomon exposes the unfair economic exploitation taking place on the reservation. The local licensed sutler (post trader) held a government-sanctioned monopoly, capturing the profits of everything the tribal members raised. Because travelling to outside merchants required a 30-mile round trip on foot or horseback—and explicit permission from the Indian Agent—tribal producers were trapped in unfair credit cycles and suppressed prices. Solomon demanded the freedom to invite competing merchants onto the reservation to establish fair trade.

• 3. Formal Land Titles Tied to Treaty Rights:

  To secure his people's homeland against land grabs, Solomon petitioned for official, legally recognized land certificates issued through the County Judge and verified by witnesses. Crucially, he insisted that these titles be granted specifically to the native settlers and descendants named under Superintendent Joel Palmer’s 1854/1855 treaties, holding the U.S. government accountable to its original promises.

A Legacy of Economic and Political Strength

Reading Solomon’s demands on Page 2 highlights how forward-thinking he was as a leader. He understood that true sovereignty required economic freedom and legal protection. By calling out the sutler's monopoly and demanding clear land titles under Palmer's treaties, he was actively working to build a self-sustaining community where tribal families could thrive on their own terms.

Page 3

Page 3

Transcription:

No more at Present.

Most Respectfully

Solomon Riggs, Agent

Or Representative for the Indians of

Grand Ronde Reservation Polk Co. Oregon

& if you will Please write me a line & directed

To the care of J. F. Collins, Dallas

Polk Co.

Oregon

 Key Takeaways & Commentary on Page 3

• Strategic Communication & Bypassing the Agent: Solomon directs all official replies to be sent in care of J. F. Collins (Judge Collins) in Dallas, Polk County. Because reservation Indian Agents often monitored or suppressed mail critical of their administration, routing correspondence through a trusted outside official was a deliberate strategy to ensure safe, unmonitored communication with Washington, D.C.

• Asserting Political Authority: By signing officially as "Agent Or Representative for the Indians of Grand Ronde Reservation," Solomon explicitly established his political standing—confirming he was speaking as an authorized advocate for the entire intertribal community rather than just presenting a personal grievance.

• Building External Legal Alliances: Working alongside local figures like Judge Collins shows how 19th-century tribal leaders skillfully leveraged non-tribal legal allies to help navigate federal bureaucracy and hold government officials accountable.

Conclusion: A Continuous Thread of Leadership and Resilience

Reading Chief Solomon Riggs’s 1878 petition in full reveals a leader who was fiercely devoted to his people’s dignity, self-determination, and future. Across all three pages, he spoke out with remarkable clarity:

• Demanding full citizenship and equal human rights rather than living as legal "wards."

• Fighting for free English education so youth could navigate a changing world.

• Calling out economic exploitation by demanding an end to the sutler store monopoly.

• Securing ancestral homeland rights through formal, treaty-backed land titles.

Seeing his vision in 1878 helps make sense of our family’s story in the generations that followed. When my great-grandfather Abraham Tom guided his family through displacement by emphasizing education and navigation of the modern world, he was carrying forward the exact same practical foresight Solomon demonstrated decades prior.

What began as a strategy for survival on the reservation has grown into a powerful movement of cultural, historical, and language reclamation today. Chief Solomon Riggs stepped forward in 1878 to ensure his people had a voice—and by honoring his words and sharing our history, we ensure that voice continues to echo clearly for generations to come.

 Sources & References

• National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.   (Accessed via FamilySearch)

  • Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs (1824–1881): Original 1878 petition and docket slip submitted by Chief Solomon Riggs to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

• U.S. Federal Census & Reservation Records

  • Grand Ronde Indian Agency Records & Censuses: Historical enumerations documenting Umpqua leadership, agency administration, and treaty annuity allocations.

• Treaty History & Historical Context

  • 1854/1855 Joel Palmer Treaties: Treaty with the Umpqua and Kalapooia establishing reservation boundaries and 20-year financial annuities.