Takelma Nation

The Takelma were a Native American tribe that lived along the Rogue River in present-day southern Oregon in the United States. They were known for their complex social and economic systems, and for their skill in fishing and hunting.

The Takelma were a part of the larger Athabaskan language group, and they were closely related to the Shasta and Chasta tribes.

The Takelma were first encountered by European explorers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They had a population of around 2,000 people at the time of contact.

However, in the decades that followed, the Takelma were decimated by disease, war and forced removal to Indian reservations. In 1856, the US government forced the Takelma to move to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in western Oregon.

Many Takelma people died of diseases contracted on the reservation, and by the end of the 19th century, the Takelma tribe had effectively been dissolved.

Today, there are very few people who can claim direct descent from the Takelma tribe, but some descendants are enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.