Deschutes Land Trust conserves and cares for lands that are and continue to be the traditional lands of Native Americans in our region. Since time immemorial, Native Americans, including the Warm Springs, Wasq'u (Wasco), Paiute, Klamath, Modoc and the Yahooskin-Paiute Tribes, have lived in this region or visited it to hunt, fish, gather foods, and trade. Deschutes Land Trust protected lands are within these traditional lands and governed by treaties signed with the Tribes in the 1800s.

Central Oregon’s Tribal communities are the original stewards of the land, helping care for and connect with the land since time immemorial. When Euro-Americans arrived in the area in the early 1800s, they cleared forests, built settlements, and disrupted traditional Tribal territories, leading to forced displacement and cultural suppression. Between 1850-1870, the United States government further disrupted lifeways by forcibly moving most Tribes onto established reservations through treaties.

In 1855 the Treaty with the Tribes of Middle Oregon defined the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and affirmed Tribal rights to harvest and manage fish, wildlife, and other foods on the reservation and on accustomed lands outside of the reservation. The Warm Springs, Wasq'u (Wasco), and Paiute Tribes comprise the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs.

In 1864 the Klamath Tribes Treaty defined the Klamath Indian Reservation and recognized the sovereignty of the Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc and the Yahooskin-Paiute) and their right to a homeland. Though the Tribe was terminated in 1954, they regained federal recognition in 1986 and the associated rights to harvest and manage fish, wildlife, and other foods on accustomed lands. Their reservation lands were not returned to the Tribe as part of their restoration.

The Land Trust considers both the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Klamath Tribes important partners in management and restoration of our protected lands. The Land Trust honors their rights as sovereign nations to harvest and manage fish, wildlife, and other first foods on their usual and accustomed lands. We also honor their traditional role as the original stewards of the land, helping care for and connect with the land since time immemorial.

While acknowledging the past and present role of Native Americans as stewards of the lands is important, the Land Trust also believes that there is more that needs to be done to address the harms of the past and reconnect communities with their ancestral lands. As a conservation organization and a landowner, the Land Trust is seeking ways we can support increased Indigenous access, stewardship, and ownership of land. Along with other land trusts across Oregon, we are collectively advancing this work through our participation in the Oregon Land Justice Project. You can learn more about these efforts and our local Native American communities via the links below.

Learn more:

• About the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
• About the Klamath Tribes.
• About the Oregon Land Justice Project.
• The history of Oregon Tribes in the Contemporary Era.
• About Indigenous land acknowledgements.