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Indian history is revealed through letters Local historian Ben Truwe will talk about letters he's transcribed from the years 1849-1872 Comment By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 25, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 25, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News TALENT — Situations facing area Indians and settlers from 1849 to 1872 will be discussed by Medford historian Ben Truwe when he speaks about his transcriptions of correspondence to federal officials who were in charge of Indian affairs. Truwe’s talk will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Talent Historical Society, 105 N. Market St. Army officials, disgruntled settlers and others wrote to the Oregon superintendent of Indian Affairs to chronicle events of the day, seek favors and occasionally plead the Indians’ causes. Batches of letters covering the years are on 40 roles of microfilm, many at the University of Oregon. “It’s not just about the Indian wars. You kind of get a better insight into how people lived,” said Truwe. “There’s lots of comments on ‘this particular Indian is bothering me,’ and also on white people, too.” An 1861 letter from John F. Miller, an Indian agent, says education of Indian children who returned to their families each evening did not prove successful. He urged separating the children from their parents. “This was a constant drumbeat. These people were taken with getting them assimilated as quickly as possible and to teach them to farm,” said Truwe. “But these people don’t have the cultural structure to master the technology.” Before the arrival of settlers, there was no need to plan for the future because food was abundant, said Truwe. But settler’s attitudes were that the people would go extinct unless they were civilized and given small pieces of property. “I’m trying to get inside these people’s heads. These people had the highest of motives on both sides, but they had cultural blinders on,” said Truwe. Transcription of the letters has provided challenges. “It’s a legibility problem. Penmanship wasn’t standardized yet in the 1850s. People formed letters in different ways,” said Truwe. I’s and J’s often appear to have been written the same by some people. Truwe will email copies of letters with illegible words to 18 helpers who make their own interpretations in an effort to glean meaning. “We all anticipate the next letter and all race to the finish to find the word he is looking for,” said Jan Wright, president of the society and one of the recipients. “This is an ingenious way to keep people interested and hone their skills at interpretation.” Not all words are deciphered. “Some words just remain mysterious. These people were writing late at night, under bad lighting, in terrible conditions,” said Trwue. An 1872 letter from A.B. Meacham, superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon, refers to removal of Modoc Indians from Jackson County. Modoc and Klamath Indians came to Jackson County following removal of the Rogue Indians to reservations in northwest Oregon after the Rogue Indian War. Truwe said it appears the Indians hung around Jackson County to secure alcohol. “There’s still a lot of mystery in these letters. White men said Indians are eager to sell their lands,” said Truwe. “All I can gather is the white men are self-delusional, and the Indians didn’t understand they will never be able to use their lands again.” In an 1849 letter, Dr. Forbes Barclay asked that Sandwich Islanders who took wives and property from Indians be ordered to refund the losses. Federal government concerns about money spent on Indians also appeared in the correspondences. In some cases agents asked to be paid for their work in previous years, and there was not enough money to support Indian needs, said Truwe. So far Truwe has reviewed 28 of the 40 microfilm rolls in the more than two years he has worked on the transcriptions. Not all letters he views are transcribed. The transcriptions can be found at http://bit.ly/1PtlT15 Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected] By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 25, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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