This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we turn our attention close to home—to the Indigenous peoples whose histories, cultures, and relationships with the Rogue Valley long predate our own. Through stories drawn directly from the websites and voices of local Tribal nations, different readers will share the histories of the peoples who have called this valley home.

We will remember the Takelma, Shasta, Latgawa, Tututni, and other peoples whose lives and communities were profoundly affected by colonization, removal, and broken treaties. But this service will not tell their stories as something confined to the past. We will also honor their resilience, cultural traditions, continuing presence, and living legacies.

Together, we will listen, remember, and consider what it means for us to live in this place—and how we might do so with greater understanding, respect, and right relationship.