Alsea
Encyclopedia
The Alsea were a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 tribe of Western Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. They are probably extinct, although a few members may be mixed in with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz
Confederated Tribes of Siletz
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the United States is a federally recognized confederation of 27 Native American tribal bands that once inhabited a range from northern California to southwest Washington.-Tribes:...

, many of whom live on the Siletz Reservation
Siletz Reservation
The Siletz Reservation is a 5.852 sq mi Indian reservation in Oregon, United States, owned by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz...

, where the remaining members were relocated. The name "Alsea" comes from /alsíiya/, the name applied to the Alseas by their neighbors, the Tillamook and Coos peoples.

Geography

The Alsea lived on the western coast of Oregon, around what is now Alsea Bay at the mouth of the Alsea River
Alsea River
The Alsea River flows from Alsea, an unincorporated community in the coastal mountains of the U.S. state of Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean near the city of Waldport. It begins at the confluence of the North Fork Alsea River and the South Fork Alsea River and ends in Alsea Bay, a wide estuary at...

.

Culture

The Alsea hunted seals and sea lions, and fished for salmon. Like many tribes in the area, they flattened the heads of infants.

Language

Alsea was an Alsean
Alsean languages
Alsea or Alsean was two closely related speech varieties spoken along the central Oregon coast. They are sometimes taken to be different languages, but it is difficult to be sure given the poor state of attestation; Mithun believes they were probably dialects of a single language.-Varieties:#...

 language very closely related to Yaquina
Yaquina (people)
Yaquina originally denoted a tribe of Native Americans, now nearly extinct , along with their language . The remaining Yaquina people live on the Siletz Reservation in Oregon, and are mostly of mixed blood. -External links:*...

. It is now extinct
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...

.

Religion

Very little is known about Alsea religion. It is thought to be similar to that of the Coos
Coos (tribe)
The Coos are a Native American tribe from the U.S. state of Oregon and one of the three Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. They live on the southwest Oregon Pacific coast...

.
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