Anson Dart, Indian Superintendent of the Oregon Territory Oregon Encyclopedia David G. Lewis 2015 update of additional information In 1851, after gold was discovered in southern Oregon and the Oregon Homestead Act (1850) was passed, the U.S. government realized that they had not extinguished aboriginal title to the valuable Oregon lands. Anson Dart of Wisconsin was then appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon by the president and assigned to negotiate treaties with tribes primarily in the western region of the territory. Dart received his orders on July 20, 1850, and arrived in Oregon in October of the same year. Dart’s orders were fashioned after the recommendations received in Washington, D.C. from General Joseph Lane, ex-officio Indian superintendent in Oregon. Part of Dart’s responsibilities was to halt the liquor trade with Indians, and that he enforce a policy that they not purchase supplies from the Hudson’s Bay Company but instead from American merchants so that the Indians would side with the Americans in the region. Dart’s orders were to encourage the Indians to engage in agricultural and ranching pursuits, to encourage missionaries to Christianize the Indians, and to remove the tribes from western Oregon, and settle them all on a reservation in the Umatilla region. The United States was most concerned that they extinguish the Indian land titles to make way for the tens of thousands of settlers filtering into the valley on the Oregon Trail. Three Indian commissioners were appointed to aid Dart; John P. Gaines, Governor of the Oregon Territory, Alonzo A. Skinner, and Beverly S. Allen. The commissioners were advised to first make treaties with the Willamette valley tribes and offer a maximum of 10 cents an acre. They were encouraged to offer no monetary settlements for Indian title, but instead trade merchandise in annual installments. The Willamette valley tribal leaders were congregated at Champoeg April 1851 for the treaty negotiations. Negotiations lasted for as much as a week as the Calapooias would not agree to removal east of the Cascade Mountains. The Commissioners were forced to allow the tribes to choose small reservations within the valley, and on the slopes of the Cascade Mountains and Coast range. The tribes strongly argued to remain in their lands, because their ancestors were buried there. They chose areas which encompassed significant cultural resources. The Gibbs-Starling map of 1851 depicts the reservation locations for the Willamette valley encompassing an area from the Columbia River to the Calapooia Mountain range at the southern extremity of the valley. Additional treaty negotiations were had in May with other Calapooia tribes and the northern Molalas from the Cascades. Dart also made plans to situate the first Indian agency office on the shore of the Willamette at Milwaukee, Oregon, a project which was never finished. During his tenure in Oregon Dart visited the Umpqua valley at least twice during unrest and traveled east to the Umatilla, Waiilatpu and Lapwai areas to treat with the