September 27, 2022 3:20 a.m.

In the KQEN Cultural Spotlight:

The Umpqua Community College Art Gallery is presenting: “The Land Remembers: Photographs Inspired by the Rogue River Wars”. A release said it is an exhibit of black and white infrared photographs that explore the landscapes of the “Rogue River Indian Wars of 1851-56”. The images by Rich Bergeman are on exhibit from September 27th to October 27th. A reception and gallery talk will be held on Thursday October 27th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The exhibit features more than 20 prints by Bergeman, a Corvallis photographer. They include the tribes who populated the southwest corner of what is now Oregon. The release said the remoteness of their homeland served them well for centuries. That changed suddenly in 1850 with the passage of the Oregon Donation Land Claim Act and the nearly simultaneous discovery of gold in the region. Settlers and miners streamed in, leading to conflict with local tribes.  Skirmishes flared up multiple times between 1851 and 1854 before erupting to an all-out war involving the U.S. Army in 1855-1856. It ended with the forced removal of the Rogue Valley and the South Coast tribes to reservations at Siletz and Grand Rhonde, which descendants now memorialize as Oregon’s own “Trail of Tears.

The UCC Art Gallery is in the Whipple Fine Arts Building on the school’s campus north of Roseburg. Gallery hours are Monday through Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Call 440-4692 for more information.