Welcome to the Episode 129 page of Ramping Up your English. If you seek higher English proficiency, you’re in the right place.
Watching Episode 129: Knowing Our Cow Creek Neighbors
Episode Summary
This episode features an interview with Jesse Jackson, educator and member of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Indians. Jackson relates interesting information about the Cow Creeks with scant time used in questioning. This is a great time to exercise your listening Comprehension skills.
Repeatedly during the interview, Jackson refers to his people as the Degelma. I should note that the term Dagelma is an alternate name for the Takelma. Previous episodes have referred to the Takelma. These are two names for the same people.
The interview begins with a question about the area where the Cow Creek people live – or have lived. This opened the door to the complexity of Cow Creek history and the nature of the Tribe. Jackson draws a distinction between where many of the band live now and their ancestral homeland.
We learn to go back in history and discover the life-ways of these Dagelma-speaking people, including the seven families who achieved recognition from the government in the 1980s.
Some of the topics explored include the language and the longevity of the Upper Dagelan Culture. Jackson cited three facts that indicate that his people have lived in this area for a very long time, probably pre-dating the arrive of Athapaskan-speaking people.
The language is one indicator. The lithic record also points to the duration of this culture in the form of hunting points unique to the Cow Creek Indians.
No one explains all this better that Jesse Jackson. I feel privileged to have recorded his interview, and I hope you, my viewers, recognize the value of the knowledge conveyed by this segment of the interview I recorded in the Fall of 2025.
Featured Video
The heart of this episode is a conversation with Jesse Jackson, a member of the Cow Creek Band. Jackson shares important history of his people. Click Here to watch the interview.
Other video Content
Jesse Jackson refers to the Lower Takelma – or the Rogues – several times during the interview. Episode 116 is all about the Takelma. Click here to see the episode 116 Page. Click here for the featured video in that episode. For a longer, more detailed version of the same video, click here.
Next Episode
Coming soon! Episode 130 of Ramping Up your English will soon be produced. Please check back to visit the Episode 130 page – Coming soon!