Emily Jung Miller

Late summer sun illuminates the turquoise waters and rocky, forested shoreline of the southern Oregon coast near Coos Bay. Cape Arago Lighthouse is visible in the distance, located on Chief's Island just north of Sunset Bay State Park and Shore Acres State Park.

The site was occupied by the Coos tribe from 500 AD until the early 19th century, when a rival tribe destroyed the village. White settlers arrived in 1853, and Cape Arago Lighthouse was built in 1866 to support the area's growing timber industry.

After 140 years of service, the light was deactivated in 2006, and in 2013, the land was transferred to the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. The area has been an active cultural site for tribal members since the 1950s, and Confederate Tribes now hope to establish an interpretive center on the mainland near the lighthouse.

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