The notion of Indian tribes to some people draws only images of casinos or the occasional exhibit of artifacts. But the presence of American Indians in the region goes far beyond that.

These living, thriving indigenous cultures, which have grown and transformed over the decades, have survived and want others to know who they are today.

“It’s reinforced by our movies and old TV shows, as if there used to be Indians who had these wonderful traditions and now those people and traditions are gone, when in fact they’re very much here and very much alive,” said Anne Donnelly, the director of the Coos Historical & Maritime Museum.

To help bring Oregon’s tribal culture to the forefront of the public’s mind, the Oregon Historical Society, in association with the state’s nine federally recognized tribes, is presenting “Oregon is Indian Country.”

Tribal member Denise Hockema, who is an anthropologist for the Coquille Indian Tribe, said the exhibit fills in the gap left by the public education system in regard to the state’s Indians. There isn’t enough in her opinion, as only fourth-grade students are required to learn about the tribes.

“There can’t be too much education out there about Oregon Indians,” Hockema said. “All of this isn’t in the past. We do things everybody else does, but we also remember our past and try to keep up our customs.”

The three-part traveling exhibit debuts today in Coos County and will be presented in segments at the museum, and the Coos Bay and North Bend libraries for the next month. During the next two years, it will travel to counties throughout the state. The museum received the component on traditions, titled “Traditions that Bind,” the North Bend Public Library is showing “The Land” and Coos Bay is showcasing “Federal Indian Policies.”

Donnelly said she’s impressed with the museum’s segment on traditions, which was installed at the building Tuesday by Drew McGrath, the Historical Society’s special projects manager.

“It’s a really eye-catching, colorful and comprehensive look at tribes across Oregon,” Donnelly said. “It’s one of the few times, that I at least have seen, all nine tribes expressing their common themes and presenting themselves in all their diversity to the public.

“I think the exhibit at our place, together with those at the libraries, will really enlarge people’s understanding of contemporary Indian issues.”

Each about 20-feet long, the displays are made of a stretch knit fabric replete with photographs and text stretched over metal frames. Topics for the museum’s segment include tribal languages, culture in the classroom, ceremonies, traditions, and living culture.

“I think it’s a great way to communicate the fact that the tribes’ cultures are still alive and well and part of our communities,” Donnelly said. “I think that’s something many of us often forget because Indians are so often romanticized as if they were gone from the face of the earth.”

One topic she found in the exhibit that is not often discussed, and may strike viewers, is a description of American Indian participation in the United States Armed Services.

The different panels are designed to teach more about the tribes and some of their struggles. For example, the exhibit segment featured at the Coos Bay Library, “Federal Indian Policies,” review the tribes’ current drive for economic self determination. In the 1850s, the federal government began relocating Native Americans off the South Coast to a reservation at Siletz. In the 1950s the federal government declared the tribes to be legally non-existent.

The Coquille and Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians were not restored until the 1980s after a long effort, Donnelly noted.

The exhibit is the result of years of planning on the part of the Historical Society’s Folklife Program and the federally recognized tribes, including the Coquille and Confederated Tribes, Hockema said.

At the library on Tuesday, Linda Piovesan knelt in the lobby with her 2-year-old daughter, Bella, and read aloud information on the exhibit.

Although some of it is beyond Bella’s level of understanding, the North Bend resident said she liked sharing some of the simpler information with the girl, such as the fact that the Camas flower root was a food staple for Oregon tribes.

“I think it’s pretty amazing. ... I love having the Native American heritage here in the community,” she said. “I wish that we had more cultural exhibits, especially for the children.”