Uncertain Encounters begins with a critical investigation of the Hudson's Bay Company's fur-trade relations with southern Oregon Indians, emphasizing its responsibility for Indian hostility. It turns next to exploration of the region by white Americans and to early encounters between Indians and white miners and settlers. It reexamines the tragic Rogue River War, providing the first detailed picture of Indian casualties and the war's impact on the Indian population. Finally, it describes the removal of Indians to the Siletz and Grand Ronde reservations as told from the perspective of Indian oral narratives as well as white accounts. As a major aspect of the story, Douthit highlights the development of a little-known middle-ground of relationships between Indian women and white men during and after removal.