Curley Headed Doctor ( Modoc: ''Cho-ocks'', 1828 — 1890; also Curly-Headed Doctor) was the spiritual leader for the Modoc tribe, notably during the

Modoc War The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard M ...

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Background

Curley Headed Doctor was Modoc from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. While initially a proponent of peaceful coexistence with the white settlers in the area, Curley Headed Doctor came to stand for Modoc independence as a means to preserve religious beliefs and traditions. He learned the Ghost Dance from a

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

Indian.Thrapp, Dan L. ''Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, Volume 1: A-F.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991. In response to encroachment by American gold prospectors and ranchers, leaders of his tribe ceded their traditional homelands to settle on a reservation in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, jointly occupied by the Klamath and

Yahooskin The Klamath people are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Today Klamath people are enrolled in the federally recognized tribes: * Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin (Yahu ...

Band of

Snake Indians Snake Indians is a collective name given to the Northern Paiute, Bannock, and Shoshone Native American tribes. The term was used as early as 1739 by French trader and explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de la Verendrye when he descri ...

in 1864. Reservation life was difficult for the Modoc, due to a neglectful and corrupt Indian agent and continual harassment by the Klamath. The leader of Curley Headed Doctor's band, known as the Hot Creeks, was

Captain Jack Captain Jack may refer to: People * Calico Jack (1683–1720), a pirate in the 18th century * Captain Jack (Hawaiian) (died 1831), Naihekukui, commander of Kamehameha's fleet and father of Kalama * Captain Jack (fl. 1830s on), Kaurna man in c ...

. Captain Jack led the band back to their ancestral homelands in California. The US Army responded violently.Scruggs, Patrica
The History of the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma.
2009 (10 Feb 2009)

Modoc Wars and removal

During the

Battle of Lost River The Battle of Lost River in November 1872 was the first battle in the Modoc War in the northwestern United States. The skirmish, which was fought near the Lost River along the California–Oregon border, was the result of an attempt by the U.S. ...

on November 29, 1872, Curley Headed Doctor led dances to support Modoc warriors. Detractors of the medicine man accused him of having, "used magic and fanaticism to support the followers of Jack." Due to his involvement, Curley Headed Doctor was indicted by an

grand jury but not tried. He is credited with raising the fog in the area that protected the tribe during the

First Battle of the Stronghold The First Battle of the Stronghold (January 17, 1873) was the second battle in the Modoc War of 1872–1873. The battle was fought between the United States Army under Lieutenant Colonel Frank Wheaton and a band of the Native American Modoc t ...

in January 1873, and leading them in the Ghost Dance to protect and save them from extinction. He urged the assassination of the Peace Commissioners but did not physically harm them. After the Modoc surrendered, he was spared by the

US Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

and deported to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

with the survivors of

's band, who would become the

Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma The Modoc Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Modoc people, located in Ottawa County in the northeast corner of Oklahoma and Modoc and Siskiyou counties in northeast California.Self, Burl EModoc.''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia ...

. Curley Headed Doctor died in Oklahoma.

Family

His son-in-law was Hooker Jim, a Modoc warrior who played a pivotal role in the Modoc War.A very tired lot of soldiers
, Modoc War, 1971, Argus Books (accessed 2 February 2007)

References

{{Authority control Modoc people People of the Modoc War Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America 1828 births 1890 deaths 19th-century Native Americans