The Karuk Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe of

Karuk people The Karuk people are an indigenous people of California, and the Karuk Tribe is one of the largest tribes in California. Karuks are also enrolled in two other federally recognized tribes, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad ...

. They are an

indigenous people of California The indigenous peoples of California (known as Native Californians) are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. ...

, located in the northwestern corner of the state, in Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. The Karuk Tribe is one of the largest Indian tribes in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. As a government organization, the Karuk Tribe of California has demonstrated its ability to administer a multitude of social, cultural and economic programs effectively, earning the status of a "Self-Governance Tribe." The Tribal government currently employs more than 100 people in administrative, child welfare, community/economic development, education, elders, energy assistance, health, housing, human services and natural resources programs. In little more than a decade the Karuk Tribe has developed housing divisions, health clinics and Head Start programs in Orleans, Happy Camp and

Yreka Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fro ...

, its three major population centers. Through the tribally-chartered Karuk Community Development Corporation, the Karuk Tribe also has administered salmon fisheries enhancement projects, acquired and expanded a retail business, planned a small manufacturing plant, assisted a number of local people in starting small business enterprises and staffs Workforce Development personnel at Community Computer Centers in Orleans, Happy Camp and Yreka.

Land

The Karuk do not have a legally designated reservation but do have a number of small tracts held in trust by the federal government as well as tracts owned by the tribe in fee-simple status. These small non-contiguous parcels of land are primarily located along the

Klamath River The Klamath River (Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second larges ...

in western

Siskiyou County Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregion ...

and northeastern Humboldt County in California. The total land area of these parcels is . A resident population of 333 persons was reported in the 2000 census. There are also a number of tracts located within the city of Yreka.

Government

The Karuk are headquartered in

Happy Camp, California Happy Camp (Karuk: ''athithúf-vuunupma'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Siskiyou County, California in the United States. Its population is 905 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,190 from the 2010 census. The town of Happy Camp "The H ...

, governed by a nine-member council. As of 2016, it comprises: * Chairman: Russell "Buster" Attebery * Vice-Chairman: Robert Super * Secretary/Treasurer: Michael Thom * Member-at-large: Renee Stauffer * Member-at-large: Arch Super * Member-at-large: Sonny Davis * Member-at-large: Wilverna Reece * Member-at-large: Alvis Johnson * Member-at-large: Kristen King

Language

The Karuk people speak the

Karuk language Karuk or Karok ( kyh, Araráhih or kyh, Ararahih'uripih) is the traditional language of the Karuk people in the region surrounding the Klamath River, in Northwestern California. The name ‘Karuk’ is derived from the Karuk word ''káruk'', m ...

, a Shastan language belonging to the

Hokan language family The Hokan language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families that were spoken mainly in California, Arizona and Baja California. Etymology The name ''Hokan'' is loosely based on the word for "two" in the various Hokan ...

. The tribe has an active language revitalization program. With fewer than twelve active full-time speakers alive as of 2015, Karuk (also known as Karok, Quoratem, Charoc, and Quoratean) is considered to be a severely endangered language according to the Endangered Languages Project. Field recordings, primary texts, lexical resources, language descriptions, and other resources about the language have been archived by the University of California, Berkeley California Language Archive.

The ISO 639-3 symbol for the Karuk langauage is kyh.

Business

The tribe operates the Rain Rock Casino in

Yreka, California Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fro ...

. The People's Center in Happy Camp is the tribe's museum and cultural center. The 5,000-foot building has a changing gallery, museum store, classroom, library, office for the language program, and archives and collections storage."Welcome to the People's Center."
''Karuk Tribe.'' Retrieved 30 July 2013. A tribally owned

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

, ''Áan Chúuphan'' ("talking line"), installed fiber optic cable to provide Internet and cell service in the tribal center of Orleans. As of 2018,

satellite internet access Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through communication satellites. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provided to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer relatively high dat ...

remains the only option for many residents.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

External links

Karuk Tribe
official website
Traditional Karuk Ceremonial Activity on the Klamath River
USDA Forest Service {{DEFAULTSORT:Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in California Native Americans in Humboldt County, California Siskiyou County, California