The Klamath people are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oreg ...

and

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. Today Klamath people are enrolled in the federally recognized tribes: *

Klamath Tribes The Klamath Tribes, formerly the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon, are a federally recognized Native American Nation consisting of three Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited Southern Oregon and Northern California in the United St ...

(Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin (Yahuskin) Band of Northern Paiute Indians), Oregon *

Quartz Valley Indian Community The Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California is a federally recognized tribe of Klamath, Karuk, and Shasta Indians in Siskiyou County, California Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost par ...

(Klamath, Karuk (Karok), and Shasta (Chasta) people), California.

History

Pre-contact

The Klamath people lived in the area around the Upper Klamath Lake (E-ukshi - “Lake”) and the

Klamath Klamath may refer to: Ethnic groups *Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon **Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon *Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people Places in the United States * ...

, Williamson (Kóke - “River”), Wood River (E-ukalksini Kóke), and Sprague (Plaikni Kóke - “River Uphill”) rivers. They subsisted primarily on fish and gathered roots and seeds. While there was knowledge of their immediate neighbors, apparently the Klamath were unaware of the existence of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. Gatschet has described this position as leaving the Klamath living in a "protracted isolation" from outside cultures. North of their tribal territory lived the

Molala The Molala (also Molale, Molalla, Molele) are a people of the Plateau culture area in the Oregon Cascades and central Oregon, United States. They are one of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, with 141 of the 882 member ...

(''Kuikni maklaks''), in the northeast and east in the desert-like plains were various

Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

bands (''Shá'ttumi'', collective term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and Northern Shoshone) - among them the ''Goyatöka Band'' ("Crayfish Eaters"), direct south their

Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language **Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc *Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Mo ...

kin (''Mo'dokni maklaks'' - "Southern People, i.e. Tule Lake People") with whom they shared the

Modoc Plateau __NOTOC__ The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. Nearly of the Modoc National Forest are on the plateau between the Medicine Lake Highlands in the west and the Warner Mountains in the ...

, in the southwest were living Shasta peoples (''S sti maklaks'') and the Klamath River further downstream the Karuk and

Yurok The Yurok (Karuk language: Yurúkvaarar / Yuru Kyara - "downriver Indian; i.e. Yurok Indian") are an Indigenous people from along the Klamath River and Pacific coast, whose homelands are located in present-day California stretching from Trinidad ...

(both: ''Skatchpalikni'' - "People along the Scott River"), in the west and northwest were the Latgawa ("Upland Takelma") (according to Spier: ''Walumskni'' - "Enemy") and Takelma/Dagelma ("Lowland/River Takelma") (more likely both were called: ''Wálamsknitumi, Wálamskni maklaks'' - “Rogue River People”). Beyond the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

(''Yámakisham Yaina'' - “mountains of the Northerners”) in the

Rogue River Valley The Rogue Valley is a valley region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon nea ...

(''Wálamsh'') lived the "Rogue "River" Athabascan (''Wálamsknitumi, Wálamskni maklaks'' - “Rogue River People”) and further south along the Pit River (''Moatuashamkshini/Móatni Kóke'' - "River of the Southern Dwellers") lived the Achomawi and Atsugewi (both called: ''Móatuash maklaks'' - "Southern Dweller", or "Southern People"). The Klamath were known to raid neighboring tribes, such as the Achomawi on the

Pit River The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range. The longest tributary of the Sacr ...

, and occasionally to take prisoners as slaves. They traded with the Wasco-Wishram at The Dalles. However, scholars such as Alfred L. Kroeber and

Leslie Spier Leslie Spier (December 13, 1893 – December 3, 1961) was an American anthropologist best known for his ethnographic studies of American Indians. He spent a great deal of his professional life as a teacher; he retired in 1955 and died in 1961.Rob ...

consider these slaving raids by the Klamath to begin only with the acquisition of the horse. These natives made southern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

their home for long enough to witness the eruption of Mount Mazama. It was a legendary volcanic mountain who is the creator of Crater Lake (''giˑw''), now considered to be a beautiful natural formation.

Contact

In 1826,

Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expedi ...

, an explorer for the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

, first encountered the Klamath people, and he was trading with them by 1829. The United States frontiersman Kit Carson admired their arrows, which were reported to be able to shoot through a house.

Treaty with the United States

The Klamaths, Modocs, and the Yahooskin (Yahuskin) Band of

(in Paiute known as: Goyatöka - "Crayfish eaters"), which was erroneously called ''Upper Sprague River Snakes'' believed to be a Band of ''

Snake Indians Snake Indians is a collective name given to the Northern Paiute, Bannock (tribe), Bannock, and Shoshone Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe (Native American), tribes. The term was used as early as 1739 by French trader an ...

'', the collective name given to the Northern Paiute, Bannock, and Shoshone Native American tribes, signed a treaty with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1864, establishing the Klamath Reservation to the northeast of Upper Klamath Lake. This area was largely part of the traditional territory controlled by the ă′ukuckni Klamath band. The treaty required the tribes to cede the land in the Klamath Basin, bounded on the north by the 44th parallel, to the United States. In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $35,000, and annual payments totalling $80,000 over 15 years, as well as providing infrastructure and staff for the reservation. The treaty provided that, if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld; the United States could also locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future. The tribes requested

Lindsay Applegate Lindsay Applegate (September 18, 1808 – November 28, 1892) was an American pioneer known for his participation in blazing the Applegate Trail, an alternative route of the Oregon Trail. The trail was blazed with his brothers Charles and Jesse in ...

as the agent to represent the United States to them. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed.

Post-treaty history

Since termination of recognition of their tribal sovereignty in 1954 (with federal payments not disbursed until 1961), the Klamath and neighboring tribes have reorganized their government and revived tribal identity. The Klamath, along with the Modoc and Yahooskin, have formed the federally recognized

confederation. Their tribal government is based in Chiloquin, Oregon. Some Klamath live on the

in Siskiyou County, California.

Culture

Subdivisions

Traditionally there were several cultural subdivisions among the Klamath, based on the location of their residency within the Klamath Basin. Despite this, the five recognized "tribelets" (the Klamath Tribes count six) mutually considered each other the same ethnic group, about 1,200 people in total. Like many Indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest, the Klamath lived a semi-sedentary life. Winter settlements were in permanent locations that were reoccupied annually. Construction of the earth-lodges would begin in Autumn, with materials salvaged from abandoned, dilapidated buildings made in previous years.

has detailed some of the winter settlement patterns for Klamath as follows:

The towns are not isolated, compact groups of houses, but stretch along the banks for half a mile or more. In fact, the settlements on Williamson river below the Sprague river junction form a practically continuous string of houses for five or six miles, the house pits being, in many spots, crowded close together. Informants insisted that many of these were occupied at the same time. When we consider that these earth-lodges may have housed several families, there is strong suggestion of a considerable population.

* Ǎ’ukckni („Klamath Marsh People“ or „Klamath Marsh-Williamson River People“) * P'laikni (“Sprague River Valley People” or “Upland Klamath”, lit. “highland dwellers”) * Kowa’cdikni („Agency Lake/Marsh Lake People“) * Du’kwakni („ owerWilliamson River People“) * Gu’mbǒtkni („Pelican Bay People“) * Iu’laloηkni („Klamath Falls (Link River) People“)

Marriage

Marriage was a unique practice for the Klamath, compared to neighboring cultures found in the borderlands of modern

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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. For example, unlike the

Hupa Hupa (Yurok language term: Huep'oola' / Huep'oolaa = "Hupa people") are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinook-wa, meaning "Peopl ...

Karok 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 Ran ...

, and

, the Klamath didn't hold formal talks between families for a bride price. Especially notable was the cultural norm that allowed wives to leave husbands, as they were "in no sense chattel ... and certainly cannot be disposed of as a possession."

Ethnobotany

The Klamath use Apocynum cannabinum as a fiber and eat the roots of

Lomatium canbyi ''Lomatium canbyi'' is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Canby's biscuitroot (lúukš in the Sahaptin language and qeqíit in the Nez Perce language). It is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United S ...

. They use the rootstocks of

Sagittaria cuneata ''Sagittaria cuneata'' is a species of flowering plant in the water plantain family known by the common name arumleaf arrowhead or duck potato. Like some other ''Sagittaria'' species, it may be called wapato. It is native to much of North Americ ...

as food. They use Carex, weaving the leaves into mats, using the juice of the pith as a beverage, eating the fresh stems for food and using the tuberous base of the stem for food.

Dentalium

Dentalium shell The word dentalium, as commonly used by Native American artists and anthropologists, refers to tooth shells or tusk shells used in indigenous jewelry, adornment, and commerce in western Canada and the United States. These tusk shells are a kind o ...

s were common among the Klamath prior to colonization. Compared to other native cultures dentalium didn't hold as much financial use among the Klamath. However, longer shells were generally held to be more valuable. Nonetheless these shells were esteemed primarily for as jewelry and personal adornment. Septum piercings were commonly given to younger members of Klamath families to allow inserting dentalium. Some individuals wouldn't however use any shells in their septum. Spier gives the following account for their usage:

The septum of the nose is pierced and the ear lobes, the latter twice or even more frequently. Both sexes insert dentalium shells horizontally through the septum ... Ear pendants are a group of four dentalia hung in a bunch by their tips.

The use of dentalium in septum piercings, in addition to other means of ornamentation, was common among the Wasco-Wishram as well.

Classifications

The Klamath people are grouped with the Plateau Indians—the peoples who originally lived on the Columbia River Plateau. They were most closely linked with the Modoc people.

Language

The Klamath spoke one dialect of the

Klamath–Modoc language Klamath (), also Klamath–Modoc () and historically Lutuamian (), is a Native American language spoken around Klamath Lake in what is now southern Oregon and northern California. It is the traditional language of the Klamath and Modoc peoples, ...

- the northern or "fi-ukshikni" dialect, the other - the "southern" dialect being spoken by the Modoc people, who lived south of the Klamath. Once thought to be a language isolate, Klamath–Modoc is now considered a member of the

Plateau Penutian Plateau Penutian (also Shahapwailutan, Lepitan) is a family of languages spoken in northern California, reaching through central-western Oregon to northern Washington and central-northern Idaho. Family division Plateau Penutian consists of four ...

language family. Both the Klamath and the Modoc called themselves ''maqlaqs'', ''maqlags'' or ''Maklaks'' meaning "people". When they wanted to distinguish between themselves they added ''knii'' ("people from/of"), the Klamath were called ''?ewksiknii'', "people of the

lamath Lamath () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Geography The village lies in the northern part of the commune, on the left bank of the river Mortagne, which forms most of the commune's north-eastern border. ...

Lake", and the Modoc were called ''moowatdal'knii'', "people of the south".

Notable Klamath people

Natalie Ball Natalie Ball (born 1980) is a Klamath/ Modoc interdisciplinary artist based in Chiloquin, Oregon. Background Born in Portland, Oregon, Ball is enrolled in the Klamath Tribes. She is also of African-American, Modoc, and Anglo-American descent ...

(b. 1980), interdisciplinary artist

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Klamath Reservation General CouncilSouthern Oregon Digital Archives
{{Authority control Native American tribes in Oregon Native American tribes in California Plateau Penutian languages Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau