Modoc
Encyclopedia
The Modoc are a Native American
people who originally lived in the area which is now northeastern California
and central Southern Oregon
. They are currently divided between Oregon
and Oklahoma
. The latter are a federally recognized tribe, the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
. The Oregon Modoc are enrolled in the federally recognized Klamath Tribes
.
Modoc Plateau
, Modoc National Forest
, Modoc County, California
; Modoc, Indiana
; and numerous other places are named after this group of people.
, they caught salmon
during salmon runs and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food. Their housing included portable tents used in summer, located near reliable sources of edible roots and hunting. In winter, they built earthen dug-out lodges shaped like beehives, covered with sticks and plastered with mud, located near lake shores with reliable sources of seeds from aquatic woka
plants and fishing.
, the groups neighboring the Modoc home were the following:
The Modoc, Northern Paiute, and Achomawi shared Goose Lake Valley
.
, Kumbat and Pashha on the shores of Tule Lake
, and Wachamshwash and Nushalt-Hagak-ni on the Lost River
.
, an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company
, established trade with the Klamath people to the north of the Modoc.
, accompanied by fourteen other settlers in the Willamette
and Rogue valleys in western Oregon, established the South Emigrant Trail in 1846. It connected a point on the Oregon Trail
near Fort Hall, Idaho
and the Willamette Valley. The new route was created to encourage European-American settlers to western Oregon, to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route, to provide an alternate route in the event of trouble with the United Kingdom (the British Hudson's Bay Company
controlled the Columbia Route), and to provide a route which would be open for most of the year, except for a short winter season.
Applegate and his party were the first known white men to enter what is now the Lava Beds National Monument
. On their exploring trip eastward, they attempted to pass around the south end of Tule Lake
, but the rough lava along the shore forced them to seek a route around the north end of the lake.
The opening of the South Emigrant Trail allegedly brought the first regular contact between the Modoc and the European-American settlers, who had largely ignored their territory before. Many of the events of the Modoc War
took place along the South Emigrant Trail.
, Tule Lake
, and the Lost River
in northern California and southern Oregon.
In September 1852, the Modoc destroyed an emigrant train at Bloody Point on the east shore of Tule Lake. Only three of the 65 persons in the train escaped immediate death. The Modoc took two young girls as captives. They were reportedly killed several years later by jealous Modoc women. The only man to survive the attack made his way to Yreka, California
. After hearing his news, Yreka settlers organized a militia
under the leadership of Sheriff Charles McDermit, Jim Crosby and Ben Wright. They went to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their death. Crosby's party had one skirmish with a band of Modoc and returned to Yreka.
Ben Wright and a small group stayed on to avenge the deaths. He was a notorious Indian hater. Accounts differ as to what took place when Wright's party met the Modoc on Lost River, but most agree that Wright planned to ambush them, which he did in November, 1852. Wright and his forces attacked, killing approximately 40 Modoc, in what came to be known as the "Ben Wright Massacre."
Historians have estimated that at least 300 emigrants and settlers were killed by the Modoc during the years 1846 to 1873. Perhaps as many Modoc were killed by settlers and slave traders.
The United States, the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin
band of Snake
tribes signed a treaty in 1864, establishing the Klamath Reservation. The treaty required the tribes to cede the land bounded on the north by the 44th parallel
, on the west and south by the ridges of the Cascade Mountains, and on the east by lines touching Goose Lake
and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel. In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $35,000, and annual payments totaling $80,000 over 15 years, as well as providing infrastructure and staff for a reservation. The treaty provided that if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld and that the United States could locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future. The tribes requested Lindsay Applegate as the US Indian agent.
The terms of the 1864 treaty demanded that the Modoc surrender their lands in near Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake in exchange for lands in the Upper Klamath Valley. They did so, under the leadership of Chief Schonchin. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed.
The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor the California government would approve it.
intpuash (also called Captain Jack) led a band of Modoc in 1870 to leave reservation and return to their traditional homelands. They built a village near the Lost River. These Modoc had not been adequately represented in the treaty negotiations and wished to end the harassment by the Klamath on the reservation.
In November 1872, the U.S. Army was sent to Lost River to attempt to force the Keintpuash's band back to the reservation. A battle
broke out, and the Modoc escaped to what is called Captain Jack's Stronghold
in what is now Lava Beds National Monument
, California
. The band of less than 53 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 troops of the U.S. Army for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April 1873, the Modoc left the Stronghold and began to splinter. Keintpuash and his group were the last to be captured on June 4, 1873, when they voluntarily gave themselves up. The U.S. government personnel had assured them that their people would be treated fairly and that the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land.
The US Army tried, convicted and executed Keintpuash and three of his warriors in October 1873 for the murder of Major General Edward Canby
earlier that year at a parley. The general had violated agreements made with the Modoc. The Army sent the rest of the band to Oklahoma as prisoners of war with Scarfaced Charley as their chief. The tribe's spiritual leader, Curley Headed Doctor
, also made the removal to Indian Territory
.
In the 1870s, Peter Cooper
brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of the delegations was from the Modoc and Klamath tribes. In 1907, the group in Oklahoma was given permission, if they wished, to return to Oregon. Several people did, but most stayed at their new home.
put the aboriginal population of the Modoc at 400. Alfred L. Kroeber
estimated the 1770 Modoc population within California as 500. University of Oregon anthropologist Theodore Stern suggested that there had been a total of about 500 Modoc.
, in and around their ancestral homelands. This group included the Modocs who stayed on the reservation during the Modoc War, as well as the descendants of those who chose to return to Oregon from Oklahoma in 1909. Since that time, many of them have followed the path of the Klamath. The shared tribal government of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin in Oregon is known as the Klamath Tribes
.
200 Modocs live in Oklahoma
on the Quapaw Indian Reservation at the far northeast corner of Oklahoma. They are descendants of the band led by Captain Jack (Keintpuash) during the Modoc War. The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
was officially recognized by the United States government in 1978, and their constitution was approved in 1991.
. The Klamath and Modoc languages together are sometimes referred to as Lutuamian languages. Both peoples called themselves maklaks, meaning "people". To distinguish between the tribes, the Modoc called themselves Moatokni maklaks, from muat meaning "South". The Achomawi
, a band of the Pit River tribe
, called them Lutuami, meaning "Lake Dwellers".
The religion of the Modoc is not known in detail. The number 5 figured heavily in ritual, as in the Shuyuhalsh, a five-night dance rite of passage for adolescent girls. A sweat lodge
was used for purification and mourning ceremonies.
Native American history of California
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people who originally lived in the area which is now northeastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and central Southern Oregon
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 Oregon American Viticultural Area, which consists of the...
. They are currently divided between Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The latter are a federally recognized tribe, the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma is the smallest federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma. They are descendants of Captain Jack's band of Modoc people, removed from the West Coast after the Modoc Wars.-Early history:...
. The Oregon Modoc are enrolled in the federally recognized Klamath Tribes
Klamath Tribes
The Klamath Tribes, formerly the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon, are a federally recognized confederation of three Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited Southern Oregon and Northern California in the United States: the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin...
.
Modoc Plateau
Modoc Plateau
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. It is a mile-high expanse of lava flows with cinder cones, juniper flats, pine forests, and seasonal lakes. The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago...
, Modoc National Forest
Modoc National Forest
Modoc National Forest is a national forest in northeastern California, covering parts of Modoc , Lassen , and Siskiyou counties. Most of the forest was covered by an immense lava flow millions of years ago. The eastern part of the forest east of Alturas contains a spur of the Cascade Range to...
, Modoc County, California
Modoc County, California
Modoc County is a county located in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California, bounded by the state of Oregon to the north and the state of Nevada to the east. As of the 2010 census, its population was 9,686, up from 9,449 at the 2000 census. The current county seat is Alturas, the...
; Modoc, Indiana
Modoc, Indiana
Modoc is a town in Union Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 196 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Modoc is located at ....
; and numerous other places are named after this group of people.
Pre-contact
Prior to the 19th century, when European explorers first encountered the Modoc, like all Plateau IndiansPlateau Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians are indigenous peoples of the Plateau or Intermontane region of Western Canada and the United States, whose territories are located in the...
, they caught salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
during salmon runs and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food. Their housing included portable tents used in summer, located near reliable sources of edible roots and hunting. In winter, they built earthen dug-out lodges shaped like beehives, covered with sticks and plastered with mud, located near lake shores with reliable sources of seeds from aquatic woka
WOKA
WOKA can refer to:* WOKA , a radio station licensed to Douglas, Georgia, United States* WOKA-FM, a radio station licensed to Douglas, Georgia, United States...
plants and fishing.
Neighboring groups
In addition to the Klamath, with whom they shared a language and the Modoc PlateauModoc Plateau
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. It is a mile-high expanse of lava flows with cinder cones, juniper flats, pine forests, and seasonal lakes. The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago...
, the groups neighboring the Modoc home were the following:
- ShastaShasta (tribe)The Shasta are an indigenous people of Northern California and Southern Oregon in the United States. They spoke one of the Shastan languages....
on the Klamath River; - Rogue RiverRogue River (tribe)Rogue River is the name of a Native American group originally located in southern Oregon in the United States. Rogue River was not a single tribe, but a conglomeration of many affiliated and related tribal groups. The total estimated population of these tribes in 1850 was about 9,500...
Athabaskans and TakelmaTakelmaThe Takelma were a Native American people that lived in the Rogue Valley of interior southwest Oregon, with most of their villages sited along the Rogue River. The name Takelma means Along the River.-History:...
west over the Cascade Mountains; - Northern Paiute east in the desert;
- KarukKarukKaruk is an indigenous people of California in the United States.The tribal headquarters, located off State Route 96, is in the town of Happy Camp, California. Currently the tribe has three tribal board meeting places, in Yreka, Happy Camp, and Orleans...
and YurokYurok tribeThe Yurok, whose name means "downriver people" in the neighboring Karuk language, are Native Americans who live in northwestern California near the Klamath River and Pacific coast...
further down the Klamath River; and - AchomawiAchomawiThe Achomawi are one of eleven bands of the Pit River tribe of Native Americans who lived in northeastern California, USA....
or Pit River to the south, in the meadows of the Pit River drainages.
The Modoc, Northern Paiute, and Achomawi shared Goose Lake Valley
Goose Lake Valley
The Goose Lake Valley is located in south-central Oregon and northeastern California, United States. It is a high valley at the northwestern corner of North America’s basin and range province. Much of the valley floor is covered by Goose Lake, a large endorheic lake that straddles the...
.
Settlements
The known Modoc village sites are Agawesh where Willow Creek enters Lower Klamath LakeLower Klamath Lake
Lower Klamath Lake is a lake in Siskiyou County, California, that currently serves to hold overflow water for irrigation. At one time it was connected to Upper Klamath Lake....
, Kumbat and Pashha on the shores of Tule Lake
Tule Lake
Tule Lake is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.-Geography:Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River...
, and Wachamshwash and Nushalt-Hagak-ni on the Lost River
Lost River (California)
Lost River begins and ends in a closed basin in northern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. The river, long, flows in an arc from Clear Lake Reservoir in Modoc County, California, through Klamath County, Oregon to Tule Lake in Siskiyou County...
.
First contact
In the 1820s, Peter Skene OgdenPeter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...
, an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, established trade with the Klamath people to the north of the Modoc.
South Emigrant Trail established
Lindsay ApplegateLindsay Applegate
Lindsay Applegate was a pioneer known for blazing the Applegate Trail, an alternative end of Oregon Trail in the U.S. state of Oregon. The trail was blazed with his brothers Charles and Jesse in 1846.-Early life:...
, accompanied by fourteen other settlers in the Willamette
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
and Rogue valleys in western Oregon, established the South Emigrant Trail in 1846. It connected a point on the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
near Fort Hall, Idaho
Fort Hall, Idaho
Fort Hall is a census-designated place in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho, split between northern Bannock County and southern Bingham County. It is located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation along the Snake River north of Pocatello, near the site of the original Fort Hall in the...
and the Willamette Valley. The new route was created to encourage European-American settlers to western Oregon, to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route, to provide an alternate route in the event of trouble with the United Kingdom (the British Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
controlled the Columbia Route), and to provide a route which would be open for most of the year, except for a short winter season.
Applegate and his party were the first known white men to enter what is now the Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties. The Monument lies on the northeastern flank of the Medicine Lake Volcano, with the largest total area covered by a volcano in the Cascade Range....
. On their exploring trip eastward, they attempted to pass around the south end of Tule Lake
Tule Lake
Tule Lake is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.-Geography:Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River...
, but the rough lava along the shore forced them to seek a route around the north end of the lake.
The opening of the South Emigrant Trail allegedly brought the first regular contact between the Modoc and the European-American settlers, who had largely ignored their territory before. Many of the events of the Modoc War
Modoc War
The Modoc War, or Modoc Campaign , was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc tribe and the United States Army in southern Oregon and northern California from 1872–1873. The Modoc War was the last of the Indian Wars to occur in California or Oregon...
took place along the South Emigrant Trail.
Emigrant invasion
Beginning in 1847, the Modoc raided the invading emigrants on the South Emigrant Trail. The Modoc, numbering about 600 warriors under the leadership of Old Chief Schonchin, inhabited the region around Lower Klamath LakeLower Klamath Lake
Lower Klamath Lake is a lake in Siskiyou County, California, that currently serves to hold overflow water for irrigation. At one time it was connected to Upper Klamath Lake....
, Tule Lake
Tule Lake
Tule Lake is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.-Geography:Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River...
, and the Lost River
Lost River (California)
Lost River begins and ends in a closed basin in northern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. The river, long, flows in an arc from Clear Lake Reservoir in Modoc County, California, through Klamath County, Oregon to Tule Lake in Siskiyou County...
in northern California and southern Oregon.
In September 1852, the Modoc destroyed an emigrant train at Bloody Point on the east shore of Tule Lake. Only three of the 65 persons in the train escaped immediate death. The Modoc took two young girls as captives. They were reportedly killed several years later by jealous Modoc women. The only man to survive the attack made his way to Yreka, California
Yreka, California
Yreka is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States. The population was 7,765 at the 2010 census, up from 7,290 at the 2000 census.- History:...
. After hearing his news, Yreka settlers organized a militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
under the leadership of Sheriff Charles McDermit, Jim Crosby and Ben Wright. They went to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their death. Crosby's party had one skirmish with a band of Modoc and returned to Yreka.
Ben Wright and a small group stayed on to avenge the deaths. He was a notorious Indian hater. Accounts differ as to what took place when Wright's party met the Modoc on Lost River, but most agree that Wright planned to ambush them, which he did in November, 1852. Wright and his forces attacked, killing approximately 40 Modoc, in what came to be known as the "Ben Wright Massacre."
Historians have estimated that at least 300 emigrants and settlers were killed by the Modoc during the years 1846 to 1873. Perhaps as many Modoc were killed by settlers and slave traders.
Treaty with the United States
Yahooskin
The Yahooskin are a band of Snake Indians comprising part of the federally recognized Klamath Tribes in Klamath County, Oregon. In 1864 they, along with the Klamath and Modoc, signed a treaty with the Federal government which established an Indian reservation in Southern Oregon for them, in...
band of Snake
Snake Indians
Snake Indians is the common name given by American immigrants on the Oregon Trail to the bands of Northern Paiute, Bannock and Shoshone Native Americans in the Snake River and Owyhee River valleys of southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon...
tribes signed a treaty in 1864, establishing the Klamath Reservation. The treaty required the tribes to cede the land bounded on the north by the 44th parallel
44th parallel north
The 44th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 44 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
, on the west and south by the ridges of the Cascade Mountains, and on the east by lines touching Goose Lake
Goose Lake
Goose Lake may refer to:Canada*Goose Lake , Nova Scotia*Goose Lakes, Halifax, Nova Scotia*Goose Lake , Nova Scotia*Goose Lake , Nova Scotia*Goose Lake , Nova Scotia...
and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel. In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $35,000, and annual payments totaling $80,000 over 15 years, as well as providing infrastructure and staff for a reservation. The treaty provided that if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld and that the United States could locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future. The tribes requested Lindsay Applegate as the US Indian agent.
The terms of the 1864 treaty demanded that the Modoc surrender their lands in near Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake in exchange for lands in the Upper Klamath Valley. They did so, under the leadership of Chief Schonchin. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed.
The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor the California government would approve it.
intpuash (also called Captain Jack) led a band of Modoc in 1870 to leave reservation and return to their traditional homelands. They built a village near the Lost River. These Modoc had not been adequately represented in the treaty negotiations and wished to end the harassment by the Klamath on the reservation.
Modoc War
In November 1872, the U.S. Army was sent to Lost River to attempt to force the Keintpuash's band back to the reservation. A battle
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. 1st Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army to force...
broke out, and the Modoc escaped to what is called Captain Jack's Stronghold
Captain Jack's Stronghold
Captain Jack's Stronghold, named for Modoc chief Captain Jack, is a part of Lava Beds National Monument.The stronghold can be accessed from the Perez turnoff, off Highway 139 between Tulelake and Canby, California....
in what is now Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties. The Monument lies on the northeastern flank of the Medicine Lake Volcano, with the largest total area covered by a volcano in the Cascade Range....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The band of less than 53 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 troops of the U.S. Army for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April 1873, the Modoc left the Stronghold and began to splinter. Keintpuash and his group were the last to be captured on June 4, 1873, when they voluntarily gave themselves up. The U.S. government personnel had assured them that their people would be treated fairly and that the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land.
The US Army tried, convicted and executed Keintpuash and three of his warriors in October 1873 for the murder of Major General Edward Canby
Edward Canby
Edward Richard Sprigg Canby was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War, Reconstruction era, and the Indian Wars...
earlier that year at a parley. The general had violated agreements made with the Modoc. The Army sent the rest of the band to Oklahoma as prisoners of war with Scarfaced Charley as their chief. The tribe's spiritual leader, Curley Headed Doctor
Curley Headed Doctor
Curley Headed Doctor [sic] was the spiritual leader for the Modoc tribe, notably during the Modoc War troubles.-Background:Curley Headed Doctor was Modoc from California...
, also made the removal to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
.
In the 1870s, Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States...
brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of the delegations was from the Modoc and Klamath tribes. In 1907, the group in Oklahoma was given permission, if they wished, to return to Oregon. Several people did, but most stayed at their new home.
Population
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. James MooneyJames Mooney
James Mooney was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. He did major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as those on the Great Plains...
put the aboriginal population of the Modoc at 400. Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred Louis Kroeber was an American anthropologist. He was the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through...
estimated the 1770 Modoc population within California as 500. University of Oregon anthropologist Theodore Stern suggested that there had been a total of about 500 Modoc.
Geography
About 600 members of the tribe currently live in Klamath County, OregonKlamath County, Oregon
-National protected areas:* Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge* Crater Lake National Park * Deschutes National Forest * Fremont National Forest * Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge* Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge...
, in and around their ancestral homelands. This group included the Modocs who stayed on the reservation during the Modoc War, as well as the descendants of those who chose to return to Oregon from Oklahoma in 1909. Since that time, many of them have followed the path of the Klamath. The shared tribal government of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin in Oregon is known as the Klamath Tribes
Klamath Tribes
The Klamath Tribes, formerly the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon, are a federally recognized confederation of three Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited Southern Oregon and Northern California in the United States: the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin...
.
200 Modocs live in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
on the Quapaw Indian Reservation at the far northeast corner of Oklahoma. They are descendants of the band led by Captain Jack (Keintpuash) during the Modoc War. The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma is the smallest federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma. They are descendants of Captain Jack's band of Modoc people, removed from the West Coast after the Modoc Wars.-Early history:...
was officially recognized by the United States government in 1978, and their constitution was approved in 1991.
Culture
The original language of the Modoc and that of the Klamath, their neighbors to the north, were branches of the family of Plateau Penutian languagesPlateau Penutian languages
-History:Plateau Penutian as originally proposed was one branch of the hypothetical Penutian phylum as proposed by Edward Sapir. The original proposal also included Cayuse ; however, this language has little documentation and that which is documented is inadequately recorded...
. The Klamath and Modoc languages together are sometimes referred to as Lutuamian languages. Both peoples called themselves maklaks, meaning "people". To distinguish between the tribes, the Modoc called themselves Moatokni maklaks, from muat meaning "South". The Achomawi
Achomawi
The Achomawi are one of eleven bands of the Pit River tribe of Native Americans who lived in northeastern California, USA....
, a band of the Pit River tribe
Pit River Tribe
The Pit River Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of eleven bands of indigenous peoples of California. They primarily live along the Pit River in the northeast corner of California...
, called them Lutuami, meaning "Lake Dwellers".
The religion of the Modoc is not known in detail. The number 5 figured heavily in ritual, as in the Shuyuhalsh, a five-night dance rite of passage for adolescent girls. A sweat lodge
Sweat lodge
The sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna and is an important event in some North American First Nations or Native American cultures...
was used for purification and mourning ceremonies.
Further reading
- Kroeber, A. L. 1925. Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.
- Mooney, James. 1928. The Aboriginal Population of America North of Mexico. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections No. 80(7). Washington, D.C.
- Stern, Theodore. 1998. "Klamath and Modoc". In Plateau, edited by Deward E. Walker, Jr. Handbook of North American Indians, William C. Sturtevant, general editor, vol. 12. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
See also
- Modoc traditional narrativesModoc traditional narrativesModoc traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the Modoc and Klamath people of northern California and southern Oregon....
Native American history of California
External links
- Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, official website
- Klamath Tribes: Klamath, Modoc, Yahooskin, official website
- Southern Oregon Digital Archives
- Modoc, Four Directions Institute