The Karuk Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe of Karuk people. They are an

indigenous people of California Indigenous peoples of California, commonly known as Indigenous Californians or Native Californians, are a diverse group of nations and peoples that are indigenous to the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and afte ...

, 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 that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. 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, 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 staffed 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 language, Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath language, Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok language, Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') is a long river in southern Oregon and northern California. Beginning near Klamath Falls, Oregon, Klama ...

in western Siskiyou County and northeastern Humboldt County in California. The total land area of these parcels is . A resident population of 498 persons was reported in the 2020 census. There are also a number of tracts located within the city of Yreka.

Government

The Karuk are headquartered in Happy Camp, California, governed by a nine-member council. As of 2024, it comprises: * Chairman: Russell "Buster" Attebery * Vice-chairman: Kenneth Brink * Secretary/Treasurer: Scott Quinn * Member-at-large: Eli Hensher-Aubrey * Member-at-large: Arch Super * Member-at-large: Jennifer Goodwin * Member-at-large: Arron "Troy" Hockaday * Member-at-large: Kristen King * Member-at-large: vacant

Language

The Karuk people speak the

Karuk language Karuk or Karok ( or ) 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 , meaning “upriver”. Karuk is classified as s ...

, a

language isolate A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages. Basque in Europe, Ainu and Burushaski in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, Haida and Zuni in North America, Kanoê in South America, and Tiwi ...

. Karuk has been proposed as belonging to the Hokan language family. 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 language is kyh.

Business

The tribe operates the Rain Rock Casino in

Yreka, California Yreka ( ) is a city in and 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 census, the population was 7,807, reflecting an increase from 7, ...

. The People's Center in Happy Camp is the tribe's museum and cultural center. The 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 a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

, ''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; if it can sustain high-speed Internet, high speeds, it is termed satellite broadband. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provide ...

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:Karuk Tribe Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in California Native Americans in Humboldt County, California Siskiyou County, California