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 ...

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 The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...

federally recognized tribes This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

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 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Modoc Nation 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 ...

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 * ...

Achomawi Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi and Ahjumawi) are the northerly nine (out of eleven) bands of the Pit River tribe of Palaihnihan Native Americans who live in what is now northeastern California in the United States. These 5 autonomous bands ( ...

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.

Current population and geography

About 600 Modoc live in

Klamath County, Oregon Klamath County ( ) is one of the List of counties in Oregon, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 69,413. The county seat is Klamath Falls, Oregon, Klamath Falls. The Oreg ...

, in and around their ancestral homelands. This group includes those who stayed on the reservation 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 Americans in the United States, Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern ...

, as well as the descendants of those who chose to return in 1909 to Oregon from Indian Territory in Oklahoma or Kansas. Since that time, many have followed the path of 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 * ...

. The shared tribal government of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin in Oregon is known as the

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 ...

. Two hundred Modoc live in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

on a small reservation in

Ottawa County, Oklahoma Ottawa County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,285. Its county seat is Miami. The county was named for the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma. It is also the locat ...

, that the federal government purchased for them. Originally they were placed on the Quapaw Indian Reservation in Oklahoma's far northeast corner. They are descendants of the band Captain Jack (

Kintpuash Kintpuash (c. 1837 – October 3, 1873), also known as Kientpoos, Keintpoos, or by his English name Captain Jack, was a prominent Modoc leader from present-day northern California and southern Oregon. His name in the Modoc language translates to ...

) led during the Modoc War. The federal government officially recognized 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 ...

in 1978, and its constitution was approved in 1991.

Early population

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially.

James Mooney James Mooney (February 10, 1861 – December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. Known as "The Indian Man", he conducted major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as of tribes on the Great ...

put the aboriginal population of the Modoc at 400.

Alfred L. Kroeber Alfred Louis Kroeber ( ; June 11, 1876 – October 5, 1960) was an American cultural anthropologist. He received his PhD under Franz Boas at Columbia University in 1901, the first doctorate in anthropology awarded by Columbia. He was also the fi ...

estimated the Modoc population within California as 500 at the year 1770. University of Oregon anthropologist Theodore Stern suggested that there had been a total of about 500 Modoc.Stern, pp. 446–456 In 1846, the population may have included "perhaps 600 warriors (an overestimate, probably)".Thrapp, p. 1276

History

Pre-contact

Until the 19th century, when European explorers first encountered the Modoc, like all

Plateau Indians Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians (though comprising many groups) are Indigenous peoples of the Interior of British Columbi ...

, they caught salmon during salmon runs and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food.Arnold, ''et al.'', p. 507 In winter, they built earthen dugout lodges shaped like beehives, covered with sticks and plastered with mud, near lake shores with reliable sources of seeds from aquatic

wokas ''Nuphar polysepala'', also known as the great yellow pond-lily, wokas, or wocus, is a perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb in the genus ''Nuphar'' native to western North America.''Nuphar polysepala'' in Flora of North America @ efloras.org. (n. ...

plants and fishing.Pease, pp. 46–48

Neighboring groups

In addition to the Klamath, with whom they shared a language and 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 ...

, the groups neighboring the Modoc home were: * Shasta on the Klamath River; * Rogue River Athabaskans and

Takelma The Takelma (also Dagelma) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Rogue Valley of interior southwestern Oregon. Most of their villages were sited along the Rogue River. The name ''Takelma'' means "(Those) Along the River". H ...

west over the

Cascade Mountains 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 many of those in the ...

; *

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 ...

east in the desert; *

Karuk The Karuk people ()Andrew Garrett, Susan Gehr, Erik Hans Maier, Line Mikkelsen, Crystal Richardson, and Clare Sandy. (November 2, 2021) ''Karuk; To appear in The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America: A Comprehensive Guide (De G ...

and

Yurok The Yurok people are an Algic-speaking Indigenous people of California that has existed along the or "Health-kick-wer-roy" (now known as the Klamath River) and on the Pacific coast, from Trinidad south of the Klamath’s mouth almost to Cresc ...

further down the Klamath River; and *

Achomawi Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi and Ahjumawi) are the northerly nine (out of eleven) bands of the Pit River tribe of Palaihnihan Native Americans who live in what is now northeastern California in the United States. These 5 autonomous bands ( ...

or ''Pit River'' to the south, in the meadows of the Pit River drainages. The Modoc, Northern Paiute, and Achomawi shared

Goose Lake Valley The Goose Lake Valley is located in south-central Oregon and northeastern California in the United States. It is a high valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Great Basin. Much of the valley floor is covered by Goose Lake (Oregon ...

.

Settlements

The known Modoc village sites are ''Agawesh,'' where Willow Creek enters

Lower Klamath Lake Lower Klamath Lake is a lake in Siskiyou County, California. At one time it was connected to Upper Klamath Lake. It currently is used to hold overflow water for Klamath Project irrigation uses. The lake is in Northern California, near the borde ...

, of the ''Gombatwa·s'' or Lower Klamath Lake People Band; ''Kumbat'' and ''Pashha'' on the shores of

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. The ele ...

of the ''Pasganwa·s'' or Tule Lake People Band; and ''Wachamshwash'' and ''Nushalt-Hagak-ni'' on the Lost River of the ''Goġewa·s'' or Lower Lost River People Band.Kroeber, pp. 305–335 The Modoc have also been known as the Modok (Brandt and Davis-Kimball xvi).

First contact

In the 1820s,

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 exped ...

, an explorer for the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, established trade with the

Klamath people 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 (Y ...

north of the Modoc.

Applegate Trail established

Brothers

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible * Jesse (given name), including a list of people * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' (album), a 2003 album by Jesse Powell * "Jesse" (s ...

and

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 ...

, accompanied by 13 other white settlers, established the

Applegate Trail The Applegate Trail was an emigrant trail through the present-day U.S. states of Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon used in the mid-19th century by emigrants on the American frontier. It was originally intended as a less dangerous alternati ...

, or South Emigrant Trail, in 1846. It connected a point on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

near

Fort Hall, Idaho Fort Hall is a census-designated place (CDP) in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho which is split between Bannock County in the south and Bingham County in the north. It is located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation along the S ...

, and the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

in western Oregon. The new route was created to encourage European-Americans to come to western Oregon, and to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route. Since the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the Columbia Route, development of an alternate route enabled migration even if there was trouble between the United States and the United Kingdom. The Applegate brothers became the first known white people in present-day

Lava Beds National Monument Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou and Modoc County, California, Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano, which is the largest ...

. The opening of the Applegate Trail appeared to bring 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 The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native Americans in the United States, Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern ...

took place along the trail.

Emigrant invasion

From 1846 to 1873, thousands of emigrants entered the Modoc territory. Beginning in 1847, the Modoc raided the invading emigrants on the Applegate TrailMichno, pp. 90–91 under the leadership of Old Chief Schonchin. In September 1852, the Modoc destroyed an emigrant train at Bloody Point on the east shore of

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. The ele ...

, killing all but three of the 65 people in the party. The Modoc took two young girls as captives. One or both of them may have been killed several years later by jealous Modoc women.Murray, pp. 24–28 The only man to survive the attack made his way to

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, ...

. After hearing his news, Yreka settlers organized a militia under Sheriff Charles McDermit, Jim Crosby, and Ben Wright. They went to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their deaths. Crosby's party had a skirmish with a band of Modoc and returned to Yreka. 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 the 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."

Treaty with the United States

The United States, the Klamath, the Modoc, and the Yahooskin band of

Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

tribes signed a treaty in 1864 that established the

Klamath Reservation 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 ...

. It 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 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 many of those in the ...

, and on the east by lines touching Goose Lake and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel.''Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs'', pp. 104–105 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 provide 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 treaty required that the Modoc surrender their lands 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 approved it. In 1870 ''

Kintpuash Kintpuash (c. 1837 – October 3, 1873), also known as Kientpoos, Keintpoos, or by his English name Captain Jack, was a prominent Modoc leader from present-day northern California and southern Oregon. His name in the Modoc language translates to ...

'' (also called Captain Jack) led a band of Modoc to leave the 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 The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

was sent to Lost River to attempt to force Kintpuash's band back to the reservation. A

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

broke out, and the Modoc escaped to what is called

Captain Jack's Stronghold Captain Jack's Stronghold was a holdout of the Modoc people that is located between Tulelake and Canby, California. The stronghold, which is now part of Lava Beds National Monument, is named for Native American chief Kintpuash who was also kn ...

in what is now

Lava Beds National Monument Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou and Modoc County, California, Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano, which is the largest ...

,

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 ...

. The band of fewer than 53 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 U.S. Army troops for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April 1873, the Modoc left the Stronghold and began to splinter. Kintpuash and his group were the last to be captured, on June 4, 1873, when they voluntarily gave themselves up. U.S. government personnel had assured them that their people would be treated fairly and the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land.Arnold, ''et al.'', pp. 507–509 The U.S. Army tried, convicted and executed Kintpuash and three of his warriors in October 1873 for the murder of Major General

Edward Canby Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. He served as a military governor after the war. In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Depart ...

earlier that year at a parley. Canby had violated agreements made with the Modoc. The Army sent the rest of the band to Oklahoma as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

with Scarfaced Charley as their chief. The tribe's spiritual leader,

Curley Headed Doctor Curley Headed Doctor (Modoc language, Modoc: ''Cho-ocks'', 1828 — 1890; also Curly-Headed Doctor) was the spiritual leader for the Modoc people, Modoc tribe, notably during the Modoc War. __NOTOC__ Background Curley Headed Doctor was Modoc from ...

, was also forced to remove to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

. In the 1870s,

Peter Cooper Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the ''Tom Thumb (locomotive), Tom Thumb'', founded the Cooper Union ...

brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of the delegations was from the Modoc and Klamath tribes. In 1909, the group in Oklahoma was given permission to return to Oregon. Several people did, but most stayed at their new home.

Culture

The religion of the Modoc is not known in detail. The number five figured heavily in ritual, as in the ''Shuyuhalsh'', a five-night dance rite of passage for adolescent girls. A

sweat lodge A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the ''lodge'', and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply ...

was used for purification and mourning ceremonies.Kroeber, pp. 320–321

Namesakes

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 ...

,

Modoc National Forest Modoc National Forest is a National forest (United States), U.S. national forest in Northeastern California. Geography The Modoc National Forest protects parts of Modoc County, California, Modoc (82.9% of acreage), Lassen County, California, L ...

,

Modoc County, California Modoc County () is a county (United States), county located in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least ...

;

Modoc, Indiana Modoc is a town in Union Township, Randolph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 157 at the 2020 census. History There are several legends to how the town of Modoc got its name. One of them said that a man travelling on ...

; and numerous other places are named after this group of people.

Notes

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
official website
Klamath Tribes: Klamath, Modoc, Yahooskin
official website
Southern Oregon Digital Archives
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Modoc People Indigenous peoples of California Native American tribes in Oregon Native American tribes in Oklahoma Modoc Plateau History of the Great Basin History of Modoc County, California Native American history of California

Language