Klamath (people)
The Klamath are an Indian people in the border area of the US states Oregon and California and, together with the linguistically and culturally closely related Modoc in the south, are part of the North American cultural area of California. Their common language, the Klamath-Modoc , forms a separate subgroup of the Plateau Penuti language family . Culturally they were strongly influenced by the northern tribes of the Columbia Plateau .
Origin of name
Like many indigenous peoples, the Klamath and Modoc referred to themselves simply as Maklaks ("the people, the people"), to distinguish themselves the Klamath ? Ewksiknii maklaks (mostly reproduced as E-ukshikni maklaks - " Upper Klamath Lake People", literally : "People of the lake") and the Modoc (or took over the name) also Mo'dokni maklaks or Mo'dokish maklaks ("Southern people, the southerners").
The origin and meaning of the tribal name Klamath , which is commonly used today, has not ultimately been clarified. Alfred Kroeber assumed that it is a foreign name by the Kalapuya (Mókai / Móke máklaks) as Athlameth . The ethnologist Albert Samuel Gatschet assumed that the self-designation was Waklak ("people" or "community"), probably a corruption of Maklaks . His colleague Leslie Spier reports that "Klamath" is the name of a regional band, the so-called Klamath-Marsh-Williamson-River group or Auksni / A'ukckni . The neighboring Shasta referred to the Upper Klamath Lake as Auksi ., The Achomawi referred to the Klamath as Ál ámmí and the Klamath-Modoc together as Lutw̓áámíʼish ("people at the lake"). Presumably the British-French trappers of the Hudson's Bay Company took over these different names (which were always used in connection with the term lake ) and initially referred to the Klamath as La Lakes ("lake people").
The tribe was namesake for two lakes ( Upper Klamath Lake and Lower Klamath Lake ), for the locally largest river ( Klamath River ) and the Klamath Basin , two counties ( Klamath County in Oregon and the now dissolved Klamath County in California), the Klamath National Forests in the Klamath Mountains , the unincorporated community Fort Klamath near the former army base Fort Klamath (as a historically significant site, the "Fort Klamath Site" is now part of the National Register of Historic Places ), the CPD Klamath in California and the small town of Klamath Falls , Oregon.
history
Estimates of the number of Klamath vary widely, ranging from 400 to 1,100 in 1780. The remoteness of their residential area protected them from contact with whites for a relatively long time. Peter Skene Ogden , a dealer for the Hudson's Bay Company , called it a "happy race" in 1826. He foresaw that this would change with the whites. The Klamath got horses and rifles through trade.
Their trading area reached as far as The Dalles on Columbia , where they received horses, blankets, buffalo skins and dried salmon from other tribes . Among other things, they are said to have offered slaves that they had captured from Californian tribes. They also offered pearls and wocus , a nutritious plant. It was used in soups and as an ingredient in flour. Another important trading post besides the one at the later The Dalles was Yainas east of Klamath Lake .
Changes to the body such as tattoos and shell piercings were common among them, as was the artificial flattening of the head, as was common in some tribes in the northwest. They lived in earth huts, which were buried about four feet deep.
Historical bands
The Klamath lived east of the Cascade Range (Yámakisham Yaina) ("Mountains of the Northern Tribes") mostly along the northern bank of the Klamath River and along its tributaries, the Williamson River (Kóke) and Wood River (E-ukalksini Kóke) in the north and the Sprague River (Plaikni Kóke) ("River in the highlands") and Sycan River in the east; in the south their tribal area extended beyond what is now Klamath Falls near the Link River (Yula1óna) in the far north of California, south of this began the territory claimed by the Modoc. Important settlement areas were the Klamath Marsh (E-ukshi), Agency Lake and Upper Klamath Lake (E-ukshi) as well as numerous other lakes, wetlands and rivers. The highlands along the Sprague River were inhabited by the P'laikni-Klamath ("Sprague River Valley People", "Upland Klamath", literally: "Highlands / mountain people"), who together with Modoc and some Shoshone (Shá't) and Paiute in common settlements lived.
In the north of their tribal area lived the Molala (Kuikni maklaks) , in the northeast and east there lived in the desert-like plains various bands of the Northern Paiute (Shá'ttumi) (collective name for Northern Paiute and Shoshone and Bannock) - including the Goyatöka Band ("Crayfish- Esser ") , directly in the south the Modoc (Mo'dokni maklaks) with whom they shared the Modoc Plateau, in the southwest the Shasta (S [h] asti maklaks) and the Klamath River further downstream known as the" Skatchpalikni "(" People along the Scott River ") designated Karuk and Yurok , in the west and northwest the Latgawa (" Upland Takelma ") and Takelma / Dagelma (" Lowland / River Takelma ") were at home. Beyond the cascade chain in the river basin of the Rogue River (Wálamsh) lived the "Rogue River" Athabasken (Wálamskni maklaks) ("People along the Rogue River") and further south in the river basin of the Pit River (Moatuashamkshini / Móatni Kóke) ("River der southern inhabitants ”) the Achumawi and Atsugewi or“ Pit River Tribes ”, who were called“ Móatuash maklaks ”(“ inhabitants of the south ”or“ people of the south ”).
The smallest social unit of the Klamath was the patrilineal and patrilocal (the couple moved to the husband's family ) nuclear family and several related families formed one extended family . One or more extended families (mostly related to each other) formed a local group (English local [residential] band / group ), which had common fishing, hunting and land rights and mostly found themselves in the permanent winter settlements. Several local groups (settlements) in turn formed a regional bond with a common political and cultural identity (based on kinship , dialect , shared territory and cultural peculiarities); These regional bands pursued common interests with regard to their rights (fishing, hunting and collecting areas), in trade and also in the decision about war and peace vis-à-vis outsiders - they also got together for rituals and religious festivals.
At the time of their first contact with Europeans, the Klamath were divided into five (but six according to the Klamath Tribes website) regional bands.
- the Ǎ'ukckni ("Klamath Marsh People" or "Klamath Marsh-Williamson River People"): With almost half of the population, they formed the largest and most powerful band of the Klamath. They had at least 29 settlements in Klamath Marsh and 14 settlements along the middle Williamson River . Their large territory included numerous well-irrigated river and swamp areas that were suitable as winter quarters. Most of the largest settlements were in the Klamath Marsh, a swamp area. On the Williamson River, the settlements were small and scattered.
- the P'laikni ("Sprague River Valley People", literally: "Highlands / mountain inhabitants", also: "Upland Klamath"): lived in small settlements far apart in the highlands of the Sprague River (P'laikni Kóke) ("River in the highlands ”) which extended upstream to a little west of Gearhart Mountain (Spier); are sometimes also counted among the "A'ukckni", since they used the Sycan River and Klamath Forest Marsh as summer quarters. The P'laikni-Klamath and the P'laitankni-Modoc consisted of both Klamath, Modoc and some Shoshone and Paiute.
- the Kowa'cdikni ("Agency Lake / Marsh Lake People") lived in a settlement in the wetland of Agency Lake, the northern arm of Klamath Lake.
- the Du'kwakni ("[Lower] Williamson River People") lived in six settlements in the swampy delta of the Williamson River and its confluence with Upper Klamath Lake .
- the Gu'mbǒtkni ("Pelican Bay People") lived in at least seven settlements along Sevenmile Creek, Recreation Creek, Odessa Creek and Pelican Bay at the mouth of Four Mile Creek and in the wetland adjacent to the north.
- the Iu'laloηkni ("Klamath Falls (Link River) People") lived near Klamath Falls and along the Link River and in at least thirteen other settlements on the east bank of Upper Klamath Lake.
Traditional lifestyle
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Like other indigenous peoples in California and the Columbia Plateau, the Klamath were semi-sedentary fishermen (salmon, trout) and hunter-gatherers, and had seasonal villages and camps for year-round use of natural resources. Their migration followed a recurring pattern of permanent winter villages (comprised of large semi-underground pit houses), through several makeshift camps (with dome-shaped shrub huts - similar to the Wickiups ), returning to the same locations almost every year.
Grubenhäuser (engl. Pit houses) were units with a diameter of about 22 feet and a depth of up to 15 feet, which were built from logs and sealed for isolation with earth and grass. Pit houses were built underground with an entrance and a ladder at the top and were generally used during the cold, snowy winter months.
The summer shelter was a dome-shaped hut, the frames of willow stakes covered with layers of strong, durable tule mat; later, through the mediation of the Plateau Indians, the tepee of the Plains Indians was taken over (but mostly still covered with tulemats). Like other California tribes, the Klamath were famous for their basketry (using grass, reeds and rushes).
In addition to fishing , they supplemented their menu with collecting (berries, onions, roots, seeds, acorns, water lily “wocas” and bird eggs) and hunting (for forked antelopes, deer, marmots, porcupines, weasels, hares and water birds). Since their tribal area, characterized by rivers, lakes and marshland, favored a more sedentary way of life, they were less mobile than the southern Modoc, whose tribal area partially comprised semi-deserts and were therefore forced to move around frequently.
They cultivated trade contacts with the tribes on the Pacific coast (Sóltchokni maklaks - "Salt-Chuck Volk", derived from the English "salt water"), in order to get to the coveted mussel shells (which they used for their piercings and which they used for their piercings and which they compared to neighboring tribes as so-called . Shell money served) as well as to the tribes of the Columbia River Plateau (Yámakni - "the Northerners" called), by whom they were culturally strongly influenced. Important trading centers were The Dalles on the Columbia River and in their area "Yainax / Yainas" on the south bank of the Sprague River east of Upper Klamath Lake . This extensive trade network enabled the exchange of goods, ideas, and even people, as slavery was widespread in the area. The Klamath and Modoc were known that they were coming back to slave-raiding among California tribes (especially among the "Pit River Tribe") to these as merchandise at the plateau tribes against coveted horses, blankets, buffalo hides and dried salmon to To deceive. In addition to the shell money, they also offered the pearls of the water lily ( called wocus , a nutritious plant that was used in soups and as a component of flour for baking bread) and the onions of the edible prairie lily . The horses and rifles they acquired enabled them not only to expand their home territory, but also to travel in larger, very mobile groups during the war.
Treaty with the US, reservation
Together with four chiefs of the Modoc and two headmen of the Yahuskin , 21 chiefs of the Klamath signed the Klamath Treaty on October 14, 1864 . The Klamath were given a 1,107,845 acre reservation that was officially announced on February 17, 1870. As early as May 12, 1866, an Indian agency had been established at the top of Agency Lake , a few kilometers south of Fort Klamath . But most of the Modoc refused to move to their reservation with the Klamath and stayed in their traditional territory. Therefore, the USA founded a sub-agency for Modoc and some Upland Klamath and Yahuskin at Yainas around 50 km east of the agency .
In 1898 negotiations were held to enlarge the reserve because incorrect land surveys made this necessary. It was agreed on June 17, 1901 to pay the Klamath compensation of $ 537,007.20 for the loss of 621,824.28 acres of land. Meanwhile, disputes over land privatization dragged on from 1895 to 1906. In 1902 all children born after April 15, 1910 were excluded from further privatization.
In 1902, Modoc, who had been exiled to Oklahoma after their defeat in the war against the United States (1872–1873) , turned to the Klamath tribal council and asked for settlement rights. In 1903, 21 Modoc moved to the northeast of the Klamath Reserve. Although the Klamath opposed further resettlement of Modoc willing to return, exactly 16 of the 47 petitioners were resettled under pressure from the government.
A total of 177,719.62 acres were privatized, with the land being distributed to 1,174 Indians. 6,094.77 acres remained free for the agency, church, and school.
In contrast to many other tribes in this area, the Klamath were neither decimated by epidemics , nor did they get into armed conflict with the USA.
General Council and dissolution of the tribe
In 1909 the tribe set up the Klamath General Council to better negotiate with Indian agents, and in 1929 they set up a meeting for economic issues, a business committee .
On June 15, 1935, a majority of the tribe opposed the Indian Reorganization Act , but the tribe was divided. One part wanted the dissolution of the tribe and the privatization of all property, another wanted to stay. Of the 2,133 tribal members in the tribal role, exactly 1,660 voted in 1958 for dissolution and 473 against. The majority should receive $ 50,000 per capita, but they should now pay taxes on profits made within the reservations. Three conditions led to tax exemption: the applicant had to live in the reservation, be registered in the tribal role and he had to have earned the income there. The remaining 600 Klamath at the time received $ 173,000 for each of the 473 shares in 1974. The area became part of the Winema National Forest .
Military road
Even before the contract with the Klamath, Oregon received permission to build a military road from Eugene to Oregon's eastern border on July 2, 1864 . More than a quarter of the required area, to be precise 111,385 acres , was on Klamath land. The Supreme Court expressly stated this loss in 1904, and the road construction company was asked whether it was prepared to pay compensation or to accept another route. The California & Oregon Land Company accepted an exchange of 86,418.06 acres for the said 111,000 at Yamsey Mountain . The associated contract was concluded without any notification or involvement of the tribe, as was the agreement resulting from the previous negotiations. The reserve has been reduced by a forest area worth $ 3,550,000 to 86,000 acres . In 1907-08 the tribe was to receive $ 108,750 in compensation, a sum that Congress approved. 150 of the 287 adult Klamath subsequently agreed to this procedure.
In 1920, the Klamath were allowed to file a lawsuit with Congress (the Indian Claims Commission , which is responsible today, was only founded in 1947), and in 1934 the case landed in the Court of Claims , but the court decided against the plaintiffs. In 1936 they were heard again. On April 25, 1938, the Supreme Court ruled that the remainder of the tribe should receive $ 2,980,000, compensation which, along with accrued interest, amounted to $ 5,313,347.32. However, many Indians were cheated of these sums. To this day, however, the Klamath are the only ones allowed to catch fish in the Klamath River.
In the end, the military road was never used, yet it was crucial in reviving the tribe.
In 1969, some Klamath and three whites formed the Organization of Forgotten Americans . In 1984 a Klamath started a fire that would not go out until the tribe was recognized again and had their own territory. The 'Forgotten Americans' initially succeeded in asserting the right to camp in the protected Winema area. In 1991 the group was recognized as a tribe again.
Recovery
100 years after the Klamath Treaty, Congress stipulated compensation of $ 2.5 million for the lost land, along with the distribution keys. Another $ 4,162,992.82 was paid for the "accidentally" lost land. The entire mismanagement of the relevant authorities cost the USA an additional 18 million dollars (1977) and another 16.5 million dollars (1982) for the mismanagement of the forests. The Klamath also received another $ 785,000 for selling below value, be it due to nepotism or indifference. Another 23.5 million were due for the forests sold.
Current situation
Even if the Klamath managed to be recognized as a tribe, to receive compensation and to have their own area in which they have exclusive fishing rights, the value of this has been reduced by the construction of dams. These structures impede fishing movements, especially that of salmon , which is still a significant part of the diet for many families. The Coho salmon , which in turn serves as food for orcas , is particularly threatened .
In 2006 alone the government pledged aid - to all salmon fishermen on the Klamath - amounting to 60 million dollars. In 2008, the Sacramento River, which had been considered safe until then, was hit by the collapse of salmon populations on the Pacific coast. This catastrophic collapse has various causes, one of which is probably the low water level at Klamath. This is in turn related to the still very high water consumption in California, from which almost all rivers are now suffering. This also shows a paradigm shift in politics, because since 2001, when water consumption was reduced in favor of salmon by instructions, priority has been given to irrigation again. Talks have been going on for years with PacifiCorp , the owner of the four dams that are to be demolished. On November 7, 2008, Stephen Most's film, River of Renewal, Myth and History in the Klamath Basin , was screened in San Francisco at the 33rd Indian Film Festival , which addresses this dispute. The plans for the dam demolition planned for 2022 are still not completed (as of 2020).
Historiography
With the termination policy, the Klamath, like all Indian peoples, threatened to destroy their own history. Barbara Alatorre was their most important historian. She secured the memorabilia of tribal history and carried out research in this sector herself.
Today's tribes
Today the Klamath are organized into two federally recognized tribes :
- The Klamath Tribes (formerly: Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon , consisting of three tribes, the Klamath, Modoc and the Yahooskin (Yahuskin) Band of Northern Paiute Indians , also some of the Hunipuitöka Band ("Hunipui-Root-Eaters", usually called Walpapi) of the Northern Paiute settled in the Klamath reservation and joined the Yahooskin (Yahuskin) band, administrative headquarters: Chiloquin (Mbosaksawaas) ("Flint Place"), number of members: 5,400)
- Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California (consisting of three tribes, the Klamath, Karuk and Shasta, the Quartz Valley Reservation covers 0.7 km² in Siskiyou County , administrative headquarters: Fort Jones , number of members: 150)
literature
- Susan Hood: Termination of the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon , in: Ethnohistory 19 (1972) 379-392. ISSN 0014-1801
- Stephen Most: River of Renewal. Myth and History in the Klamath Basin , Oregon Historical Society Press in association with University of Washington Press, Portland 2009. ISBN 0-295-98622-0 .
- Robert H. Ruby, John A. Brown: A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest (= The Civilization of the American Indian Series , 173), University of Oklahoma Press, Norman et al. 1992, pp. 90-95. ISBN 0-8061-1967-5
- Theodore Stern: The Klamath Tribe. A People and their Reservation , University of Washington Press, Seattle 1965.
- Douglas Deur: A most sacred place: The significance of Crater Lake among the Indians of Southern Oregon , in: Oregon Historical Quarterly (2002) 18-49.
- Robert J. David: The Archeology of Myth: Rock Art, Ritual Objects, and Mythical Landscapes of the Klamath Basin , in: Archaeologies 6 (2010) 372-400.
See also
Web links
- The Klamath tribe
- The Klamath Society
- 1995 Oregon Judicial Department Appellate Court decision on tax exemption
Individual evidence
- ^ Carl Waldman: Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Checkmark, New York NY 1999, ISBN 0-8160-3964-X .
- ^ The Klamath Tribes - Dictionary of the Klamath Language
- ^ Jefferson C. Davis Riddle: The Indian History of the Modoc War. 1st edition, reprint. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg PA 2004, ISBN 0-8117-2977-X .
- ^ Shasta Indian Nation - Language Place Names
- ^ Achumawi Dictionary
- ↑ S. Wocus on the site of the Klamath Tribes (archive.org, March 21, 2009).
- ↑ the Goyatöka are mostly known today as the Yahooskin (Yahuskin) Band of Northern Paiute Indians , in the past often also known as the "Upper Sprague River Snakes" or, after their settlement on the Klamath Reservation, incorrectly referred to as the "Upper Sprague River Klamath"
- ↑ Leslie Spier Klamath Ethnography , 1930, p. 23 f.
- ↑ S. Wocus on the site of the Klamath Tribes.
- ↑ This court was responsible for all claims against the government from 1855 to 1982. From 1948 it was called the United States Court of Claims . The court had been able to give final judgments since 1863, and a revision was no longer possible in such a case. The Indian Commission was dissolved in 1978, after which the Court of Claims took on these cases for four years. In 1982 the court was dissolved.
- ↑ A comprehensive study of the salmon species can be found here: (PDF, 6.3 MB): Updated Status of Federally Listed ESUs of West Coast Salmon and Steelhead ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ On the situation in June 2008: Jeff Barnard: Feds tell irrigators Klamath salmon need more water , Associated Press, June 20, 2008 ( Memento of November 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ).
- ^ Dan Bacher: Klamath Film Premiers at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco , November 5, 2008
- ↑ Plan to Demolish 4 Hydroelectric Dams on Klamath River Stirs Debate Over Coveted West Water , in: San Francisco Bay Area News, March 29, 2020.
- ^ Homepage of the Klamath Tribes
- ^ Homepage of the Quartz Valley Indian Community
