Klamath people facts for kids

The Klamath people are a Native American tribe. They traditionally lived in the Plateau culture area. This area is in what is now Southern Oregon and Northern California.

Today, many Klamath people are part of these federally recognized tribes:

• Klamath Tribes (This group includes Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin (Yahuskin) Band of Northern Paiute Indians) in Oregon.
• Quartz Valley Indian Community (This group includes Klamath, Karuk, and Shasta people) in California.

History of the Klamath People

Life Before European Contact

The Klamath people lived around the Upper Klamath Lake (which they called E-ukshi, meaning “Lake”). They also lived near the Klamath, Williamson, Wood River, and Sprague rivers.

They mostly ate fish. They also gathered roots and seeds from the land. The Klamath knew about their close neighbors. However, they did not know about the Pacific Ocean. This means they lived quite separately from many outside cultures for a long time.

The Klamath lived near many other tribes. To the north were the Molala. To the east were different Northern Paiute groups. To the south were their relatives, the Modoc people. They shared the Modoc Plateau with the Modoc. To the southwest were the Shasta people. Further down the Klamath River lived the Karuk and Yurok tribes. To the west were the Latgawa and Takelma.

The Klamath were known to raid nearby tribes, like the Achomawi. Sometimes, they would take people as slaves. They also traded with the Wasco-Wishram tribe at The Dalles. Some experts believe these raids for slaves only started after the Klamath got horses.

These native people lived in southern Oregon for a very long time. They were even there to see the eruption of Mount Mazama. This was a huge volcanic mountain. Its eruption created Crater Lake, which is now a beautiful natural landmark.

First Meetings with Europeans

In 1826, Peter Skene Ogden was an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company. He was the first European to meet the Klamath people. By 1829, he was trading with them.

The American frontiersman Kit Carson was very impressed by the Klamath's arrows. People said their arrows could even shoot through a house!

Treaty with the United States

In 1864, the Klamath, Modocs, and the Yahooskin Band of Northern Paiute tribes signed a treaty. A treaty is a formal agreement. This treaty was with the United States government.

It created the Klamath Reservation. This reservation was northeast of Upper Klamath Lake. This land was mostly part of the traditional territory of the Klamath.

The treaty meant the tribes gave up their land in the Klamath Basin to the United States. In return, the United States agreed to pay them money. They also promised to provide buildings and staff for the reservation. The treaty also stated that if certain rules about drinks were broken, payments could be stopped. The United States could also place other tribes on the reservation later. The tribes asked Lindsay Applegate to be the agent for the United States. When the treaty was signed, there were about 2,000 people in the three tribes.

After the Treaty

In 1954, the United States stopped recognizing the Klamath's tribal government. This is called "termination." Federal payments to the tribes were not given out until 1961.

Since then, the Klamath and neighboring tribes have worked hard. They have reorganized their government. They have also brought back their tribal identity. The Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin tribes have formed the Klamath Tribes confederation. This is a federally recognized group. Their main government office is in Chiloquin, Oregon.

Some Klamath people also live on the Quartz Valley Indian Community. This is in Siskiyou County, California.

Klamath Culture

Different Groups of Klamath

Traditionally, there were several cultural groups among the Klamath. These groups were based on where they lived in the Klamath Basin. Even with these differences, the groups saw themselves as one people. There were about 1,200 Klamath people in total.

Like many native cultures in the Pacific Northwest, the Klamath lived a semi-settled life. This means they had permanent winter homes. They would return to these same spots every year. They started building their earth-lodges in the autumn. They often used materials from old buildings from previous years.

An expert named Leslie Spier described their winter settlements:

• "The towns were not small, compact groups of houses."
• "They stretched along the river banks for half a mile or more."
• "Some settlements formed a continuous line of houses for five or six miles."
• "Many of these houses were lived in at the same time."
• "Since these earth-lodges could hold several families, it suggests a large population."

Here are some of the traditional Klamath groups:

• Ǎ’ukckni (“Klamath Marsh People” or “Klamath Marsh-Williamson River People”)
• P'laikni (“Sprague River Valley People” or “Upland Klamath”)
• Kowa’cdikni (“Agency Lake/Marsh Lake People”)
• Du’kwakni (“[Lower] Williamson River People”)
• Gu’mbǒtkni (“Pelican Bay People”)
• Iu’laloηkni (“Klamath Falls (Link River) People”)

Marriage Customs

Marriage among the Klamath was unique. It was different from neighboring cultures in Oregon, California, Nevada, and Idaho. For example, the Klamath did not have formal talks between families for a "bride price."

It was also notable that wives could leave their husbands. Wives were not seen as property. They could not be given away like possessions.

Plant Uses (Ethnobotany)

The Klamath people used many plants from their environment.

• They used Apocynum cannabinum (dogbane) as a fiber.
• They ate the roots of Lomatium canbyi.
• They used the rootstocks of Sagittaria cuneata (arrowhead) as food.
• They used Carex (sedge) plants. They wove the leaves into mats. They drank the juice from the pith. They ate the fresh stems and the tuber-like base of the stem for food.

Dentalium Shells

Dentalium shells were common among the Klamath before Europeans arrived. These shells are long and tube-shaped. Compared to other native cultures, dentalium shells were not used as much for money by the Klamath. However, longer shells were generally worth more.

These shells were mostly valued as jewelry and for personal decoration. Young Klamath family members often had their septum (the part between the nostrils) pierced. This allowed them to insert dentalium shells. Some people chose not to wear shells in their septum.

Spier described how they used them:

• "The septum of the nose is pierced, and the ear lobes, often more than once."
• "Both men and women put dentalium shells horizontally through the septum."
• "Ear pendants were a group of four dentalia hung together by their tips."

The Wasco-Wishram tribe also commonly used dentalium in septum piercings and other decorations.

Classifying the Klamath

The Klamath people are grouped with the Plateau Indians. These are the people who originally lived on the Columbia Plateau. The Klamath were most closely related to the Modoc people.

Klamath Language

The Klamath spoke one dialect of the Klamath–Modoc language. This was the northern or "fi-ukshikni" dialect. The Modoc people, who lived south of the Klamath, spoke the "southern" dialect.

At first, people thought Klamath–Modoc was a language isolate. This means it was not related to any other known language. But now, it is considered part of the Plateau Penutian language family.

Both the Klamath and the Modoc called themselves maqlaqs, maqlags, or Maklaks. This word means "people." When they wanted to tell each other apart, they added knii (meaning "people from/of"). The Klamath were called ?ewksiknii, meaning "people of the [Klamath] Lake." The Modoc were called moowatdal'knii, meaning "people of the south."

Notable Klamath People

• Natalie Ball (born 1980), an artist who works in many different art forms.

Images for kids

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  A Klamath man

• 

  Klamath people in dugout canoes, 19th century

See also

In Spanish: Klamath para niños