Klamath
The Klamath are a Native American tribe whose ancestors settled in the Klamath Basin region approximately ten thousand years ago, bordered by natural geographical features like the Great Basin and the Cascades. Their culture remained relatively isolated from European Americans until the 19th century, retaining traditional practices centered on fishing, gathering, and seasonal living. The tribe primarily relied on aquatic resources, with a diet that included pond lily seeds and various fish species. They constructed semi-subterranean earthlodges for winter habitation, reflecting adaptation to their environment.
With the influx of European settlers, the Klamath signed a treaty in 1864, leading to the establishment of a reservation in present-day Oregon. Over time, their economy evolved to include ranching and timber, despite challenges posed by government policies, such as the termination policy in the 1950s, which stripped them of tribal status. The Klamath regained tribal status in 1991 and currently engage in ongoing disputes over water rights, leading to efforts like the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. This agreement aims to address ecological concerns, including the removal of dams to facilitate salmon migration and enhance the Klamath's relationship with their natural resources.
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Klamath
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northwest Coast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Lutuamian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Oregon
- POPULATION SIZE: 4,800 (2025, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board)
Approximately ten thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Klamath and the Modoc moved into an area encircled by the Great Basin to the east, the Cascades to the west, the central Plateau to the north, and the present-day California border. Because of these natural boundaries, the Klamath remained isolated from European Americans longer than many neighboring Indigenous Americans. Klamath culture remained intact into the 1800s, and when trapper Peter Skene Ogden met the Klamath in 1826, he noted that they owned one horse. Early Klamath population figures are estimated at about a thousand.
Because their food came principally from the water, the Klamath did not require or use the horse as other Indigenous Americans did for hunting, although by the mid-nineteenth century, the Klamath used the horse and gun to raid other Indigenous nations. Traditionally, Klamath culture followed a seasonal cycle; spring, summer, and fall were devoted to gathering roots and berries and securing a year’s catch of fish. One of the staples of the Klamath diet was a pond lily seed, the wokas, which was gathered in the marshes in August. Another staple was fish, including suckers, salmon, and trout, caught in the spring runs. Fishing persisted into the winter, although the winter catch was limited.
By late fall, the Klamath began building their winter settlement, which generally already had some permanent buildings. Because the climate could be harsh (with up to several feet of snow), the Klamath built semi-subterranean earth lodges, sometimes up to 4 feet deep. They lived in these for the winter and relied on whatever provisions they had stored.
The clothing of the Klamath differed from that of their neighbors on the Columbia Plateau. Men and women wore skirts made of fibers and wore basketry caps. Buckskin was not worn until the nineteenth century. The Klamath also practiced tattooing, flattening the heads of infants, and wearing a dentalium through the nose. The tribe with which they had the most contact before the nineteenth century was the Modoc, who spoke a similar language. The Klamath were more influenced by Pacific Northwest culture than were the Modoc, who were closer to their southern neighbors.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the horse and gun were integrated into Klamath society. Contact with European Americans increased as White settlers crossed Klamath country on their way to the gold fields in Northern California; some settled in the region. The Klamath tried to sustain peaceful relations with the White settlers, and there were several instances where the Klamath punished their own for committing offenses against the settlers. The land that the Klamath occupied, however, was wanted for White settlement. In 1864, the Klamath signed a treaty with the federal government; in exchange for their land, they were awarded a reservation of 1,104,847 acres, the Klamath Agency, located in present-day south-central Oregon. The government planned to transform the Klamath into self-sufficient farmers once they were removed to the reservation.
By the twentieth century, their economy included ranching and some business; many incomes were supplemented by or derived from timber revenues. A small number practiced farming. In the early twentieth century, several claims were filed and won regarding boundary disputes. The tribal government consisted of a general council. In the early 1950s, a movement for termination under the termination policy of the US government gained support. (The Klamath had earlier rejected the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.) By 1954, termination was finalized, and each enrolled Klamath was allotted $43,500 in exchange for the sale of reservation land to the federal government. Termination meant the end of tribal status. For many of the Klamath, termination introduced more problems, as there were no plans for their future. Many were the victims of enterprising and unscrupulous entrepreneurs. After years of effort, tribal status was regained in 1991. In the early twenty-first century, the Klamath found themselves in a fight over water rights with farmers and anglers in the Klamath basin and on the Klamath River. The dispute ultimately led to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KRBA) (2010), which, among other provisions, removed four dams that were impeding salmon migration and granted 90,000 acres of land to the Klamath. Unfortunately, Congress failed to pass the legislation that would enact the KBRA agreement by the January 2016 deadline; however, an agreement was signed in April 2016 that promised to remove several hydroelectric dams. The project was completed in October 2024, and within weeks, salmon appeared where they had not been for over a century. In the twenty-first century, the Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized Indigenous American nation consisting of the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians, continues to work towards environmental stewardship, as well as cultural a preservation.
Bibliography
Berg, Laura. The First Oregonians. Oregon Council for the Humanities, 2007.
Doremus, Holly D., and A. Dan Tarlock. Water War in the Klamath Basin: Macho Law, Combat Biology, and Dirty Politics. Island Press, 2008.
Drew, Ed. "The People of Klamath Falls." News from Native California, vol. 29, no. 1, 2015, pp. 7-10.
"Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement for the Sustainability of Public and Trust Resources and Affected Communities." Klamath River Renewal Corporation, 18 Feb. 2010, klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Klamath-Basin-Restoration-Agreement-2-18-10.pdf. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
“Klamath Tribes.” Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, www.npaihb.org/member-tribes/klamath-tribes. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
May, Theresa J. Salmon Is Everything: Community-Based Theatre in the Klamath Watershed. Oregon State University Press, 2014.
Most, Stephen, and Helene H. Oppenheimer. "Salmon People: Crisis and Continuity at the Mouth of the Klamath." California History, vol. 84, no. 3, 2007, pp. 5-22, 61.
"Our History." Klamath Tribes, klamathtribes.org/history. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.