Overview of Who Makes up the Klamath Tribes

Today it is common to say that the Klamath Tribes include the Klamath and Modoc Tribes and the Yahooskin Band of Paiute Indians. But this is a colonial simplification.

Today’s “Klamaths” were once many villages of maqlaqs (people) scattered across Upper Klamath Lake (ews), Klamath Marsh (ewkshi), the Williamson River (ya?aga), the Sprague River (plaikni goge), and others on the Wood River including: e’okak, e’ukwa’lksi, and kowac’di. The villages were distinct entities, had headmen, and were often matrilocal (husbands moving to wives’ villages). Modern Klamaths refer to themselves collectively as: ewksiknii or people of the waters. Traditional foods included: lilhanks (deer), c’wam, koptu, and as many as ten other distinct varieties (of suckers), ipos (roots), meYas (trout), and c’iyaals (salmon).

Today’s “Modocs” were many bands before contact with European Americans, including: Hat Creek, Hot Creek, Gumbutwas, and Lost River. Their villages surrounded Tule Lake and massive Lower Klamath Lake. The former was greatly reduced in size by encroaching Americans, who also drained the latter completely in the early 20th century for agriculture. The result is the continuing destruction of many of the Modoc bands’ traditional food sources, which included: wocas (lily pod seeds), tmo (grouse), kay (rabbit), and cew (antelope). At one time, before the coming of the whites, the Modoc and Klamath were one people. They spoke different dialects of the same language— which is fundamentally different from the languages of all neighboring peoples.

Today’s Yahooskin Paiutes are the Numu (people) whose traditional lands are to the east of the Klamaths and northeast of the Modocs. Their name (Yoo’hoo) comes from the Paiute word for grease, which was used by their ancestors to repel insects. Before the colonizers, their bands were pockets of families, including: Chocktoot, Paulina, and Winnemucca. Their hunting and gathering range was immense. Traditional foods include: tihikya (deer), kammi (jackrabbits), pihi (geese), toisabui (chokecherries), and tuyu (wild plums). As traditional enemies of the Klamaths, the early years on the reservation were difficult. Yainax Agency on the eastern side was established in 1870 to minimize conflicts with the Klamath. The Paiute language is wholly different from both Klamath and Modoc.

Reducing this complexity to “tribes” was a political act of the United States to facilitate treaty making. It was also a function of 19th century anthropologists’ prejudices. After 140 years of living together on the same reservation, many of today’s members trace their lineage to more than one of the three “tribes.”

Written by Clayton Dumont, Clay Chocktoot, Steve Weiser, Christine Allen, Debbie Riddle, Kya Jackson, and Buzz Kirk