The Klamath tribe occupied a region of the southern Cascade Range about 100 miles long and 25 miles wide. The landscape is covered by marshes, lakes, rivers, and streams. As a Plateau culture, The Klamath primarily fished and hunted waterfowl. Canoes were of great importance, made from a long pine, cedar, or Douglas spruce undercut at both ends at an angle of about forty-five degrees.
The Klamath spoke Lutuamian. They celebrated with ceremonies such as the victory dance and the puberty dance. They wore loincloths and moccasins. They had two different dwellings for the two seasons that they lived in. During the summer, they lived in teepees which were built with willow poles that were layered three times with grass and tule mats. In the winter, they lived in a conical roof of timbers, tule, grass, and earth erected over a circular excavation.
The beginning of the end for the Klamath began in 1852 when the Modoc. a neighboring tribe, killed an entire group of Klamath on their way to California. In 1864, The Klamath signed a treaty and moved to their reservation around Upper Klamath Lake. In 1954, a “Termination Act” was passed which resulted in the U. S. Government terminating the Klamath reservation. In 1961 and 1974, the Klamath land was sold with the money going to the people who were formerly living on the reservation. Presently, the land has been turned into the Winema National Park.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Klamath.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are Klamath, your feedback is much appreciated.
Klamath Tribes Website http://www.klamathtribes.org/
Modoc and Klamath” Encyclopedia Britannica Online
"Modoc and Klamath" Encyclopedia Britannica Online. http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=54491&sctn=1 Accessed 11 October 1999
"The Klamath" Notes From The North American Indian. http://www.curtis-collection.com/tribe%20data/klamath.html Accessed 12 October 1999
Written By: Adam Emery