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123-576: In the 1950s the federally recognized status of the Klamath Reservation (where other Modoc live) and the Modoc was terminated, ending federal assistance to the two tribes. The Modoc tribe in Oklahoma later reorganized independently and gained federal recognition in 1978. They have also acquired a land base and have introduced bison to their area. They have pursued several avenues of economic development in what

246-499: A Luger pistol and wounded both policemen. Malone recovered, but Daw died the next day. Johnson was caught a few hours later by a dragnet and taken into custody. Barr, who was holding the $ 35 that they obtained from the robbery, panicked during the shootout and ran off into the woods, then escaped on a freight train. Daw was a beloved figure in Dunsmuir. His title of Chief of Police was given to him because of his cool head and experience as

369-527: A 1,000 men. The military small arms were supported by mountain howitzers and coehorn mortars. Captain Jack lost only six men by direct combat, while the U.S. Army suffered 45 dead. The latter included E.R.S. Canby , the only United States Army general to lose his life in an Indian war . In April 1873 at a peace commission meeting, Captain Jack and others killed General Edward Canby and Rev. Eleazer Thomas, and wounded two others, mistakenly believing this would encourage

492-538: A 14,000 ft (4,300 m) dormant volcano that towers over the valley. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of 10.1 sq mi (26 km ), of which 10.0 square miles (26 km ) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ) (0.72%) is water. The official city flower of Yreka is the Yreka phlox ( Phlox hirsuta ). The only known specimen of Calochortus monanthus ,

615-538: A 50-pupil boarding school had been established, apprentices served at the sawmill, carpenter's shop, and blacksmith shop, and a 10-member native police force led by the Klamath tribal chief and sub-chief kept order. However, he worried about superstitious practices and particularly requested funds to set up a hospital because native doctors were losing control, and threatened to poison people. He also noted that tribal members were excellent workers and sought-after for work outside

738-519: A Quaker Indian ring that operated at the Quapaw Agency for nearly a decade during the 1870s". Of the 12 agency employees, 11 were relatives of Agent Jones or Superintendent Hoag. Soon after the Modoc were settled at the Quapaw Agency, Agent Jones restricted them from trading with anyone but a store next to the agency building; they were prohibited from going to merchants in nearby Seneca, Missouri. Superintendent Hoag's first cousin, T. E. Newlin, operated

861-475: A U.S. engineer, prepared a map that includes Warner Lakes and other natural features using information from the Hudson's Bay Company trappers. In 1843, John C. Fremont led a party which named Christmas (Hart) Lake . The Klamath Tribes ended hostilities with the invader and ceded more than 6 million acres (24,000 km ) of land in 1864. They did, however, retain rights to hunt, fish and gather in safety on

984-470: A World War I veteran. The night of Daw's funeral a dozen cars from Dunsmuir, carrying approximately 50 masked men, drove north to Yreka to lynch Johnson. On August 3, 1935, at 1:30 a.m., the vigilante mob reached the Yreka jail and lightly knocked on the door. Deputy Marin Lange, the only guard on duty at the jail, opened the door slightly and was quickly overtaken. He was driven nine miles east of Yreka where he

1107-402: A boarding school, an office building, many residences and agricultural outbuildings, miles of fencing and were working on a new police headquarters. By 1896 timber sales outside the reservation were estimated at a quarter of a million board feet. When a railroad was built in 1911, reservation timber became extremely valuable. The economy of Klamath County was sustained by it for decades. Early in

1230-521: A business loop of Interstate 5 through the northern part of the city. General aviation uses the Montague Airport in Montague , 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east. Siskiyou transit (STAGE), Route 1 – Cascade Flyer (Express), services Yreka 3 times daily going thru Mt Shasta and Dunsmuir . "Yreka Bakery" is a palindrome . The loss of the "B" in a bakery sign read from the reverse is mentioned as

1353-611: A cash sum of US$ 43,000 per head being paid in 1961 (equivalent to $ 438,000 in 2023). Those who stayed became members of a tribal management plan. This plan became a trust relationship between tribal members and the United States National Bank in Portland, Oregon. Termination of the Klamath Reservation, included three distinct but affiliated tribes. The Act defines the members as the "Klamath and Modoc Tribes and

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1476-514: A common enemy. The 1956 Stanford report found that only half of Klamaths had a strong sense of identification with the tribe. US Congress also heard (but ultimately ignored) unfavorable information about the Klamaths' readiness for termination. The 1954 Termination Act provided for a period of evaluation before termination would take effect in 1961. This evaluation led the Bureau of Indian Affairs to accord

1599-641: A decade after the Termination Act of 1953, which reflected the political climate of the era, i.e. fierce anti-communism. Senator Arthur Watkins, one of the primary movers behind termination, reportedly "scoured the nation looking for tribes to terminate." In total, 113 Indian tribes were dissolved in the 1950s. There are 562 tribes recognized by the Federal Government in 2017. The Klamaths, in particular, were targeted for termination because they appeared to be prospering. A rarity among Native American groups,

1722-457: A declining congregation at a time when some Native Americans were returning to traditional practices, in the fall of 1978, the Society of Friends held the last meeting for worship in the church. The Modoc Tribe in Oklahoma was terminated under a congressional act in the 1950s intended to stimulate assimilation. Members of the tribe maintained an identity and applied to gain official recognition, which

1845-670: A fur trapper from the Hudson's Bay Company , was the first white man recorded to have left footprints on Klamath lands. In 1832, the Hudson Bay trappers under John Work were in the Goose Lake Valley and their journals mentioned Hunter's Hot Springs . Work's expedition visited Warner Lakes and Lake Abert and camped at Crooked Creek in the Chandler Park area. They also reported being attacked by Indians. In 1838, Colonel J. J. Abert ,

1968-411: A household in the city was $ 27,398, and the median income for a family was $ 37,448. Males had a median income of $ 31,632 versus $ 23,986 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 16,664. About 17.5% of families and 21.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over. Tourists visit Yreka because it is at the northern edge of

2091-511: A joint conspiracy between one politician, one Indian agent, and at least one local merchant. President Ulysses S. Grant tried to eliminate such graft by appointing religious groups and leaders to take over the Indian agencies. The Quakers , or Society of Friends, were prominent appointees among the new Indian agents. The Quakers in charge of the Quapaw Agency in the 1870s were from the same Society of Friends who claim credit for successfully proposing

2214-634: A lynch mob from a railroad tie suspended from two adjacent trees. The second lynching occurred on July 28, 1935. Clyde Johnson and Robert Miller Barr robbed a local business and its patrons in Castella, California . They then stole a car from a patron and drove north to Dunsmuir, California , where they planned to abandon the car and make a getaway by train. Soon after they abandoned the car north of Dunsmuir, they were stopped by California Highway Patrolman George "Molly" Malone and Dunsmuir honorary Chief of Police, 38-year-old Frank R. "Jack" Daw. Johnson pulled out

2337-439: A population of 7,765. The population density was 772.5 inhabitants per square mile (298.3/km ). The racial makeup of Yreka was 6,495 (83.6%) White , 57 (0.7%) African American , 491 (6.3%) Native American , 94 (1.2%) Asian , 9 (0.1%) Pacific Islander , 168 (2.2%) from other races , and 451 (5.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 753 persons (9.7%). The Census reported that 7,718 people (99.4% of

2460-651: A possible source of the name Yreka in Mark Twain's autobiography. The original Yreka Bakery was founded in 1856 by baker Frederick Deng. The palindrome was recognized early on: "spell Yreka Bakery backwards and you will know where to get a good loaf of bread" is quoted as an ad in the May 23, 1863, Yreka Semi-Weekly Journal and states that 12 loaves cost $ 1 (~$ 25.00 in 2023). The Yreka Bakery moved eventually to its longtime location, 322 West Miner Street, where it remained under several ownerships until it closed in 1965 on retirement of

2583-645: A result of the enormous pressure of white infiltration into Indian lands in California and Oregon, the Modoc, Klamath and Yahooskin Band of Snake tribes ceded their lands to the United States government and signed a joint reservation treaty in 1864. The Modoc agreed to live alongside the Klamath Indians, although these peoples were traditional enemies. Life on the reservation was difficult. The more numerous Klamath harassed

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2706-542: A secondary education. In Yreka, the gold-mining era is commemorated with a gold museum, as well as with a remnant of a silver mining operation in Greenhorn Park. The Yreka Union High School District sports mascot is a gold miner. School colors are red and gold. Yreka High School was the first high school in the county, founded in 1894. It has 11 feeder districts that serve the approximately 1,200 square miles (3,100 km ) county area. The Yreka elementary school district

2829-568: A sovereign state. Although the land base was not returned, the Klamath Tribes were directed to compose a plan to regain economic self-sufficiency. Their Economic Self-sufficiency Plan reflects the Klamath Tribes' continued commitment to playing a pivotal role in the local economy. The present-day Klamath Indian Reservation consists of twelve small non-contiguous parcels of land in Klamath County. These fragments are generally located in and near

2952-820: A way that the word BAKERY, all but the B, showed through and was reversed. A stranger read it wrong end first, YREKA, and supposed that that was the name of the camp. The campers were satisfied with it and adopted it. In 1853–54, poet Joaquin Miller described Yreka as a bustling place with "a tide of people up and down and across other streets, as strong as if a city on the East Coast". Incorporation proceedings were completed on April 21, 1857. There have been two documented lynchings in Yreka. The first took place on August 26, 1895, when four men—William Null, Garland Stemler, Luis Moreno, and Lawrence Johnson—awaiting trial for various charges of murder and robbery, were simultaneously hanged by

3075-465: A year after their arrival, when $ 15,000 was allocated. Under such conditions, the death rate of children and the aged was especially high. By 1879, after six years at the Quapaw Agency, 54 people had died and only 99 remained of the tribe. By the time of the allotments of communal land to Modoc households in 1891 under the Dawes Act , only 68 adults were left. Many had been born after removal. Especially in

3198-447: Is 11 °F (−12 °C), set on January 22, 1962, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 80 °F (27 °C) on July 22 and 23, 1915. There are 66.6 days each year with the highest temperature over 90 °F (32 °C), 11.4 days with the highest temperature over 100 °F (38 °C), and 142.2 days with the lowest temperature below 32 °F (0 °C). The 2010 United States Census reported that Yreka had

3321-422: Is a high degree of diurnal temperature variation , especially in the summer. The annual average temperature of Yreka is 53.5 °F (11.9 °C), July is the hottest month with 74.2 °F (23.4 °C), and December is the coldest month with 36.0 °F (2.2 °C). The average annual precipitation is 18.92 inches (481 mm), and the precipitation in winter (December-February) accounts for almost 48% of

3444-477: Is as follows: 2022-2025 Tribal Council 2019-2022 There are over 5700 enrolled members in the Klamath Tribes, with the government headquarters centered in Klamath County, Oregon. Most tribal lands were liquidated when Congress ended federal recognition in 1954 under its forced Indian termination policy. Some lands were restored when recognition was restored. The tribal administration currently offers services throughout Klamath County. The Klamath Tribes opened

3567-710: Is composed of Evergreen Elementary as well as the Jackson Street Middle School. Interstate 5 is the primary north–south route through Yreka, connecting Redding and Sacramento to the south and the Oregon border to the north. Interstate 5 through the city follows the former path of the Siskiyou Trail , which stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley . California State Route 3 runs east to Montague , and west to Fort Jones and Weaverville . California State Route 263 serves as

3690-691: Is credited in the film under his real name. On November 27, 1941, a group of young men gained national media attention when, brandishing hunting rifles for dramatic effect, they stopped traffic on U.S. Route 99 south of Yreka, and handed out copies of a Proclamation of Independence, stating that the State of Jefferson was in "patriotic rebellion against the States of California and Oregon" and would continue to "secede every Thursday until further notice." The secession movement ended quickly, though not before Del Norte County District Attorney John Leon Childs of Crescent City

3813-650: Is in California's 1st congressional district , represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa . Yreka is home to a branch campus of the College of the Siskiyous which hosts the Rural Health Science Institute and Administration of Justice programs. The college is one of 10 California community colleges to offer on-campus housing. High-school buses carry students from towns that would not otherwise be able to fund

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3936-711: The American Civil War who had also worked for the Freedmen's Bureau in Fairfax, Virginia . In addition to conducting worship services, establishing a Sunday School and educating members of all three tribes (and members of other tribes they had adopted), Nickerson helped plan for improvements. A Klamath Tribal Agency-sponsored sawmill was completed in 1870 and construction of Agency buildings began. By 1873, Tribal members were selling lumber to Fort Klamath military post and many private parties. By 1881 tribal members had already built

4059-476: The Bureau of Indian Affairs . The first years following removal to Indian Territory were difficult for the Modoc. They suffered much sickness and many hardships due to the corrupt, cruel administration of Agent Jones. During their first winter at the Quapaw Agency, the government did not provide any food, clothing, or medical supplies to them. Jones and the Quapaw Agency did not receive funds for their support for nearly

4182-625: The Kla-Mo-Ya Casino in Chiloquin, Oregon in 1997 on forty acres (16 ha) of land along the Williamson River . It provides revenue which the tribe uses to support governance and investment for tribal benefit. Yreka, California Yreka ( / w aɪ ˈ r iː k ə / wy- REE -kə ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California , United States, near the Shasta River ;

4305-537: The Klamath tribe in Oregon in 1954. The Klamath Termination Act (Public Law 587, enacted on August 13, 1954), embodied the U.S. Indian termination policy . Under this act, all federal supervision over Klamath lands, as well as federal aid provided to the Klamath because of their special status as Indians, ended. Termination of the Klamath tribe was part of a broader Federal Indian termination policy which persisted for about

4428-485: The Klamath Reservation , where other Modoc people lived. The Modoc tribal jurisdictional area falls within Ottawa County, Oklahoma . Follis also led the tribe in acquiring a land base. The tribe's government complex includes an archives and library. It is the only one in the area dedicated to Native American history and genealogy. The Modoc Nation operates a housing authority; a casino established in 1998, together with

4551-628: The Klamath River became national news. The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement , under discussion since 2005, was ultimately signed into law in February 2010. To improve fishing for salmon and the quality of the salmon runs, the Klamath Tribes are pressing for dams to be demolished on the upper rivers, as they have reduced the salmon runs. By signing the Treaty with the Klamath of 1864, 16 Stat. 707,

4674-480: The Klamath Termination Act , or Public Law 587, enacted on August 13, 1954. At Congressional hearings during 1965, testimony showed the Modoc living in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri had not been properly notified that their tribe would be terminated simultaneously with the Klamath Reservation, as none of the public notices identified that the termination included the Modoc. Several years later all tribes in

4797-689: The Miami Nation ; and Red Cedar Recycling, founded in 1996 and open to the larger community. They manage the Modoc Bison Project and are a member of the Inter-Tribal Bison Council . They also issue their own tribal license plates. The casino, known as The Stables, is located in Miami, Oklahoma , and includes a restaurant and gift shop. Red Cedar Recycling provides free cardboard and paper recycling for area businesses and residents; they also pay

4920-544: The Platte River , a few miles from the fort, where they hunted and fished for food. Given the detour to Nebraska, the Modoc were forced to travel 2,000 miles during the cold of late fall, not reaching Baxter Springs, Kansas , until November 16, 1873. The 153 Modoc men, women, and children arrived cold and hungry in this part of Indian Territory. In Baxter Springs, Captain Wilkinson conferred with Hiram W. Jones, Indian Agent at

5043-675: The Shasta Cascade area of northern California . The core of the historic downtown, along West Miner Street, is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places , as well as a California Historical Landmark . Yreka is home to the Siskiyou County Museum and a number of Gold Rush-era monuments and parks. Visitors also come to enjoy trout fishing in the nearby Klamath , Sacramento and McCloud Rivers, or to see and climb Mount Shasta , Castle Crags or

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5166-540: The Shasta language . Mark Twain tells a different story: [Twain's mentor Bret] Harte had arrived in California in the [eighteen-]fifties, twenty-three or twenty-four years old, and had wandered up into the surface diggings of the camp at Yreka, a place which had acquired its mysterious name – when in its first days it much needed a name – through an accident. There was a bakeshop with a canvas sign which had not yet been put up but had been painted and stretched to dry in such

5289-422: The Siskiyou Trail from southern Oregon. By April 1851, 2,000 miners had arrived in "Thompson's Dry Diggings" to test their luck, and by June 1851, a gold rush " boomtown " of tents, shanties, and a few rough cabins had sprung up. Several name changes occurred until the city was called Yreka. The name comes from wáik'a , a word meaning "north mountain" or "white mountain", the name of nearby Mount Shasta in

5412-573: The Trinity Alps . Visitors also ski (both alpine and cross-country), or bike or hike to the waterfalls, streams and lakes in the area, including nearby Falls of the McCloud River, Burney Falls , Mossbrae Falls , Lake Siskiyou , Castle Lake and Shasta Lake . The town hosts Gold Rush Days every year in June. In addition, because it is the county seat of Siskiyou County, a number of businesses related to

5535-674: The United States : the Klamath , Modoc , and Yahooskin . The tribal government is based in Chiloquin , Oregon . Klamaths traditionally (and to this day) believe everything anyone needed to live was provided by the Creator in their rich land east of the Cascades. They saw success as a reward for virtuous striving and likewise as an assignment of spiritual favor; thus, elders counseled, "Work hard so that people will respect you." For thousands of years,

5658-444: The county courts , county recorder, and other official county functions are in the city. Butte Valley National Grassland is in northern Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, but is administered from Yreka offices. In the state legislature Yreka is in the 1st Senate District , represented by Republican Megan Dahle , and the 1st Assembly District , represented by Republican Heather Hadwick . Federally, Yreka

5781-810: The "Reinstatement Act" of 15 May 1978 reversing all of the Oklahoma Termination Acts it addresses the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma confirming that the provisions of the Klamath Termination Act did not apply to them except as provided for sharing in future claims against the United States. Klamath Reservation The Klamath Tribes , formerly the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon , are a federally recognized Native American Nation consisting of three Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited Southern Oregon and Northern California in

5904-459: The Americans to leave. The Modoc War is estimated to have cost the United States government at least half a million dollars. Given the small number of warriors, this was probably the costliest Indian war ever fought. In comparison, the cost of land for the reservation requested by the Modoc on Lost River was estimated at $ 10,000. The war finally ended on June 1, 1873, with the surrender and capture of

6027-626: The Assistant Secretary of the Interior, "It is our belief ... these people have been largely integrated into all phases of the economic and social life of the area ... Their dress is modern, and there remains little vestige of religious or their traditional Indian customs ..." Klamath traditions also encouraged individualism and discouraged collectivism, the tribe having originally been a loose collection of autonomous tribelets which had only rarely, in their long history, united together in order to fight

6150-436: The Bureau of Indian Affairs among people who resented its control over their affairs in general, claiming: "Politically we've been kicked around and exploited for years and we're sick of it. It has cost us millions of dollars and we don't want any more government control and any more bureaucracy." But ultimately Native American tribes were not consulted about termination. The fact that Klamaths, in particular, were not consulted

6273-595: The Department of Interior's right to give precedence to tribal fishing in its management of water flows and rights in the Klamath Basin. In 2002, U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner ruled that the Klamath Tribes' right to water preceded that of non-tribal irrigators in the court case United States vs. Adair, originally filed in 1975. The Klamath Tribes are governed by a democratically elected Tribal Council, serving three-year terms. The current tribal government leadership

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6396-653: The Fall of 1874, Alfred Meacham, one of the four peace commissioners who had met Captain Jack during the Modoc War, visited the Modoc at Quapaw Agency. He was planning a lecture tour of eastern states related to his adventures during the war and tried to recruit men from among the Modoc. He received agency permission for Scarfaced Charley, Shacknasty Jim and Steamboat Frank to accompany him on the tour. The Modoc were very interested in obtaining an education for their children. Six weeks after removal, 25 of their children had started to attend

6519-605: The Friends Church. Steamboat Frank, who later took the name Frank Modoc, was the first full-blood American Indian to become a recorded minister of the Society of Friends. He was also the Modoc Church's first minister. To prepare for the ministry, Frank requested to attend Oak Grove Seminary in Vassalboro, Maine . While there, he became ill. Realizing death was near and wanting to return home to be with his only child, Elwood, he left

6642-682: The Klamath Marsh, on the banks of Agency Lake , near the mouth of the Lower Williamson River, on Pelican Bay, beside the Link River , and in the uplands of the Sprague River Valley. The most distinctive feature of pre-contact Klamath culture, compared with other Native American societies, was their individualistic rather than purely communal concept of wealth. Anthropologist Robert Spencer in "The Native Americans" asserts that among

6765-704: The Klamath people survived by their industriousness. When the months of long winter nights were upon them, they relied on prudent reserves from the abundant seasons. Toward the end of March, when supplies dwindled, large fish surged up the Williamson , Sprague , and Lost River . On the Sprague River, where Gmok'am'c first began the tradition, the Klamath's still celebrate the Return of C'waam ( Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus)) Ceremony. The Klamath bands were bound together by ties of loyalty, family, and food. They lived along

6888-475: The Klamath tribe ceded 20 million acres (81,000 km ) of land but retained 2 million acres (8,100 km ) and the rights to fish, hunt, trap, and gather from the lands and waters as they have traditionally done for centuries. As part of an effort at assimilation, in 1954 the U.S. Congress had terminated the federal relationship with the Klamath Tribes, but stated in the Klamath Termination Act, "Nothing in this [Act] shall abrogate any water rights of

7011-403: The Klamath, Modoc, and the Yahooskin Band of Northern Paiute Indians . In 1874, Oregon's legislature created Lake County, Oregon , which included the reservation lands (and from which Klamath County, Oregon was later separated). Missionaries, settlers, and ranchers followed, as the Klamath assimilated. One of the early Indian agents was Rev. Linus M. Nickerson , a former U.S. Army Chaplain in

7134-503: The Klamaths a "questionable status" as to their readiness, even though it had been the Bureau which had initially recommended the Klamaths for termination. In 1957, Congress were told that in the 1953/54 school year, 40% of Klamath students had failed to move up to the next grade; that two-thirds of able-bodied males do little or no work; and that a majority of the Indian population had been arrested at some point in their lives. Congress heard further testimony that although Klamaths had "shed

7257-414: The Klamaths were financially self-sufficient, being the only tribe in the US to be funding the administrative costs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs through income tax contributions. By the 1940s, only 10% of Klamath families relied upon public welfare assistance. An economist noted that "the Klamaths were never, since 1918, a 'burden' on taxpayers.". This self-sufficiency was made possible by the richness of

7380-502: The Klamaths, "A basic goal was wealth and the prestige derived from it ... The wealth quest was individual. Persons of 'good' reputation worked to produce and to enhance their social status." Historian Floy Pepper asserts that this set up Klamaths to do relatively well upon contact with white settlers, because "The Klamaths readily accepted certain aspects of the new culture. To work hard, to gain material possessions, to be practical were virtues of both worlds." In 1826 Peter Skene Ogden ,

7503-517: The Lost River for the Modoc. But with his band in violation of the treaty, the U.S. Army determined to capture the wandering Modoc and return them to the Klamath reservation in Oregon. The confrontation caused the explosive Modoc War . With the outbreak of fighting, the Modoc warriors retreated with their wives and children to the nearby Lava Beds. They used the many caves for their defense and refuge. For almost six months, Captain Jack worked with his 57 braves to withstand an army that came to number over

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7626-432: The Modoc Nation traditionally occupied some 5,000 square miles of the interior of what is now the California-Oregon border. While their tribal territory encompassed a small area, it was one of great biological diversity. The west was bordered by the Cascade Mountains ; to the east was a barren wasteland of alkali flats; forests of Ponderosa pines bordered the north, and what is known as the Lava Beds National Monument formed

7749-426: The Modoc, and the Indian agent neglected them. The Modoc became increasingly frustrated. By 1865, Captain Jack led his band of Modoc off the reservation and returned to their territory of the Lost River (California) area of Northern California. The treaty signed in 1864 was not ratified by the US Senate until 1870. For two years Captain Jack refused to return to the Klamath reservation, requesting separate property on

7872-411: The Modoc, who were unable to keep themselves supplied with food. Captain Jack and five of his warriors: Schonchin John, Black Jim, Boston Charley, Barncho, and Sioux, were charged with war crimes. They are the only Native Americans to be tried by a military commission on such charges. Gallows were constructed before the trial began, and it was evident the verdicts would be death by hanging. The date set for

7995-406: The Nez Perce War with the United States, Chief Joseph and his people were forcibly removed from their homelands in the Northwest to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas , in 1877. Eight months later they were transported by train to Baxter Springs, Kansas. The weakened and sick Nez Perce could not complete the walk to the Quapaw Agency. The Modoc were hired as teamsters to transport the people to Modoc Springs on

8118-455: The Quapaw Agency, as to where to place the Modoc. They decided to locate the band on Eastern Shawnee land, to be supervised directly by Agent Jones. But Jones' Quapaw Agency had not been supplied with additional goods to outfit the prisoners: 153 persons who had little but loose blankets on their backs. With Scarfaced Charley in command and one day's help from three non-Indians, the Modoc built their own temporary wood barracks two hundred yards from

8241-422: The Quapaw boarding school some 12 miles north of the agency. Less than one year later, the children were reported as rapidly learning English, and many of the adults also learned to read and write. In 1879, the government constructed a building on the Modoc Reservation that served as both a school and a church. Several of the children later attended the Carlisle Indian School near Arkansas City, Kansas. However, after

8364-445: The United States government allowed the Modoc to return to Oregon. Records indicate that 29 returned; however, several had gone back prior to 1909. Both the Modoc who returned and those who chose to remain in Oklahoma were enrolled at the Klamath Agency. As the years passed, the Modoc language, customs and culture were forgotten. The Modoc and Klamath tribes were terminated under the Indian termination policy from federal supervision by

8487-410: The United States." They did have an unusually high standard of living compared to other Native American tribes. But this was partly due to the sale of communal timber reserves which provided every Klamath with regular disbursements, that amounted to $ 800 a year by 1950 (equivalent to $ 10,130 in 2023). The Klamaths were also considered culturally suitable for termination. As testified to Congress by

8610-404: The Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians , and of the individual members thereof". A portion of the Modoc Tribe had been taken as prisoners to Indian Territory in 1873 following the Modoc War in Oregon. In 1965, as a part of the US settlement with the Klamath reservation, a series of hearings were held from April to August. The hearings concluded without allowing the Oklahoma Modoc to be included in

8733-405: The agency headquarters. Some were housed in tents. These accommodations were to be their home until June 1874, when the Office of Indian Affairs purchased 4,000 acres for their reservation from the Eastern Shawnee. The Quapaw Agency was located on Eastern Shawnee land in the northeast corner of Indian Territory, now Ottawa County, Oklahoma. It was bounded on the north by the Kansas state line and on

8856-483: The agency, he reported to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, "on the cars, in the old hotel used for them at Baxter, I found them uniformly obedient, ready to work, cheerful in compliance with police regulations, and with each day providing over and over that they only required just treatment, executed with firmness and kindness to make them a singularly reliable people." Agent Jones reported no difficulties in enforcing

8979-429: The agency. It was not until 1879 that Hiram Jones and his family ring were relieved of their duties at the Quapaw Agency. The Modoc men and women persevered in adapting to survive. They worked at anything that brought income. The men worked on the farms of their white neighbors, and hauled materials and supplies to surrounding towns. The women sold their beadwork and intricately woven basketry. Both men and women worked in

9102-595: The baker "Martin", and clerk Alta Hudson. Another Yreka Bakery opened in a different location in 1974, but is no longer in business. Author Martin Gardner mentioned that Yreka Bakery was in business on West Miner Street in Yreka, but it was pointed out by readers "the Yreka Bakery no longer existed. In 1970 the original premises were occupied by the art store Yrella Gallery, also a palindrome". The historic Brown-Nickell-Authenrieth Building, 322–324 West Miner Street, houses

9225-838: The blanket" by abandoning outward Indian customs and dress, they hadn't "acquired the skills and attitudes necessary for the assumption of the responsibilities in a non-Indian society which they will be required to assume upon termination." The Klamath Education Program, designed to prepare Klamaths for termination, can only be viewed as hopelessly ineffective in their light of its own reports which reveal that up to 75% of Klamath Indians who enrolled for its vocational training programs failed to complete their courses. An unpopular Klamath leader, Wade Crawford, had proposed termination of his own tribe in 1945, and tried to convince other Klamaths that termination would be in their interests, with some success among wealthier Klamaths who wanted more control over their own finances. He also exploited hostility towards

9348-510: The cattle industry remains important economically. Also, the Tribes had long-established trade networks, which led to successful freighting businesses. Nickerson requested sturdy wagons, and while some of those supplied proved inadequate, tribal operations used 80 wagons by 1881 (as well as 7 mowing machines and 5 sulky hay rakes and many smaller implements). By August 1889, 20 tribal teams worked year-round to supply both private and commercial needs in

9471-490: The church. The Modoc Friends Church and Cemetery were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, the first site so designated in Ottawa County, Oklahoma . Shortly thereafter renovation of the church began, and its dedication on June 10, 1984, celebrated the completion. In 1988, the Major William McBride Chapter, National Society United States Daughters of 1812 , placed a historical marker at

9594-459: The church. The first marked grave in the Modoc Cemetery is inscribed as Rosie Jack, died April 1874. Rosie was the daughter of Captain Jack and his "young wife" Lizzie. Many of the leading participants of the Modoc War were buried in the cemetery in unmarked graves. The church and its cemetery symbolize the losses suffered by the 153 Modoc prisoners of war from the nineteenth century. Following

9717-494: The city has an area of about 10 square miles (26 km ), most of it land. As of the 2022 United States Census , the population was 7,827, reflecting an increase from 7,765 counted in the 2010 Census . Yreka is home to the College of the Siskiyous , Klamath National Forest Interpretive Museum and the Siskiyou County Museum. In March 1851, Abraham Thompson, a mule train packer, discovered gold near Rocky Gulch while traveling along

9840-545: The city was 86.6% White , 0.5% African American , 6.0% Native American , 1.8% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 1.7% from other races , and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 5.4% of the population. There were 3,114 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who

9963-440: The communities of Chiloquin and Klamath Falls . Their total land area is 308 acres (1.248 km ). As is the case with many Native American tribes, today few Klamath tribal members live on the reservation; the 2000 census reported only nine persons resided on its territory, five of whom were white people . In 2001, an ongoing water rights dispute between the Klamath Tribes, Klamath Basin farmers , and fishermen along

10086-500: The death of Adam McCarty, a stepson of Schonchin John, at Carlisle, Modoc families were reluctant to send their children away to school. The Modoc also became active in the church established for them by the Society of Friends. By 1881, most had converted to the Quaker faith. Three of Captain Jack's warriors, formerly referred to as "blood thirsty and savage renegades," became recorded ministers of

10209-821: The doors of each car day and night. All of the men and boys capable of bearing arms were shackled within the cars, adding to their distress. In this stage, they were transported to Fort D.A. Russell in Wyoming Territory. Nearing the fort, the Army officers received orders to take the Modoc prisoners to Fort McPherson, Nebraska . Finally arriving there October 29, Captain Hasbrouck turned his charges over to Captain Melville C. Wilkinson, US Army, Special Commissioner in Charge of Indian Removal . The prisoners were placed temporarily on an island in

10332-512: The early 19th century began to encroach on their territory and their lives were changed. The intrusion of fur traders, followed by European settlers into the Pacific Northwest, had a variety of social and economic effects on the Native populations. The Modoc bartered with fur traders for guns and horses, which they found necessary to compete with neighboring tribes. But eventually the traders and

10455-516: The early years, the people depended for their very survival on gifts of money and clothing from eastern charitable organizations, representing many people who were outraged by the government's poor treatment of the Modoc. During the 1870s the Office of Indian Affairs was rife with corruption; Indian agents were known to bill the U.S. Government for resources intended for the tribes, which were diverted to private sales. These so-called Indian Rings operated on

10578-654: The east by the Missouri line. The Cherokee Nation formed its western and southern boundaries. The agency had been a sub-agency of the Neosho Agency until 1871, when they were jurisdictionally separated. The tribes constituting the Quapaw Agency were the Confederated Peoria, Eastern Shawnee, Miami, Ottawa, Quapaw, Seneca, and Wyandotte. Captain Wilkinson remained with his charges until the second week in December. When he left

10701-669: The execution of Captain Jack. To solve the conflict between the Modoc and Klamath at the reservation, the US Commissioner of Indian Affairs (now Bureau of Indian Affairs ) decided to relocate the Modoc far to the east, to the Quapaw Agency in northeastern Indian Territory . The Modoc were ordered to pack all their belongings for a long journey but were not told of their destination. On October 12, 1873, 155 Modoc: 42 men, 59 women, and 54 children, were loaded on 27 wagons and departed Fort Klamath, Oregon under guard of Captain H.C. Hasbrouck and soldiers of Battery B, 4th Artillery. A week later

10824-401: The execution was October 3, 1873. Captain Jack, Barncho and Sioux were convicted and sentenced to death. But just before the executions were to take place, the commission commuted the sentences of Barncho and Sioux to life imprisonment at Alcatraz Island in California. The men were not told of the change until after they, along with the other Modoc men, women and children, were forced to watch

10947-418: The fields. Soon they were cultivating their own land and continued to improve the condition and productivity of their farmlands and livestock herds. They were described as improving each year in assimilationist practices of dress, farming, house maintenance, and encouraging their children in reservation and other schools. The Quapaw Agency staff considered them superior among the tribes they supervised. During

11070-706: The flow of non-Indians into their ancestral homelands had an enormous effect on the culture of the Modoc people. They embraced many of the settlers' ways. Eventually they adopted clothing patterned after non-Indians, with whom they socialized in the nearby town of Yreka, California . The Modoc sometimes used names given to them by the white man. For instance, Keintpoos became known as Captain Jack, while other men were documented in American records as Scarfaced Charley, Steamboat Frank, Bogus Charley, Shack Nasty Jim, Long Jim, Curly-headed Doctor, and Hooker Jim. The increasing number of settlers needed more land to farm and to graze. As

11193-631: The lands reserved for the people "in perpetuity" forever, which gave rise to modern litigation discussed below. After signing the 1864 treaty, members were forcibly placed upon the Klamath Indian Reservation . At the time there was tension between the Klamath and the Modoc. A band of Modoc left the reservation to return to Northern California. The U.S. Army defeated them in the Modoc War (1872–73), and forcibly returned them to Oregon. The Klamath Indian agency actually included three tribes:

11316-492: The large expedition stopped for the first time near Yreka, California. When they reached Redding, California , military guards took Barncho and Sioux away from the main group to prison at Alcatraz Island. The remaining Modoc were put aboard a train and housed in cattle cars. None of the people had seen a train before, and they were frightened of the noise and movement. Their four railroad cars were coupled between two other cars filled with soldiers. Guards with loaded muskets stood at

11439-420: The market rate for aluminum to recycle. The tribal company provides educational materials about recycling and hosts tire recycling events. In the 21st century, the tribe engaged in what is known as "payday lending", considered controversial for the often high rates of fees charged to customers. It allowed a corporation to be formed under the tribe's name and legal status in order to bypass state usury laws. While

11562-470: The northeastern corner of Oklahoma banded together to establish the Inter-Tribal Council, Inc. of Northeastern Oklahoma. At that time, the Modoc formed an unofficial tribal government. Bert Hayman, whose mother had been one of the youngest prisoners of war, became the first tribal chairman; followed by Vernon "Dutch" Walker, grandson of James Long, the "Youngest Modoc Warrior." In a special section of

11685-641: The original Indian "Peace Policy" to President Ulysses S. Grant. Quaker Hiram W. Jones was the Indian agent at the Quapaw Agency when the 153 Modoc prisoners of war arrived there in 1873. He reported to fellow Quaker, Enoch Hoag, who was Superintendent of the Central Indian Superintendency headquarters in Lawrence, Kansas . As it happened, Jones' wife and Hoag's wives were first cousins. Grant's efforts to eliminate corruption did not succeed here. As historian Albert Hurtado wrote, "the Modoc were victims of

11808-558: The population) lived in households, 33 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 14 (0.2%) were institutionalized. There were 3,394 households, out of which 983 (29.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,338 (39.4%) were married couples, 471 (13.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 160 (4.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 269 (7.9%) unmarried couples, and 17 (0.5%) gay couples. 1,202 households (35.4%) were made up of individuals, and 636 (18.7%) had someone living alone who

11931-408: The population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,823 people (49.2%) lived in rental housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 7,290 people, 3,114 households, and 1,880 families residing in the city. The population density was 730.8 inhabitants per square mile (282.2/km ). There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of 331.1 per square mile (127.8/km ). The racial makeup of

12054-496: The prospectors gave way to farmers and ranchers, who competed for land and resources and had little regard for the Native inhabitants. These new American invaders traveled west in the mid-19th century by way of the Oregon Trail , which passed directly through traditional Modoc lands. The Modoc learned to live peacefully with the farming and ranching newcomers, often working for them and trading for livestock and other necessities. But

12177-422: The rapidly growing county. By the 1950s the Klamath tribes were among the wealthiest tribes in the United States. They owned (and judiciously managed for long-term yield) the largest remaining stand of Ponderosa pine in the west. Self-sufficient, the Klamath were the only tribes in the United States that paid for all federal, state and private services used by their members. Congress ended federal supervision of

12300-407: The reservation and that a syphilis problem since contact with whites three decades earlier was being controlled. Nickerson also requested 300 yearling cattle and 20 breeder stallions to augment the ranching operations, as well as steel plows, but recognized that climate issues in the high desert would limit European type agriculture (the tribes cultivating some root crops and harvested aquatic plants in

12423-596: The reservation period, Klamath Tribal members demonstrated an eagerness to turn new economic opportunities to their advantage. Both men and women took advantage of the vocational training offered, and soon held a wide variety of skilled jobs within the reservation, as well as, the Fort Klamath military post, and in Linkville . By 1881, Indian Agent Nickerson in his third annual report to his supervisors in Washington stated that

12546-412: The reservation's natural timber resources. The unsuitability of the woodlands for conventional farming had meant that most of it had escaped the fate of being given to white settlers under the 1887 Allotment Act. Consequently, 862,622 acres (3,490.91 km ) were retained as tribal property. As testified to Congress in 1954, "The Klamath Tribe has been considered one of the most advanced Indian groups in

12669-625: The reservation, where they set up a temporary camp. The Nez Perce did not remain long with the Modoc. Less than six months later, Jones had them transferred a few miles north to the Peoria Reservation. Eventually, they were transferred to the Ponca Agency in the western portion of Indian Territory; later they were moved to sites in Washington State and Idaho. Pursuant to the Act of March 3, 1909,

12792-525: The rolls of the Klamath Tribe. The western Modoc were restored to tribal status 15 May 1978, in an Act which reinstated the Modoc, Wyandotte , Peoria , and Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma . Almost a decade later, through the leadership and vision of the Klamath people, and the assistance of congressional leaders, the Klamath Restoration Act was adopted into law in 1986, reestablishing the Klamath as

12915-562: The seminary. He traveled as far as Portland, Maine , where he died June 12, 1886. He is buried in the Friends Cemetery there. In 1891, the Society of Friends purchased the church building and relocated it to the current site on County Road S679 adjoining the Modoc Cemetery. The building was enlarged to include living quarters for the Friends missionary and his family. Services were conducted on Sunday and prayer meetings on Wednesday night. With

13038-510: The single-flowered mariposa lily, was collected near Yreka along the banks of the Shasta River , by botanist Edward Lee Greene , in June 1876. Nearby places include: According to the Köppen climate classification system, Yreka qualifies as having a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ), but almost qualifies as having a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csb ). The area features hot, dry summers and cool winters with regular snowfall. There

13161-503: The southern boundary. Descended from indigenous cultures who had been in the region for 10,000 years, the historic Modoc were culturally unique. They spoke the Klamath language , as did the neighboring (and competing) Klamath people . Occasionally they formed war parties to drive out unwelcome visitors or raid neighboring tribes. The Modoc were hunters, fishermen, and gatherers who followed the seasons for food. They lived their lives in relative obscurity. The arrival of European Americans in

13284-461: The store. When Seneca residents filed numerous complaints concerning the intolerable conditions suffered by the Modoc, their claims were dismissed by the federal government. Congressional representatives thought these represented disgruntled merchants who were bitter at being cut out of the lucrative Modoc trade. The Modoc mortality rate continued to climb. Because of persistent complaints by the Modoc and their non-Indian neighbors, Jones' Indian Agency

13407-434: The strictest discipline, although one small area of friction had developed. Some Modoc gambled, resulting in some instances in losing what few possessions they had. When Scarfaced Charley, who had become chief, refused to interfere, Jones appointed Bogus Charley as chief. He served as chief until 1880, when the federal government ended formal Modoc tribal government in Oklahoma for almost 100 years. It appointed officials through

13530-575: The swampy lake that gave the County its name during the summertime). However, the irrigation system that Nickerson suggested in 1884 was only built 16 years later, after his death and a severe drought throughout the west. Before the reservation era, horses were considered an important form of wealth, so ranching and the ownership of cattle was easily accepted. Also, Nickerson on behalf of the Indian Agency initially leased some tribal lands to ranchers. Today

13653-475: The tribe and its members... Nothing in this [Act] shall abrogate any fishing rights or privileges of the tribe or the members thereof enjoyed under Federal treaty." The states of California and Oregon have both tried to challenge Klamath tribe's water rights, but have been rebuffed. Local farmers tried unsuccessfully to claim water rights in the 2001 cases, Klamath Water Users Association v. Patterson and Kandra v. United States but these were decided in favor of

13776-538: The tribe maintains nothing illegal was done, the leader of the corporation, Scott Tucker was convicted of financial violations and sentenced in January 2018 to more than 16 years in federal prison. His company and others involved were ordered to pay $ 1.3 billion by the Federal Trade Commission. Today the tribe independently engages in "payday lending" on a far smaller scale, which generates revenue. The people of

13899-435: The way in which they were to be compensated for the loss of their reservation. Each tribal member was required to choose between remaining a member of the tribe, or withdrawing and receiving a monetary payment for the value of the individual share of tribal land. Of the 2,133 Klamath tribal members at the time of termination, 1,660 (78%) decided to withdraw from the tribe and accept individual payments for land. This resulted in

14022-401: The whole year. The annual snowfall is 11.6 inches (290 mm), which is basically concentrated from November to February of the next year. The annual extreme temperature ranged from −11 °F (−24 °C) on January 20, 1937, January 22, 1937, February 2, 1950, and December 9, 1972, to 112 °F (44 °C) on July 16, 1925, July 17, 1925, and July 27, 1939; the record cold daily maximum

14145-400: Was 41.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males. There were 3,675 housing units at an average density of 365.6 per square mile (141.2/km ), of which 1,751 (51.6%) were owner-occupied, and 1,643 (48.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%. 3,895 people (50.2% of

14268-444: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females, age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males. The median income for

14391-417: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27. There were 1,969 families (58.0% of all households); the average family size was 2.92. The population was spread out, with 1,871 people (24.1%) under the age of 18, 678 people (8.7%) aged 18 to 24, 1,603 people (20.6%) aged 25 to 44, 2,119 people (27.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,494 people (19.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

14514-426: Was an inhospitable environment compared to northern California. The Modoc Nation is headquartered in Miami, Oklahoma , and based largely in Ottawa County . Of the 250 enrolled tribal members, 120 live within the state of Oklahoma. The Tribe's chief is Bill Follis , who was instrumental in securing renewed federal recognition in 1978. The tribe's federal recognition had been terminated in the 1950s, along with that of

14637-557: Was inaugurated as governor of the State of Jefferson on December 4, 1941. The first blow was the death of Mayor Gable on December 2, followed by the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Those in favor of secession focused their efforts on the war effort, which crippled the movement. Yreka is approximately 2,500 feet (760 m) above sea level in the Shasta Valley , south of the Siskiyou Mountains and north of Mount Shasta ,

14760-409: Was investigated by the Office of Indian Affairs in 1874 and again in 1875, but few changes and no criminal charges were made as a result. Following a third investigation in 1878, his system of nepotism and corruption was officially reported. Jones and his family members were described as receiving kickbacks from local merchants for the inflated prices and inferior quality of goods and services provided to

14883-525: Was made clear by the testimony to Congress of Seldon Kirk, chairman of the Klamath General Council, in 1954: "We who represent and speak for the Klamath Indians really do not know what the Indians want themselves. We have never taken a vote on that question." When they were finally invited to vote on the subject, they were not given the option of rejecting termination; they were only permitted to choose

15006-509: Was released, barefoot. The mob searched the jail, found Johnson, drove him away in one of the cars and hanged him from a pine tree. Barr was arrested over a year later, on September 4, 1936, in Los Angeles on a burglary charge. During his time on the run, he secured a part as an extra in the Nelson Eddy / Jeanette MacDonald film Rose Marie , scenes of which were filmed near Lake Tahoe . He

15129-580: Was successful in May 1978. This restored the tribe's special relationship with the federal government and made members eligible for Federal assistance. Among their early actions was the purchase of the Modoc Church and its four acres from the Society of Friends. They gained a grant from the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development to restore the church. An additional $ 24,000 from the Oklahoma Historical Society made it possible to complete restoration of

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