Long Line of Ladies - A History and Timeline of Events Impacting the Karuk Tribe

LONG LINE OF LADIES

A History and Timeline
of Events Impacting
the Karuk Tribe

2021

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KARUK

Time Immemorial

Karuk, as well as most California Indian Tribes, trace their ancestry to the region currently called Northern California.

CREDITS

Karuk Tribe Aboriginal Territory

Citation: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA, Author Jill Beckman, Karuk Department of Natural Resources.Decentring watersheds and decolonising watershed governance: Towards an ecocultural politics of scale in the Klamath Basin - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Karuk-Tribe-Aboriginal-Territory_fig1_331502452

2021

SPAIN

1542

Spanish Colonizers ventured north to "Alta California" but only reached the broad coastal region of the very far Northern California region.

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SPAIN

1769-1833

21 Spanish missions were established. The mission system stopped just north of San Francisco, California, and promoted the taking and claiming of lands in the name of the Spanish Crown, which resulted in the removal and enslavement of Indigenous people.

CREDITS

The locations of the 21 Franciscan missions in Alta California

Citation: Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 DEED, Author Shruti Mukhtyar, K Projection - NAD83/California Albers Sources - Natural Earth, California Department of Parks & Recreation, Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SpanishMissionsinCA.png.

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MEXICO

1821

The Mexican Republic won independence from Spain.

CREDITS

A collage of the different stages in the Mexican War of Independence. Clockwise from top left: Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos, Trigarante Army in Mexico City, Mural of independence by O'Gorman, Embrace of Acatempan between Iturbide and Guerrero

Citation: Mexican War of Independence. (2023, November 19). Available from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_War_of_Independence

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MEXICO

1824

The Mexican Constitution gave Indigenous people the right to vote, hold office, and remain in their villages. However, the Mexican Assembly passed the Colonisation Act, effectively relegating Indigenous people to be enslaved on newly formed ranches.

CREDITS

Portada de la Constitucion Mexicana de 1824

Citation: Libro Juarez el Republicano, Secretaria de Educacion Publica (Mexico) Material Educativo Gratuito. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Constitucion_1824.PNG

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KARUK

1827 - 1830

Hunter and fur trapper Jedediah Smith entered the Klamath Region and encountered the Karuk people.

CREDITS

Drawing of Jedediah Smith (1799–1831), created around 1835 after his death by a friend from memory. It is the only contemporary image of Smith.

Citation: From family papers, first published in Maurice Sullivan, The travels of Jedediah Smith, Santa Ana, California. The Fine Arts Press, 1934. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jedediah_Smith.jpg

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MEXICO

1846

The Mexican Assembly passed laws allowing for the destruction of Indigenous villages.

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UNITED STATES

1848

The Mexican government collapsed and the United States took over. Gold was discovered in the Northern California region. Major Pierson B. Reading’s party removed $80,000 of gold on their first trip on the upper Trinity River. This was the equivalent of a little over $3,000,000 in 2023.

Indigenous people were enslaved and sexually exploited by white settlers who also encroached on Karuk territory and began a process of hydraulic mining, which entailed massive destruction of lands, pollution, diversion of waters, and hunting and fishing species to the point of extinction.

"The lack of formal contact with the Spanish according to the terms of the Treaty of Limits (1828) and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) left the United States’ jurisdiction over Karuk lands dubious, and it continues to be disputed today" (Karuk Tribal Government Fact Sheet, 2020 ).

CREDITS

A forty-niner peers into the slit of California’s American River.

Citation: Photographer L. C. McClure. Brinkley, Douglas: History of the United States. Viking Penguin. New York, 1998. Page 151. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gullgraver_1850_California.jpg

California Gold Rush Map

Citation: Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0, Author Hans van der Maarel. FixWikiMaps Project. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CaliforniaGoldRush.png

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CALIFORNIA

1850

California became the 31st state of the United States of America.

The 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians passed by the California legislature made it legal to enslave Indigenous people of all ages and included convict leasing.

CREDITS

Great Seal of The State of California, adopted in 1849 adapted in 1883, 1891, and 1937

Citation: State of California. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Seal_of_California.svg

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CALIFORNIA

1850-1864

There were approximately 11 massacres in Humboldt County, California alone. This included the "Indian Island" massacre in February 1860, which resulted in the expulsion of the Wiyot peoples from their sacred island.

CREDITS

Indian Island on the coast in Humboldt Bay, Humboldt County, California. View north showing: the National Register Historic Marker; in background the island itself with shell midden of the indigenous Wiyot culture across the channel from the Woodley Island Marina at the end of Startare Drive on Woodley Island. There is no public access to Indian Island (aka: Duluwat Island), it can only be seen from Woodley Island, the Samoa Bridge, or a boat. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places in Humboldt County, California.

Citation: Photographer Ellin Beltz. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Island_Tolowot_California.jpg

Protecting The Settlers" Illustration by JR Browne for his work "The Indians Of California" 1864. Portraying a massacre by militia men of an Indian camp.

Citation: Author John Ross Browne. Crusoe's Island: A Ramble in the Footsteps of Alexander Selkirk, with sketches of adventure in California and Washoe. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Protecting_The_Settlers%22_Illustration_by_JR_Browne_for_his_work_%22The_Indians_Of_California%22_1864.jpg

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KARUK

1851

"Karuk tribal people meet with the Redick McKee US Senate delegation and participate in treaties signed in Weitchpec, Somes Bar, and near the mouth of the Scott River"
(Karuk Tribal Government Fact Sheet, 2020).

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KARUK

1852

White settlers burned the sacred Karuk villages of Yutamiin and Katimîin.

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KARUK

1852

The U.S. government negotiated 18 treaties with California Indian tribal governments. The treaties gave the tribes 8.5 million acres (3.4 million hectares) of land and other benefits. However, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaties because the California legislature and businesses did not approve. As a result, the tribes, including the Karuk, lost their land.

CREDITS

California Map 1 of Indian(First Nations) Cessions and Reservations

Citation: Maps section of: EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY TO THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 1896-97 BY J. W. POWELL DIRECTOR. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1896_California_Map_Smithsonian_Institute_Report.png

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CALIFORNIA

1856 - 1860

Several Native nations throughout California lead resistance efforts against U.S.occupation, including the so-called Tule River War (1856), the Mojave Wart (1859), and the Hoopa Valley Tribe War.

CREDITS

Tule River Indian War Memorial

Citation: Source Unknown. Available from http://www.bsahighadventure.org/indian_lore/battle_mountain_marker.jpg

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KARUK

1861

After a flood, settlers claimed that the Klamath Indian Reservation had been "abandoned." Reservation status was questioned, and settlers continued to build on the lands despite ongoing attempts to uphold reservation status by the Karuk peoples.

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CALIFORNIA

1863

The California legislature abolished slavery and indentured servitude for the Indigenous.

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UNITED STATES

1869

President Ulysses S. Grant laid the groundwork for the U.S. government’s “Peace Policy” toward Native Americans, ultimately seeking to eliminate “Indian-ness from the Indian.” A vital aspect of the policy was restricting Native Americans to reservations and establishing Native American boarding schools. The policy included the stealing of children from their families. Christian educators were placed as heads of these schools to suppress Indigenous cultures and religions.

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KARUK

1879

The U.S. government acknowledged the Karuk Tribe as a separate government.

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UNITED STATES

1883

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hiram Price developed the “Code of Indian Offences” that outlawed many traditional Native American religious practices. Participation in such activities lead to the withholding of rations and imprisonment.

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UNITED STATES

1887

The U.S. government passed the Dawes Allotment Act, which mandated that Native lands be subdivided and put into private, individual land ownership instead of held as tribal communal lands. The goal was to convert traditional land stewardship systems into a government-imposed system of private property.

CREDITS

United States Department of the Interior advertisement offering “Indian Land for Sale.” The man pictured is a Yankton Sioux named Not Afraid Of Pawnee.

Citation: Library of Congress. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Land_for_Sale.jpg

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UNITED STATES

1890

The U.S. government authorized military force to suppress the “Ghost Dance” religion among the Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The War Department issued a list of Indians to be arrested on sight.

CREDITS

Ghost Dance of the Sioux Indians in North America

Citation: Library of Congress. Ghost Dance of the Sioux Indians in North America, 1891. Available from https://www.loc.gov/item/2006681363/.

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UNITED STATES

1891

President Grant’s “Peace Policy” was ratified by Congress, which declared mandatory school attendance for Indigenous children. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was authorized to “withhold rations, clothing and other annuities” from parents not sending children to school.

Congress also passed the Forest Reserve Act.

CREDITS

Image 3 of Rules and regulations governing forest reserves established under section 24 of the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stats., 1095.)

Citation: Library of Congress. United States General Land Office. Rules and regulations governing forest reserves established under section 24 of the act of March 3,26 Stats., 1095. Washington, Govt. print. off, 1897. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/09015324/.

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UNITED STATES

1892

Congress declared that Native peoples who practiced Indian beliefs or performed religious dances and ceremonies would be imprisoned.

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UNITED STATES

1900

Continuing President Grant’s “Peace Policy” a network of Indian schools composed of 147 reservation day schools, 81 reservation boarding schools, and 25 off-reservation boarding schools was created. These schools were designed to forward an "assimilation" of Native children by reeducating them to reject tribal language, ceremony, and culture, often through very violent means. Tribal youth in the Northern California region would attend distant boarding schools in Oregon, Southern California, and the East Coast.

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UNITED STATES

1902

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs decreed that all Indian men were to have their hair cut short. Indian dances and feasts were prohibited.

CREDITS

"Long-hair" letter from Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Superintendent, Round Valley, California.

Citation: National Archives. Department of the Interior. Office of Indian Affairs. Round Valley Agency. 1865-1924. Available from https://catalog.archives.gov/id/296220.

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KARUK

1905

The U.S. Forest Service was established.

President Theodore Roosevelt set aside the Klamath Forest Reserve, claimed 1.04 million acres of Karuk Aboriginal Territory as public land, and declared part of it as "Klamath National Forest." Fire suppression, including cultural management practices, also began for most of the region.

The Reclamation Act resulted in the building of dams on the Klamath River.

CREDITS

Little Elk Lake in Klamath National Forest

Citation: Photographer Jeff Killingsworth for the United States Forest Service. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little_Elk_Lake2.jpg.

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UNITED STATES

1906

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service was established.

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KARUK

1910

The Klamath Forest Supervisors were told to list all Native families living on the Forest Service lands in Karuk aboriginal territory to begin the allotment process established by the Dawes Allotment Act in 1897. Approximately 63 tribal members were allotted an average of 11 acres each. Many eligible families were excluded.

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UNITED STATES

1916

The National Park Service was established.

CREDITS

Logo of the United States National Park Service, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. This version is shaded to look as if it has been carved out of wood or rock. The elements on the logo represent the major facets of the national park system. The Sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. The bison is also the symbol of the Department of the Interior. The logo became the official logo on July 20, 1951, replacing the previous emblem of a Sequoia cone, and has been used ever since. The design was slightly updated in 2001, and a few different renderings are used today.

Citation: U.S. government, National Park Service. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_of_the_United_States_National_Park_Service.svg.

Ten stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1934 in commemoration of the reorganization and expansion of the National Park Service.

Citation: Author Chris Light’s personal stamp collection. United States Postal Service. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USPS_National_Park_Service_1934.jpg.

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CALIFORNIA

1917

California declared Native peoples citizens of the state.

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KARUK

1920

Native peoples in the Klamath basin, including Karuk territory, who received allotments were pressured to sell their lands to timber industry interests. Many could not afford the taxes and were forced to sell. Much of these Native land holdings were lost to private land sales during this time.

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UNITED STATES

1922

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke, recommended that people be educated against Indian dances and that government employees work closely with missionaries in matters that affected the “moral welfare” of the Indians.

CREDITS

Charles Burke, Commissioner Bureau of Indian Affairs

Citation: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

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UNITED STATES

1924

Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act which made Native Americans citizens of the U.S.

CREDITS

U.S. President Calvin Coolidge with four Osage Indians after signed the bill granting Indians full citizenship.

Citation: Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c11409.

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UNITED STATES

1934

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collierm, issued Circular No. 2970, which mandated that “[n]o interference with Indian religious life or ceremonial expression will hereafter be tolerated. The cultural liberty of Indians is in all respects to be considered equal to that of any non-Indian group.” However, white employees and missionaries resisted the new policy, and Collier was labeled a Communist.

CREDITS

Bureau of Land Management Seal

Citation: U.S. Government. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_of_the_United_States_Bureau_of_Land_Management.svg

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CALIFORNIA

1934

California closed the Klamath River to fishing. Indians fished secretly, often at night, and continued distributing fish to tribal community members.

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UNITED STATES

1946

The Bureau of Land Management was established which contributed to the continued dispossession and removal of Indian peoples from their lands and access to their cultural resources.

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KARUK

1950s

An area that included Katimin was sold to a non-Karuk person. The Karuk also could no longer use Katimin to perform their ceremonies.

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KARUK

1953

Congress enacted policies of "Termination" for some Indian tribes nationwide. In addition, they passed Public Law 280, which granted co-jurisdiction of tribal lands to certain states, including California. There was no funding associated with implementing this new act.

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CALIFORNIA

1958 - 1967

The California Rancheria Termination Act terminated 41 rancherias.

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UNITED STATES

1964

Congress passed the Wilderness Act, which solidified a definition of wilderness for the U.S. that disappeared Native peoples' use and management of the lands for time immemorial. The act allowed Congress to designate protected "wilderness areas." The act often interferes with Native American tribal uses of lands for continued cultural practices.

CREDITS

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Wilderness Act of 1964 in the White House Rose Garden. Also pictured are Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, Senator Frank Church, Mardy Murie, Alice Zahniser, and Representative Wayne Aspinall, among others.

Citation: U.S. Government. Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sept_04_wilderness.jpg.

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KARUK

1970s

The Karuk buy back approximately 1,660 acres (670 hectares) of their land, which is where some of them live today.

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UNITED STATES

1973

The case of Mattz v. Arnett went to the Supreme Court, resulting in the reaffirmation of federal fishing rights.

CREDITS

Mattz v. Arnett Supreme Court descion, resulting in the reaffirmation of federal fishing rights.

Citation: Library of Congress. Available from https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep412/usrep412481/usrep412481.pdf.

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UNITED STATES

1978

Congress passed, and President Jimmy Carter signed, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA). It recognized that government policy had inhibited the practice of Native American religions, including access to sacred sites and the use of sacred objects and materials.

This year also brought light to the ongoing "Salmon War." By this time, the State of California banned sports and Indian fishing on the Klamath River, and the U.S. government put a moratorium on per capita payments from timber.

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UNITED STATES

1988

In Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association, the AIRFA statute came before the Supreme Court. In that case, the Forest Service wanted to build a logging road through sacred lands in the Chimney Rock area of the Six Rivers National Forest. An Environmental Impact Statement concluded that the construction of the road would destroy the religion of three Native American tribes (which required privacy for meditation and an unobstructed view of undisturbed nature). Therefore, it was concluded that the road should not be built.

However, the Forest Service proceeded with a plan that included “ameliorative measures.” The Forest Service argued that the road would be remote from the mediation sites. The tribes sued, but ultimately, the Supreme Court concluded that the First Amendment was not violated. The Free Exercise Clause protects against government compulsion, but does not mean the government must satisfy every citizen’s religious preferences on government land.

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KARUK

Mid-1990s

The Karuk regained the land that includes Katimin and are able to perform ceremonies there again.

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UNITED STATES

1993

Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which provides, among other insurances, that “Government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.”

CREDITS

Video footage of President William Jefferson Clinton signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, also known as RFRA, at the White House.

Citation: William J. Clinton Presidential Library. Produced by the White House Television (WHTV) crew. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YtyUXnBhXU.

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UNITED STATES

1996

In Executive Order 13007, President Bill Clinton ordered that agencies must accommodate access to and use of sacred sites in managing federal lands and avoid adversely affecting such sites.

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KARUK

2002

During the Klamath River fish kill, an estimated 34,000 of mostly adult fall Chinook salmon died in the Lower Klamath River due to water diversions to the Klamath River Basin for farmers and ranchers authorized by Vice President Dick Cheney. This fish kill was unprecedented.Low flows from Iron Gate Dam were a causative factor.

CREDITS

Official portrait of Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States.

Citation: National Archives. Available from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:46_Dick_Cheney_3x4.jpg.

Tens of thousands of salmon were killed on the Klamath in 2002 when water deliveries to farmers resulted in deadly low flows downriver.

Citation: Source Unknown. Available from http://www.klamathbasin.info/fishkill_stream.jpg.

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KARUK

2012

The Karuk won a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service to protect the coho salmon from mining pollution that enters the river upstream.

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KARUK

2016

The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) was signed which led to the removal of the dams for the specific purpose of salmon restoration. The dams caused the 2002 Fish Kill.

CREDITS

The Klamath River Basin extends from Southern Oregon into Northern California. The region is the historic home of the Native American Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin peoples.

Citation: Regional Ecosystem Office: Interagency Restoration Database http://www.reo.gov/restoration/images/180102.jpg.

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KARUK

2020

A new Klamath Basin Agreement was signed. Klamath River Renewal Corporation, a nonprofit organization, and the States of Oregon and California became co-licensees for dam removal.

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KARUK

2023

President Joe Biden signed the The Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act, placing federal lands in Humboldt and Siskiyou counties into a trust for the Karuk Tribe, fulfilling a years-long effort to put the sacred lands back into tribal hands. 1,200 acres of U.S. Forest Service land will be transferred to the tribe, including a mountain known as á›uuyich to the Karuk people, for whom it is the center of the world, which sits at the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon rivers as well as the nearby historic village of Katimiîn, where the tribe's annual world renewal ceremony to restore balance to the universe takes place, and Ameekyáaraam, site of the Jump Dance and First Salmon Ceremony.

CREDITS

The Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act.

Citation: Library of Congress. Available from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-117s4439enr/pdf/BILLS-117s4439enr.pdf.

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Created by

Toni Bell,
Odyssey Impact®

Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy,
Department Chair of Native American Studies at Cal Poly Humboldt

Copy Edited by

Dr. Jill Snodgrass

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