Modoc (redirected from Modoc Tribe)

Modoc (mō`dŏk), Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They formerly lived in SW Oregon and N California, particularly around Modoc Lake (also known as Lower Klamath Lake) and Tule Lake. Modoc culture was similar to the culture of the Klamath, but the Modoc did not rely as heavily on the wokas, or water-lily seeds, for food. There was considerable trouble between the Modoc and the early white settlers, with atrocities being committed on both sides. The Modoc were finally constrained to live (1864) on the Klamath Reservation in Oregon, but most of the tribe was dissatisfied. In 1870, Chief Kintpuash, or Captain Jack, led a group back to California and refused to return to the reservation. The attempt to bring them back brought on the Modoc War (1872–73). After the Modoc War, the Modoc people were divided; some were sent to Oklahoma (where a few remain) and some to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon. The Modoc in Oregon share lands with the Klamath and Snake. In 1990 there were some 500 Modoc in the United States.

Bibliography

See V. F. Ray, Primitive Pragmatists: The Modoc Indians of Northern California (1963), R. H. Dillea, Burnt-Out-Fires (1973).

---

Modoc

North American Plateau Indian people living mostly in Oregon, U.S. Their language is of Penutian stock, and their original homeland was south of the Cascade Range in northern California. Their traditional economy was based on hunting and gathering, and they lived much like their closely related neighbours the Klamath. In 1864 the U.S. government forced the Modoc to live on Klamath lands. This gave rise to the Modoc War of 1872–73, in which about 80 families resisted government orders and retreated to the California Lava Beds; they eventually surrendered and were removed to Oklahoma. The Modoc who had moved to the new reservation became closer to the Klamath; together with the Klamath and the Yahooskin band of Snake Indians, the Modoc now form an entity known as the Klamath Tribes. Population estimates indicated approximately 1,500 Modoc descendants in the early 21st century.