Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma

The Modoc tribe is a group of Native American people who originally lived in the area which is now northeastern California and central Southern Oregon. They are currently divided between Oregon and Oklahoma.

A 1864 treaty with the Klamaths, Modocs, and Yahooskin band of Snake tribes established the Klamath Reservation in Oregon. Under the terms of this treaty the Modocs, with Old Chief Schonchin as their leader, gave up their lands in the Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake regions, and moved to the reservation in the Upper Klamath Valley.

The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for the comfort of both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor the California government would approve it.

In 1870, a group of Modocs under the leadership of Keintpuash (Captain Jack) left the reservation to reestablish a village near the Lost River, because they had not been represented in the treaty negotiations and often fought with the Klamaths.

In November 1872, the US Army was sent to Lost River to attempt to force the Keintpuash's band back to the reservation. A battle broke out, and the Modocs escaped to Captain Jack's Stronghold in what is now Lava Beds National Monument, California. The band of 60-90 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 troops of the US Army for several months.

Keintpuash and his group were the last captured on June 4, 1873 when they voluntarily gave themselves up, after assurances from the US government that their people would be treated fairly and that all of the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land. Keintpuash and three of his warriors were hanged in October of that year for the murder of Major General Edward Canby, after the General violated agreements that had been made with the Modocs, and the rest of the band was sent to Oklahoma as prisoners of war with Scarfaced Charley as their chief.

In 1907, the group in Oklahoma was given permission, if they wished, to return to Oregon. Several did, but most stayed in Oklahoma.