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Karuk Tribe, California

- Valin Szymkowski

Karuk Tribe and its Culture

Culture

The Karuk or Karok (KAR-uck) Tribe is a Native tribe located in Northern California. The tribe lives on ancestral land following the Klamath River that they have inhabited for thousands of years.

Today the Karuk Tribe speaks English, but there are around 10 fluent speakers of the Karuk language. A language isolated only to the Karuk Tribe, it is an endangered language that is actively being taught and revitalized to keep the language alive for more generations.

Language

The Karuk Tribe is known for their basket weaving, it is a tradition in the tribe and the skill is taught to every generation. The Karuk lived in houses similar to those of other tribes in northern California and the Northwest Coast. They mainly used fishing nets and traps along the Klamath and Salmon River to catch fish.

Clothing and Tools

Clothing

Karuk Clothing

Karuk men would wear short kilts. Karuk women wore long grass skirts decorated with shells and beads. Shirts were not worn in the Karuk Tribe, but both men and women wore ponchos or deerskin robes. The Karuk people wore Moccasins, and shell necklaces.

Karuk women wore woven basket caps, and men sometimes wore a deerskin headband. For special occasions, like a dance, Karuk warriors would wear a special headdress decorated with woodpecker scalps.

The Karuk

Land

Have inhabited their ancestral land for thousands of years. In 1905 the US Government declared the entire Karuk Territory to be Public Land. The Karuk lost their villages and their hunting, fishing, and gathering land. The center of the world for the Kuruk Tribe is a place called Katimin, it is where the Klamath and Salmon Rivers meet, also known as Somes Bar. In the 1950s a large area that included Katimin was sold to a non-Karuk individual.

The Karuk could no longer hold their ceremonies at Katimin. In the 1970s the Karuk Tribe was able to buy back 1,660 acres of land, and even more land in the 1990s that included Katimin.

The Klamath and Salmon River have both been dammed, leading to the Karuk Tribe facing many problems. They no longer can feed the tribe off the river they built their lives around. In 2012 the Karuk won a lawsuit against the US Forest Service to protect the Coho Salmon from mining pollution that enters the river upstream. The Karuk are also fighting to set controlled burns as they had done before the U.S. government took over their land. These fires would help prevent large wildfires such as ones that ravaged the area in the 2010s.

The Village of Happy Camp

Is where the formal government of the Karuk Tribe resides. There is also a tribal resources center, as well as offices, a musuem and a tribe trailer park. As of 2020 the population was 905 persons. 24% were Native American.

Happy

Camp

Significant Events

In 1850-1851 the Karuk Territory was invaded by gold prospectors, the invasion was quite severe as gold in the territory was very plentiful. The Territory was overrun by gold prospectors who had no intention of being cordial with, or establishing relations with the Natives. In 1852 there were clashes between the whites and Natives leading to the whites burning all the Native villages along the Klamath and Salmon River. The Karuk fled to the hills, and the whites established the town of Orleans on top of the burned Native Villages. In that year, military operations claimed 15 lives of the Karuk, and 75 more in 1855. As time progressed the Karuk were allowed to build settlements near the whites, beginning their unattached existence.

Religon

No creation myth has been recorded for the Karuk however, the ikxareeyavs, which translates to "first people" a prehuman race which myths describe the adventures, love, and misfortunes of the ikxareeyavs. At once the human species came spontaneously into existence, and at the same time the ikxareeyavs were transformed into animals, plants, geographical features, or disembodied spirits. Like many other Native religions, these "first peoples" spirits live on in these forms today, and are worshiped and remembered. The telling of certain myths and the singing of associated songs were believed to grant success in hunting, gambling, and love. One ceremonial practice is Pikiavish. The Karuk and neighboring tribes performs sets of dances and songs every summer, it is done as ameans to renew the world, and better the people of the tribe. Singing is believed to have magical and spiritual power, in association with dances song can grant the Karuk with good food, health, and love.

Sources

https://www.karuk.us/index.php

https://www.karuk.us/images/docs/hr-files/Karok%20Language%20and%20Territory%20Information.pdf

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Karuk/632139

https://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Karok-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html

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