Yurok TribePUE-LIK-LO’ • PEY-CHEEK-LO’ • nER-ER-NER’

TABLE OF CONTENTS

© Yurok Tribe 2007

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A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING CONTRIBUTORS:

The Yurok Tribe appreciates the support received from the Administration for Native Americans Social and Economic Development Strategies (ANA SEDS).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Photographs and maps provided by the following: Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Humboldt State University’s Roberts Collection, Jeanne Riecke’s family photo collection, Del Norte Historical Society, Yurok Tribe

Language Program, and the Yurok Tribe Land Management .

Historical Information used in part from the following sources: • Redwood National Park History Basic Data, by Edwin C. Bearss (1969 & reprint 1982).• A Yurok Forest History, Lynn Huntsinger with Sarah McCaffrey, Laura Watt, and Michele Lee, University of California at Berkeley (1994). • Standing Ground, Thomas Buckley (2002).• Genocide in Northwestern California: When our World’s Cried, Jack Norton (1979).

• Discussions with Yurok elders, cultural and ceremonial people (2006-2007). • U.S. Department of the Interior Memorandum, 1993.

Project Overseen by the Yurok Tribal Council

Project Manager: Buffy McQuillen Graphics and Layout: Matt Mais

Cover Photo: Oregos

Traditional Ways

Yurok Village Map

12131518

0405

11Ceremonial Revitalization

Land Ownership

Tribal Government

Yurok Timeline

Language Revitalization

06 A Tragic Past

© Yurok Tribe 2007

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This booklet is a snapshot of the numerous threats the Tribe has survived and a glimpse into what the Tribe has overcome since initial contact began.

We created this piece of literature because we are frequently asked about our culture; which is not an easy subject to describe. In creating the concept for this booklet we realized that it would be an injustice to our ancestors if we did not describe the history which left our village and religious structure fragmented and our language near the brink of extinction.

In reading this booklet, please recognize that our traditional way of teaching is through an oral process. It is not customary to recite history in this manner, but it is an important step toward educating people who may not have the ability to learn historical accounts or cultural traditions in the way in which it was done prior to non-Indian contact.

For visitors to the Tribe, we hope that you will take the time to learn our history and understand that our cultural traditions are a part of our everyday existence and that our ceremonies continue to be practiced today.

Our language, although somewhat jeopardized by the loss of fluent speakers, continues to be strengthened by eager Yuroks on the path to fluency. Our youth show great promise in restoring our language to the status of being a living language.

As a Tribe we uphold our Constitution’s Preamble in ensuring that we are preserving and promoting our culture, language, and religious beliefs and practices, and passing them on to the future generations of Yurok people.

We encourage you to become more involved with the Tribe by learning more of our history and respecting our right to self-govern.

A Message from the Yurok Tribal Council

Wok-hlaw’,The Yurok Tribal Council

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Our worldOur world began long before

non-Indian exploration and settlement occurred in our area.

At one time our people lived in over fifty villages throughout our ancestral territory. The laws, health and spirituality of our people were untouched by non-Indians.

Culturally, our people are known as great fishermen, eelers, basket weavers, canoe makers, storytellers, singers, dancers, healers and strong medicine people.

Before we were given the name “Yurok” we referred to ourselves and others in our area using our Indian language. When we refer to ourselves we say Oohl, meaning Indian people.

When we reference people from down river on the Klamath we call them Pue-lik-lo’ (Down River Indian), those on the upper Klamath and Trinity are Pey-cheek-lo’ (Up River Indian) and on the coast Ner-‘er-ner’ (Coast Indian).

The Klamath-Trinity River is the lifeline of our people because the majority of the food supply, like ney-puy (salmon), Kaa-ka (sturgeon) and kwor-ror (candlefish) are offered to us from these rivers.

Also, important to our people are the foods which are offered from the ocean and inland areas such as pee-ee (mussels), chey-gel’ (seaweed), woo-mehl (acorns), puuek (deer), mey-weehl (elk), ley-chehl (berries), and wey-yok-seep

(teas). These foods are essential to our people’s health, wellness and religious ceremonies. Our way was never to over harvest and to always ensure sustainability of our food supply for future generations.

Our traditional family homes and sweathouses are made from fallen keehl (redwood trees) which are then cut into redwood boards. Before contact, it was common for every village to have several family homes and sweathouses. Today, only a small number of villages with traditional family homes and sweathouses remain intact.

Our traditional stories teach us that the redwood trees are sacred living beings. Although, we use them in our homes and canoes, we also respect redwood trees because they stand as guardians over our sacred places.

The yoch (canoe) makers are recognized for their intuitive

craftsmanship. The primary function of the

canoes is to get people up and down the river and for ocean travel. The canoe is also very important to the White Deerskin Dance, a ceremony recently rejuvenated.

The canoes are used to transport dancers and ceremonial people.

The traditional money used by Yurok people is terk-term (dentalia shell), which is a shell harvested from the ocean.

The dentalia used on necklaces are most often used in traditional ceremonies, such as the u pyue-wes (White Deerskin Dance), woo-neek-we-ley-goo (Jump Dance) and mey-lee (Brush Dance).

It was standard years ago, to use dentalia to settle debts, pay dowry, and purchase large or small items needed by individuals or families.

Tattoos on men’s arms measured the length of the dentalia.

Woh-sekw Village in the 1900s.

Traditional Ways

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Yurok Village Map

Yurok did not experience non-Indian exploration until much later than other tribal groups in California and the United States.

One of the first documented visits in the local area was by the Spanish in the 1500s.

When Spanish explorers Don Bruno de Heceta and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Cuadra arrived in the early 1700s, they intruded upon the people of Chue-rey village. This visit resulted in Bodega laying claim by mounting a cross at Trinidad Head.

In the early 1800s, the first American ship visited the area of Trinidad and Big Lagoon. Initially,

the Americans traded furs with the coastal people.

However, for unknown reasons tensions grew and the American expedition was cut short. The expeditions increased over the next few years and resulted in a dramatic decrease of furs in the area.

By 1828, the area was gaining attention because of the reports back from the American expeditions, despite the news that the local terrain was rough.

The most well-known trapping expedition of this era was led by Jedediah Smith. Smith guided a team of trappers through the local area, coming down through the Yurok village of Kep’-el, crossing over Bald Hills and eventually

making their way to the villages of O men and O men hee-puer on the coast.

Smith’s expedition, though brief, was influential to all other trappers and explorers. The reports from Smith’s expedition resulted in more trappers exploring the area and eventually leading to an increase in non-Indian settlement.

By 1849 settlers were quickly moving into Northern California because of the discovery of gold at Gold Bluffs and Orleans. Yurok and settlers traded goods and Yurok assisted with transporting items via dugout canoe. However,

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A Tragic Past

Gold Rush in Yurok Country

Exploration and Settlement

Fannie Flounder sits on her porch in Rek’-woy.

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A sweat house in Weych-pues Village.

this relationship quickly changed as more settlers moved into the area and demonstrated hostility toward Indian people. With the surge of settlers moving in the government was pressured to change laws to better protect the Yurok from loss of land and assault.

The rough terrain of the local area did not deter settlers in their pursuit of gold. They moved through the area and encountered camps of Indian people. Hostility from both sides caused much bloodshed and loss of life.

The gold mining expeditions resulted in the destruction of villages, loss of life and a culture severely fragmented. By the end of the gold rush era at least 75%

of the Yurok people died due to massacres and disease, while other tribes in California saw a 95% loss of life.

While miners established camps along the Klamath and Trinity Rivers, the federal government worked toward finding a solution to the conflicts, which dramatically increased as each new settlement was established.

The government sent Indian agent Redick McKee to initiate treaty negotiations. Initially, local tribes were resistant to come together, some outright opposed meeting with the agent. The treaties negotiated by McKee were sent to Congress, which was inundated with complaints from

settlers claiming the Indians were receiving an excess of valuable land and resources.

The Congress rejected the treaties and failed to notify the tribes of this decision.

In 1855, a group of “vigilante” Indians (who were known as Red Cap Indians) initiated a revolt against settlers.

The Red Cap Indians were believed to be a mix of tribal groups who were fighting settlers.

The Red Cap War nearly brought a halt to the non-Indians settlement effort.

The government was able to suppress the Red Cap Indians and regained control over the upper Yurok Reservation.

Treaty Negotiations

Revolts against settlers

1867. Once the Hoopa Valley Reservation was established many Yurok people were sent to live there, as were the Mad River, Eel River and Tolowa Indians.

In the years following the opening of the Hoopa Valley Reservation, several squatters on the Yurok Reservation continued to farm and fish in the Klamath River.

The government’s response was to evict squatters and use military force. Many squatters did not vacate and waited for military intervention, which was slow to come. In the interim, the squatters pursued other avenues to acquire land.

The Fort and Agency were built

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The Federal Government established the Yurok Reservation in 1855 and immediately Yurok people were confined to the area. The Reservation was considerably smaller than the Yurok original ancestral territory. This presented a hardship for Yurok families who traditionally lived in villages along the Klamath River and northern Pacific coastline.

When Fort Terwer was established many Yurok families were relocated and forced to learn farming and the English language.

In January 1862, the Fort was washed away by flood waters, along with the Indian agency at Wau-kell flat. Several Yurok people were relocated to the newly established Reservation in Smith River that same year.

However, the Smith River Reservation was closed in July

Commercial logging

Formation of Reservations

Commercial logging in the 1940s.

from redwood, which was an abundant resource and culturally significant to Yurok.

Non-Indians pursued the timber industry and hired local Indian men to work in the up and coming mills on the Reservation.

This industry went through cycles of success, and was largely dependent on the needs of the nation.

At the time, logging practices were unregulated and resulted in the contamination of the Klamath River, depletion of the salmon population and destruction of Yurok village sites and sacred areas.

The Yurok canneries were established near the mouth of the Klamath River beginning in 1876.

The Yurok people opposed non-Indians taking of the salmon

Commercial canneries

Non-Indian commercial cannery near Rek’-woy.

and asserted that they did not have the right to take fish from the river because it is an inherent right of the Yurok people.

Western education was imposed on Yurok children beginning in the late 1850s at Fort Terwer and at the Agency Office at Wauk-ell.

This form of education continued until the 1860s when the Fort and Agency were washed away.

Yurok children, sent to live at the Hoopa Valley Reservation, continued to be taught by missionaries.

The goal of the missionary style of teaching was to eliminate the

Yurok education

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(second from left) Fred Riecke and other children attend boarding school in Hoopa.

Boys in Brush Dance regalia in Rek’-woy

continued use of cultural and religious teachings that Indian children’s families taught.

Children were abused by missionaries for using the Yurok language and observing cultural and ceremonial traditions.

In the late 1800s children were removed from the Reservation to Chemawa in Oregon and Sherman Institute in Riverside, California.

Today, many elders look back on this period in time as a horrifying experience because they lost their connection to their families, and their culture.

Many were not able to learn the Yurok language and did not participate in ceremonies for fear of violence being brought against them by non-Indians.

Some elders went to great lengths to escape from the schools, traveling hundreds of miles to return home to their families.

They lived with the constant fear of being caught and returned to the school. Families often hid their children when they saw government officials.

Over time the use of boarding schools declined

and day schools were established on the Yurok Reservation.

Elders recall getting up early in the morning, traveling by canoe to the nearest day school and returning home late at night.

The fact that they were at day schools did not eliminate the constant pressure to forget their language and culture.

Families disguised the practice of teaching traditional ways, while others succumbed to the western philosophy of education and left their traditional ways behind.

Eventually, Indian children were granted permission to enroll in public schools. Although they were granted access, many faced harsh prejudice and stereotypes.

These hardships plagued Indian students for generations, and are major factors in the decline of the Yurok language and traditional ways. The younger generations of Yurok who survived these eras became strong advocates (as elders) for cultural revitalization.

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The use of the Yurok language dramatically decreased when non-Indians settled in the Yurok territory. By the early 1900s the Yurok language was near extinction.

It took less than 40 years for the language to reach that level. It took another 70 years for the Yurok language to recover.

When the language revitalization effort began the use of old records helped new language learners. However, it was through hearing fluent speakers that many young learners fluency level increased.

When the Yurok Tribe began to operate as a formal tribal government a language program was created. In 1996 the Yurok Tribe received assistance from the Administration for Native Americans (ANA). With the development of a Long

Range Restoration Plan a survey was completed and the results showed that there were only 20 fluent speakers and 12 semi-fluent speakers of the Yurok language. After a decade of language restoration activities, the Tribe most recently documented that there are now only 11 fluent Yurok speakers, but now have 37 advanced speakers, 60 intermediate speakers and approximately 311 basic speakers.

The Yurok Tribe continues to look to new approaches like the use of digital technology, internet sites, short stories, and supplemental curriculum.

The Tribe continues to increase the number of language classes taught on and off the Reservation, at local schools for young learners and at community classes.

(left to right) First language Yurok speakers Jimmie James, Eileen Figueroa, Georgiana Trull and Archie Thompson.

Wew Josey CarlsonSregon esee Er-ner’ mey’-wu-me-chokw Her name is Josey Carlson. She is from Sregon and Er-ner’.Carlson is a promising young Yurok speaker.

(bottom) Barbara McQuillen is a Yurok Language teacher.

Language Revitalization

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Woo-neek we-ley-goo (Jump Dance) at Rek’-woy

Similar to other tribal groups in California, Yurok people overcame the destruction of their villages, and assimilation attempts by non-Indians. Many Yurok people went to extreme measures to hold on to their traditional ways. When government policy forbade the use of traditional languages and outlawed the practice of traditional ceremonies, Yurok people continued. Some dances stopped while others were revitalized. Most importantly, the knowledge and beliefs continued and eventually reappeared and have remained constant.

The late 1970s and 80s were a time when the revitalization effort soared in the local area. The Jump Dance returned to Pek-won in 1984, a War Dance demonstration was held in the late 1980s,

Ceremonial Revitalization

and communities came together to support the revitalization of Brush Dances along the river and the coast. In the year 2000, the White Deerskin Dance was held again at the village of Weych-pues.

For several generations there were times of darkness – no cultural traditions being passed on and the language slowly fading away. With so few Yurok families able to hold onto traditional ways, it appeared as though the attempts to eliminate the cultural traditions would be successful. With the help of many elders (who have since passed on), a glimpse of light began to emerge. Young people who were eager to learn Yurok traditions did so and for the past twenty years Yurok traditional ceremonies have continued.

‘ Many Yurok people went to extreme measures to hold on to their traditional ways. When government policy forbade the use of traditional languages and outlawed the practice of traditional ceremonies, Yurok people continued .’

U pyue-wes (White Deerskin Dance) at Weych-pues

Mey-lee (Brush Dance) at Rek’-woy

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Reservation. This area became known as the “Extension” or the “Addition.”

Both the original and extended reservation lands did not include lands where coastal Yurok villages were established.

The area slated to become the Klamath River Reservation was viewed by the government

as isolated and not yet fully populated by settlers, which made a good alternative for isolating Indian people.

The problem with granting the entire portion of the Yurok ancestral territory was the loss of natural resources desired by the settlers.

With the passage of the Dawes

Land Ownership

The Yurok Reservation stretches 40 miles up the Klamath River.

Prior to1855, the Federal Government established policy which led to Indian people throughout the nation being contained and isolated from the new settlers.

Indian people across the nation were abruptly relocated from their traditional homelands and moved onto Indian Reservations.

In the case of the Yurok people, the Reservation established for them was within their traditional lands along the Klamath River.

However, the Reservation was significantly smaller compared to the ancestral territory which Yurok people inhabited prior to non-Indian settlement.

The original Klamath River Reservation was established in 1855. From the mouth of the Klamath River, the strip of territory extended one mile wide on each side of the Klamath River for twenty miles.

Between 1864 and 1891 it was widely believed by non-Indian settlers that the Klamath River Reservation was no longer an Indian Reservation. In part, this belief came about because the Federal Government had contemplated the disposal of reservations that were not authorized under the 1864 Act.

In 1891, President Harrison, issued an Executive Order, which extended the Hoopa Reservation from the mouth of the Trinity River to the Pacific Ocean. The order connected the Hoopa Reservation with the original Klamath River Reservation, adding additional miles to the Klamath River

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Act in 1887, the allotment of Yurok lands began.

A significant acreage of timberland was set aside for the non-Indian settlers of the area. The so-called agricultural land was parceled to Yurok with the instruction to set up farms.

By 1891, with the Klamath River Reservation boundary extended, it appeared to settlers that the lands which were so rich in natural resources were unfairly controlled by the Yurok.

This created resentment among the non-Indians settling in the area.

In 1892, the settlers were successful in arguing to Congress that the Yurok Reservation left them without enough land for themselves and Congress passed the Act of 1892.

This act authorized any unalloted lands to be put out to public domain for sale or settled in accordance with the existing federal laws. This same year a special agent was sent out to begin making allotments to Indian people living on the Reservation.

Of the estimated 55,000 acres of Yurok Reservation land, less than 30,000 acres were allotted to Indian people. The majority of the remaining acres were turned over to public domain. In the following years, Indian land ownership consistently declined.

As lands were taken out of allotment and placed into fee patent, Indian people struggled with the burden of paying taxes and maintaining their family home sites.

In some instances allotments were exchanged for employment opportunities, while other lands

were outright swindled by settlers. The allotment era ended in 1934

with the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act.

By this time, though many of the lands had already been removed from Indian control and held privately by timber interests.

The Yurok Tribe continues to work toward regaining control of their Reservation and ancestral lands.

With tribal ownership less than

Yurok Reservation Ownership of Land 2007

28% of the original territory, the work continues to regain ancestral territory.

Current land holdings on the Yurok Reservation.

‘Of the estimated 55,000 acres of Yurok Reservation land, less than 30,000 acres were allotted to Indian people.’

Allotted acres in trust on the Yurok Reservation and connecting strip between 1893-1993.

Connecting StripKlamath River Res.

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Tribal Government

The Yurok Tribal Administration Office in Klamath, CA.

In 1988, the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act (HYSA) was passed by Congress. The Act separated the Yurok from the Hoopa Tribe and required the Yurok to form a tribal government. The lands which were once held jointly became partitioned into two reservations.

Following the passage of the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act, a group of Yurok people were appointed to the Yurok Transition Team. Their tasks include:

• Providing assistance to potential members and preparing the settlement roll.

• Work toward the establishment of government operations for the Interim Council.

• Assist with the development of the Economic Development Plan for Economic Self-Determination.

In 1991, the newly formed government, with an enrollment of 2,954 tribal members elected the Interim Council.

• Susie Long, Chairperson • Maria Tripp, Council

Member • Susan Masten, Council

Member • Richard Haberman, Council

Member • Dorothy Haberman,

Council Member In 1993, the Yurok Tribe’s

Constitution was approved through Resolution Number 93-62.

It is seminal document because

it established the following: • Tribal Territory, Jurisdiction

and Authority as a Tribal Government

• Membership • Tribal Council Elections• Duties and Powers of the

Tribal Council • Tribal Council Meetings• Annual Membership

Meeting• Tribal Justice System• Oath of Office

• Bill of Rights • Recall of Officials• Initiative and Referendum • Amendment• Severability• Effective Date of

Constitution and Initial Election of the Tribal Council

• Resolution for the Certification of the Yurok Constitution

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The Yurok Tribal Council Chambers in the Klamath Administration office.

Following the passage of the Constitution the first Tribal Council election was held on March 17, 1994. Yurok Tribal Members elected to sit on the first Yurok Tribal Council were:

• Susie Long, Chairperson• Maria Tripp, Vice-Chairperson• Larry Hendrix, Orick District • Jessie Exline, South District • Dale Webster, Requa District• Michael McConnell, East District• Mary Jackson, North District• John Logan, Pecwan District • Sid Nix, Weitchpec District

As the governing body, the Yurok Tribal Council consists of nine members, a Tribal Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson who serve at large and seven Council Members who represent seven districts, which are inclusive of numerous Yurok villages.

1. Weitchpec District - This district includes all ancestral lands located upriver of Coon Creek on the Klamath River. The ancestral villages included in this district are Otsepor, Lo’olego, Weych-pues, Pekwututl, Ertlerger, Wahsekw, Kenek, Tsetskwi, and Kenekpul.

2. Pecwan District - This district includes all ancestral

lands down river, including Coon Creek on the Klamath River from the Weitchpec District to and including Blue Creek on the north side of the river and Ah Pah Creek and its drainage area on the south side of the river. The ancestral villages included in this district are Merip, Wa’asel, Ke’p-el, Murekw, Himetl, Kohtskuls, Keihkes, Meta, Sregon, Yohter, Pekwan, Kolotep, Wohtek, Wohkero, Serper, Ayotl, Nagetl, and Erner.

3. Requa District - This district includes ancestral lands located downriver on the Klamath River from the Pecwan District and north of the center line of the Klamath River. The ancestral villages included in this district are Tlemekwetl, Stawen, Sa’aitl, Ho’pau, Omenok, Amenok, Tmeri, Rekwoi and Omen.

4. Orick District - This district includes all ancestral lands located downriver on the Klamath River from the Pecwan District and south of the center line of the Klamath River. The ancestral villages included in this district are Turip, Wohkel, Otwego, Wetlkwau, Osegen, Espau, Sikwets, Orek, Keihkem, Ma’ats, Opuyweg, Tsurau, Sumeg and Metskwo.

5. North District - This district includes all land north of the ancestral lands, east of the Pacific Ocean, west of a north-south line passing through Chimney

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The Yurok Tribal office on the eastern portion of the reservation in Weitchpec, CA.

Rock and within 60 miles of the ancestral lands.

6. East District - This includes all land east of the ancestral lands, east of a north-south line passing through Chimney Rock, east of the generally north-south mountain ridge passing through Schoolhouse Peak, and within 60 miles of the ancestral lands.

7. South District - This includes all land south of the ancestral lands, east of the Pacific Ocean, west of the generally north-south mountain ridge passing through Schoolhouse Peak, and within 60 miles of the ancestral lands.

The Yurok Tribal Government has enrolled over 5,000 tribal members, and acquired more than 25% of the Reservation lands, developed

governmental ordinances on fishing, cultural protection and preservation, land use, social services, enrollment and elections, and worked toward resolution on major tribal initiatives such as Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act, Dam removal, natural resources protection, and land acquisition.

In 2004 the Tribe established its first economic enterprise, the Pem-mey Fuel Mart, and is now planning a destination resort, gaming facility, and cultural center.

In 1999, the first tribal office was built on the upper Yurok Reservation in Weitchpec. It serves as the base operations for the upriver Yurok communities.

In 2003, the second and central tribal office was built in Klamath.

The Yurok government administers a wide array of services to the tribal membership through the following

departments and programs:

• Administration• Council Support• Cultural Preservation • Economic Development• Education• Enrollment • Finance • Housing• Human Resources• Information Services and Land Management • Law Enforcement • Maintenance • Natural Resources (Environmental, Fisheries, Forestry and Watershed. • Planning and Community Development • Self Governance • Social Services • Tribal Attorney• Tribal Court

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YUROK TIMELINE

Fort Terwer was established at Terwer Creek to keep peace between the Indians and the growing number of miners and traders trying to move onto the Klamath River Military Reservation.

1860s The last “First Salmon Ceremony” happened at Wehl-kwew. The ceremony was conducted at the mouth of the Klamath River before the year’s first salmon was caught and eaten.

1775Spanish explorer Juan Francisco de Bodega arrives in Yurok Territory at Trinidad Bay to lay claim to the land for the King of Spain.

1828Explorer, Jedediah Smith, finds his way to Yurok territory at the south fork of the Trinity River. Smith and his men followed the river through the rough terrain to the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of Wilson Creek.

1849Miners and prospectors began to arrive in the Klamath Basin in search of gold.

Noohl Hee-KonNoohl Hee-Kon translates to the beginning of time for Yurok people. 1876

Despite Yurok protests, the first non-Indian commercial fishery is opened at the mouth of the Klamath.

1855President Franklin Pierce authorized the creation of the Klamath River Reservation for the benefit of the Yurok people and other Indian people near the Klamath River.

1857President Chester Arthur was authorized by Congress to establish four Indian Reservations, one of which was the Hoopa Valley Reservation, where many Yurok and other local Indians were sent to live.

1884

1887The first documented account of the word “Yourrk” came from George Gibbs, who was traveling at the time with Col. Redick McKee. The Karuk word Yuruq-arar means down-stream people.

1861Fort Terwer was flooded and many homes were destroyed.

1851The Klamath River Peace Treaty was negotiated at Camp Klamath, near the Brush Dance site at Weych-pues. The treaty negotiations were led by the Federal Government’s Indian Agent, Redick McKee, who met with representatives from Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk and other local tribal village leaders.

1500sYuroks were living in peace and had little or no contact with non-Indians before the Spanish began exploring the Tribe’s ancestral territory.

Under the Dawes Act, Congress allowed for “surplus” land upon the Reservation to be sold to the general public.

1890sFour Klamath allotments were used for a cannery established by A. Bomhoff near Requa. In exchange for the land, Bomhoff agreed to hire only Indian fishermen and workers in the cannery.

1893Indian allotments were granted on the original Klamath River Military Reservation lands. These allotments varied from 8 to 160 acres, averaging 60 acres and totaling 9,790 acres. Three traditional villages including, Rek’-woy, Hop-ew and Saa’ totaling 70 acres, were set aside as reserves for the Klamath People. The remaining acres of the Klamath River Military Reservation were returned to public domain for homesteading.

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The Burke Act maintained that any Indian allottee found competent and capable of managing his or her own affairs could obtain a patent in fee simple and it allowed the trust period to be extended for those Indians found to be “not competent.” An Indian was seen as competent if they had greater than one-half white blood, had received a year or more of white schooling or if they were able to read or write English and were 21 years of age or older.

1906

The U.S. Secretary of the Interior was authorized to sell land owned by Indian allottees who died before the 25 year expiration of their trust period without the consent of all their heirs, upon showing that one or more of the heirs were deemed “incompetent” to manage their own affairs. Three hundred and seven parcels were sold in this manner.

1910

1912The Last White Deer Skin Dance occurred at Weych-pues.

By Executive Order, President Benjamin Harrison extended the Hoopa Valley Reservation to include a tract of land one-mile in width on each side of the Klamath River from the confluence of the Trinity River to the shores of the Pacific. This tract of land is now the Yurok Reservation.

1891

YUROK TIMELINE1892Congress enacted legislation allotting lands of the former Klamath River Military Reservation to Yuroks.

1887The federal government’s General Allotment Act (Dawes Act) was passed. This act allotted lands to Indian people throughout the nation and locally along the Klamath River. The long lasting impact of the Act was a major loss of land for Indian people.

1889Squatters were appearing on the Klamath River in large numbers. By this time nearly every square foot of land from the mouth of the Klamath River, reaching inland for twenty miles, had been taken by non-Indians.

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1917The Commissioner of Indian Affairs announced a “policy of greater liberalism”. This allowed the U.S. Secretary of Interior to issue fee patents to allottees, resulting in allotted lands being removed from trust status whether the allottees had requested the removal or not. Subsequently, many allotments were taken out of trust and subject to taxation by Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. Shortly thereafter, allottees began losing allotments for non-payment of back taxes.

1918Copco 1 Dam was built on the Klamath River. It permanently blocked more than 300 miles of steelhead and salmon habitat in the main stem of the upper Klamath and its tributaries.

An excess of allotted Indian lands were removed from trust along the Klamath River, but a large portion was not put into fee patent even though the 25 year trust period had expired.

In 1925, Copco 2 Dam was con-structed a quarter-mile down-stream to regulate flows from Copco 1 Dam on the Klamath River.

1925The BIA compiled a list of “com-petent” Indians on the “connect-ing strip” in anticipation of the expiration of their allotment trust periods. Another large group of allotments were then taken out of trust.

1934The Indian Reorganization Act extended the trust period for allotments from 25 years to indefinitely, stopped issuing Indian allotments and annulled their authority to sell “surplus” reservation lands, and instead moved toward efforts of returning these lands to Indian people.

The Forest Service, in creating the “Redwood National Forest”, established a Redwood Forest Acquisition Program targeting reservation lands, including 780 acres of the Klamath River Military Reserve and 2,110 acres of Indian allotments for acquisition.

1931

The State of California banned all forms of tribal traditional burning practices.

The Klamath River Indians were banned from commercial fishing and gill-netting. Despite the ban, Yurok people continued to fish, but did so under the threat of being arrested and jailed.

1953Many Indians in the region were encouraged to sell their allotments through questionable and forced fee patents, resulting in at least 60 percent of the lands being taken out of trust and sold to logging companies, which were booming after World War II.

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The Trinity River Act allowed the construction of the Trinity River Dam. The Trinity is the Klamath River’s largest tributary.

1955

1958Revenues from the unalloted trust timberlands of the Hoopa Square were dispersed in per capita payments to Hoopa Tribal members (later determined to be erroneous in the Jesse Short case).

1939Last Jump Dance held in Pek-won before it was revitalized in the 1980s.

Logging by non-Indian timber companies consumed nearly 90 percent of the original redwood forest in Yurok Ancestral territory.

1963The Jessie Short case was filed against the United States on behalf of 16 Yurok Indians. The lawsuit, which later named 3,222 plaintiffs, asserted that the Yurok Tribal Members should share proceeds from the selling of timber on the original Hoopa Valley Reservation.

1964The worst flood in recorded history occurred on the Klamath River, wiping out the town of Klamath and many houses in low-lying areas.

1968Redwood National Park was created by Congress and later expanded in 1978. The National Park Service took over possession of three individual allotments that were along the south end of the lower Klamath River.

The 173-foot high Iron Gate dam was constructed to run a 20 mega-watt power plant.

1962

1960

Yuroks protest the U.S Forest Service’s plan to connect roads leading into sacred sites between Gasquet and Orleans (G-O Road).

Elser v. Gill Net Number One held that Yurok Indians, specifically Grover Reed and Dewey George were enrolled members of a recognized tribe and had recognized tribal rights, thereby meeting the tribal roll requirements which exempted them from provisions of the Fish and Game Code. Furthermore, the State of California had no right to regulate Yuroks’ practice of gill net fishing on the Yurok Reservation.

1966

1970The Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association (NICPA) is formed to protect burial grounds and sacred sites. Several Yurok people were a part of the NICPA leadership and worked toward protecting cultural and ceremonial sites in Yurok Ancestral Territory.

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1973

Jessie Short Et. Al. v. The United States concluded that the Yurok Reservation was not a separate entity, but actually an extension of the Hoopa Valley Reservation and therefore Yurok Tribal Members were entitled to equal rights to income from timber sales on allotted trust lands.

1978The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service implemented a moratorium on commercial gill net fishing on the Klamath, starting what is known as the “Fish Wars,” between the Yurok and the federal government.

Mattz v. Arnett upheld that the Reservation was still considered “Indian Country.” The case was filed as a result of the State of California trying to assert jurisdiction to regulate Indian fishers on the Klamath River. The court determined that California had no such jurisdiction.

Arnett v. 5 Gill Nets held that the state of California lacked jurisdiction to regulate Indian fishing on the Reservation and that Yurok Indians had a right to commercial fishing practices. This gave Yurok commercial fishers federally protected fishing rights.

1976

1984The 1984 California Wilderness Act Passed, which set aside a wilderness area on a part of Blue Creek, which stopped it from being logged.

1973

The U.S. Supreme Court hears the case Lyng v. NICPA, the historic case filed to protect the First Amendment right to free practice of religion.

Puzz v. United States affirmed the previous decision for the Hoopa Valley to receive consent from the Yuroks in the distribution of the escrowed timber sale proceeds.

The Smith River Wilderness area was set aside as wilderness and recreation land, which protected the G-O Road corridor in the sacred high country.

1989

1988The Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act partitioned the former “Joint Reservation” and recognized and established traditional Yurok Indian homelands as the Yurok Reservation.

The Jump Dance is revitalized in Pek-won. The dance is held every other year.

The Yurok Tribe is currently the largest Tribe in California, with more than 5,000 enrolled members. The Tribe provides numerous services to the local community and membership with its more than 200 employees. The Tribe’s major initiatives include:the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act, dam removal, natural resources protection, sustainable economic development enterprises and land acquisition.

1993Twenty acres of the former Weitchpec Bar Mining Claim near Weych-pues was returned to tribal trust due to a surveying problem near Kep’-el and a discrepancy as to where the end of the Reservation line is at Weych-pues.

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2007The Yurok Tribal Council voted 6-0 in favor of signing the conditional waiver of claims against the federal government, thus concluding their portion of the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act. The United States Department of the Interior determined the Yurok Tribe would receive the entire portion of the settlement funds from the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act.

The Yurok Tribe formally organized and adopted a Constitution under its inherent powers of self-governance. The Department of the Interior recognized the Constitution and the Yurok Tribal Council as the governing body of the Yurok Tribe.

1994The Yurok Tribe assumed respon-sibility over the management of its fisheries from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

1996The 1,850 Jessie Short plaintiffs received their final payments from the Jessie Short Case deci-sion, with the exception of those individuals whose estates were not probated.

2002In September, over 60,000 migrating adult salmon died in the Klamath River on their way to spawn. The disaster was caused by two pathogens common in the river. Low flows and high concentrations of fish spread the disease, which caused the unprecedented devastation to the Yurok fishery. The fish kill has led to the Yurok Tribe’s concerted effort to remove the dams on the upper Klamath River.

The White Deerskin Dance is revitalized in Weych-pues. The dance is held every other year.

2000In December 2000, the Secretary of Interior signed the Record of Decision (ROD) regarding Trinity River Main Stem Fishery Restoration. The ROD provides for increased Trinity River flow, as well as channel rehabilitation, sediment management, and watershed restoration activities; all efforts to address the degraded fisheries habitat that resulted from construction and operations of the Central Valley Project’s Trinity River Division in the early 1960s.

2008The Yurok Tribe, along with commercial ocean fishermen, farmers and environmentalists, developed a plan to restore the Klamath River fisheries. The plan calls for the largest dam removal project in history. It also gives farmers reliable water and electricity.

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