Modoc

Only a few of us lived around Lower Klamath Lake around Tule lake, and along the Lost River. You mispronounce our name; you call us Modocs. We say maklaks, meaning “people.” Then our lands and waters were invaded by thousands who came across the Applegate Trail. Now you may read about the Bloody Point massacre, where we killed emigrants on the east shore of Tule Lake. Now you may read about the Ben Wright massacre, where Ben Wright and his party ambushed Modoc people. We signed the treaty in 1864 and they moved us to the Upper Klamath, where we were starved and mistreated. Some of us moved back to the Lost River. The army came to push us out, but they failed. Now you may read about the Battle of Lost River and the standoffs at Captain Jack’s Stronghold. People remember the Modoc War; it’s in all the books. They forget that we lived here in peace for thousands of years.