1859 Summer 2009

1826 First contact with European settlers
when Peter Skeen Ogden led a group of Hudson
Bay fur trappers through the area. During this
era, all of the Tribes’ food, clothing, and shelter
came from the land.
1864 The Klamath Tribes entered into
the Treaty of 1864 with the U.S., ceding
approximately 20 million acres of land and reserving approximately
2.5 million acres of land as the Klamath Reservation. Due to erroneous
surveys and other land cessions, the land base was reduced to 1.1 million
acres. Later 220,000 acres were lost to the Dawes Act allotment process.
1873 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Tribes could not harvest
timber on their lands. The court ruled that the timber belonged to the
United States.
1953 Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution 108 calling for the
termination of federal relations and services with all Indian tribes in the
United States.
1954 Congress passed Public Law 587, ending federal supervision
and services to the Klamath Tribes, though the Tribes rejected the
Termination Act. Congress liquidated all tribal assets including the land
and divided the proceeds from the sale to the members of the Tribe
who chose to withdraw. The reservation lands were acquired by the
United States to establish the Winema National Forest. Approximately
1/7 of the land was sold to private interests.
1973 The Tribes file Kimball v. Callahan to reaffirm their right to hunt,
fish, trap, and gather on former reservation lands. As a result of the
Tribes’ success in this lawsuit, the U.S. Forest Service changed its timber
harvest practices to consider fish and wildlife habitat.
1986 Public Law 99-398 restores the Klamath Tribes’ rights as a
federally recognized Indian tribe. The Tribes develop an economic
development plan centered on the return of all former reservation
lands owned by the federal government and establish an economic
development commission to assist with the venture.
1997 The Tribes first economic development project, Kla-Mo-Ya Casino,
opens near Chiloquin.
2000 The Tribes complete their economic self-sufficiency plan,
choosing forest management as the centerpiece of their effort.
2008 Klamath Tribes purchase the Crater Lake Mill Site for the
development of the Giiwas Green Enterprise Park.
2008 Tribes sign an option agreement to buy the 90,000-acre Mazama
Tree Farm on former Klamath Reservation lands.
Klamath Tribes
Timeline
Sources: The Klamath Tribes Economic Self-Sufficiency Plan;
Klamath Heartlands: A Guide to the Klamath Reservation Forest Plan