Klamath Falls, Ore. – Impacts of the Modoc War will be examined in a special presentation scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, June 8th at the Klamath County Museum.
The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign, also known as the Lava Beds War, was an armed conflict between the native Modoc people and the U.S. Army in Southeastern Oregon and Northeastern California from 1872 to 1873.
Captain Jack, led 52 warriors in a band of more than 150 Modoc people who left the Klamath Reservation. Modoc warriors occupying defensive positions throughout lava beds south of Tule Lake, in present-day Lava Beds National Monument, resisted for several months in spite of being greatly outnumbered by U.S. Army forces who were reinforced with artillery.
During a Peace Commission Meeting in April 1873, Captain Jack and other warriors killed General Canby and Reverend Eleazer Thomas and two others, believing this would make the U.S. Army forces retreat.
The Modoc fled back to the lava beds. After U.S. forces were reinforced, some Modoc warriors surrendered and Captain Jack and the last of his band were captured. Jack and five warriors were tried for the murders of the two peace commissioners. Jack and three warriors were executed and two others sentenced to life in prison.
The presentation at the Klamath County Museum carries two themes, including “Remembering the Fallen,” which focuses on various individuals who were killed during the war.
A second theme carries a title in the Modoc language, “hooskanga naa’lam s?as?aaMaks,” or “Remember Our Relatives.”
The program is being presented by the Klamath County Museum, Modoc tribal members, and the Lava Beds National Monument.