Karok (Karuk) Homeland: The Klamath River Corridor

The Karuk (Karok) people are indigenous to the mid-Klamath River basin in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon.

• Core Territory: ~1.05 million acres along the Klamath River from Seiad Valley (CA) upstream to Iron Gate Dam vicinity, and the lower Salmon River.
• Key Villages: Katimin (ceremonial center), Inam, Ashanamkar, Tututni.
• Oregon Extension: Upper Klamath River / Klamath Marsh area (traditional use, not permanent villages).
• Neighbors: Yurok (downriver), Hupa (Trinity River), Shasta (upriver), Modoc (northeast).

Today, the Karuk Tribe (federally recognized 1979) is headquartered in Happy Camp, CA. They co-manage fisheries, conduct cultural burns, and revitalize language (Karuk, isolate). The Klamath dam removal (2023–24) restores salmon access to historic spawning grounds—central to Karuk identity.