Karok , also spelled Karuk, are a native people of the region surrounding the Klamath River in northern California. The word karok means upstream in their language. They have no other term for themselves.
Traditionally, Karok people lived by hunting and fishing and by gathering wild plant foods. They particularly relied on salmon fishing on the Klamath and other nearby rivers. Acorns also served as a staple food for the Karok, as they did for many other California native groups.
Because of the region’s abundant food resources, the Karok did not have to travel far to find food. This fact enabled them to live in small independent settlements the year around. They built rectangular plank houses of cedar. Scholars estimate that as many as 2,700 Karok lived in villages scattered along the Klamath River in the late 1700’s.
Karok people speak a language in the Hokan language family, which also includes the Shasta language. But linguists point out that Karok language is not closely related to the languages of many other neighboring tribes.
Fur traders with the Hudson’s Bay Company, a British trading company, were the first Europeans to regularly contact Karok people, after 1820. The California Gold Rush, which began in 1848, brought many white settlers to California. The effects of the gold rush were severe. Settlers killed many Karok and drove others off their lands. Some Karok returned to their lands after the gold mines were abandoned. Today, about 3,400 Karok live in the United States, mostly in California.
