Before Europeans first arrived in the Americas, more Native Americans lived in what is now California than in any other part of today’s United States. Today, California is once again the state with the largest Native American population.
The history of Native American peoples in the lands of Siskiyou County has been traced back approximately 7000 years, although the oral history extends thousands of years further. The area north of Mount Shasta and west into Scott Valley was the territory of the Shasta Indians. The Karuk Tribe lived along the Klamath River an also made their way over the Marble and Salmon mountains into the Scott Valley area. The Modocs lived east of Mount Shasta and up into Butte Valley and the Klamath Basin. The Wintu people lived south of Mount Shasta. The Achomawi and Klamath native peoples also had historical territory within what is now Siskiyou County.
Visit the Ukonom District, location of Sugar-loaf Mountain, “Katamin” in the Karuk language, which is considered to be the center of the earth by the Native American Karuk Tribe.