An Ethnohistory of the Klamath Tribes at Crater Lake National Park

Project ID: P14AC00863

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: Portland State University

Fiscal Year: 2014

Initial Funding: $83,194

Total Funding: $83,194

Project Type: Research

Project Disciplines: Cultural

National Park: Crater Lake National Park

Principal Investigator: Deur, Doug

Agreement Technical Representative: Girdner, Scott

Abstract: This project is a collaborative effort by the National Park Service (NPS) and Portland State University (PSU) to conduct research and writing of an ethnohistory of the Klamath Tribes, with particular attention to how they have valued lands and resources found within Crater Lake National Park (CRLA). A number of prior studies as well as the accounts of tribal members, attest that Crater Lake was among the most culturally significant landmarks to the Klamath Tribes prior to Euro-American settlement in southern Oregon. Following 19th century non-Native settlement and the 1902 creation of the national park, Crater Lake took on new types of significance in light of NPS management and changes in tribal culture, belief, and economy. The current study wilt document Klamath land and resource use patterns as they existed and changed over the span of the 19th and 20th centuries, and will involve archival research as well as extensive input of the Klamath Tribes. Tasks will include the development of an archive of materials addressing study themes, for use by both the NPS and the Klamath Tribes, as well as the production of a
publishable, book-length overview of study themes that has been reviewed and approved by tribal representatives for public distribution. These products will aid the NPS in meeting mandates to manage and interpret for the public those lands and resources in the park that are of cultural importance to tribes; they will aid the Klamath Tribes in acquiring better documentation of their own cultural traditions tied to Crater Lake and other landmarks nearby, as well as for the teaching of history and culture to tribal youth. Benefits to the public will include access to information about tribal cultural practices that is based on solid research and sanctioned by participating tribes, improved public interpretation and education by NPS staff, and promoting greater public awareness and more effective and, sensitive management of cultural resources of national importance within CRLA.