The name "Karuk," also spelled "Karok," means "upriver people", or "upstream" people, and are called Chum-ne in Tolowa.
Language
The Karuk people speak the Karuk language, a language isolate. The tribe has an active language revitalization program.
Population
Estimates for the population sizes of most Native groups before European arrival in California have varied substantially. Alfred L. Kroeber proposed a population for the Karuk of 1,500 in 1770. Sherburne F. Cook initially estimated it as 2,000, later raising this figure to 2,700. In 1910, Kroeber reported the surviving population of the Karuk as 800. According to the 2010 census, there were 6,115 Karuk individuals, in which 3,431 were full-blooded.
Culture
Since time immemorial, the Karuk resided in villages along the Klamath River, where they continue such cultural traditions as hunting, gathering, fishing, basket making and ceremonial dances. The Karuk were the only California tribe to grow tobacco plants. The Brush Dance, Jump Dance and Pikyavish ceremonies last for several days and are practiced to heal and "fix the world," to pray for plentiful acorns, deer and salmon, and to restore social good will as well as individual good luck. In the summers of 1871 and 1872, an amateur ethnographer by the name of Stephen Powers visited Indian groups in Northern California. His published observations offer an insight into the lives of the native survivors of the California Gold Rush. According to Powers, the Karok were one of three groups living on the Klamath River. He also noted that there was no recollection of any ancient migration to the region; instead there were legends of Creation and the Flood which were fabled to have occurred on the Klamath. Some of Powers' other observations were: The Karuk developed sophisticated usage of plants and animals for their subsistence. These practices not only consisted of food harvesting from nature, but also the use of plant and animal materials as tools, clothing and pharmaceuticals. The Karuk cultivated a form of tobacco, and used fronds of the Coastal woodfern as anti-microbial agents in the process of preparing eels for food consumption.
Rob Cabitto, author of a memoir about his struggles with identity and addiction.
Jetty Rae, musician whose grandmother, Jetty Rae Thom, was a full-blooded Karuk.
Naomi Lang, figure skater; Five time US Champion in ice dancing from 1999 to 2003. As a member of the 2002 US Olympic figure skating team, she was the first Native American woman to compete in the Winter Olympics. Her great-great-grandmother, Bessie Tripp, was a full blooded Karuk from Orleans/Salmon River.
Anthony Earl Numkena , actor, appeared in a number of films and television shows in the 1950s including being credited in Pony Soldier at the age of nine. His grandmother, Caroline Besoain, née Harrie, was three-quarters Karuk born in Somes Bar, California in 1899 and settled in Quartz Valley, California.
