Captain Jack's Stronghold

Captain Jack's Stronghold
Captain Jack's Stronghold
Captain Jack's Stronghold is located in California
Captain Jack's Stronghold
Captain Jack's Stronghold is located in the United States
Captain Jack's Stronghold
Nearest cityTulelake, California
Coordinates41°49′18″N 121°30′18″W / 41.82167°N 121.50500°W / 41.82167; -121.50500
Area460 acres (190 ha)
Built1873
NRHP reference No.73000259[1]
CHISL No.9
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 20, 1973
Designated CHISLJune 1, 1932[2]

Captain Jack's Stronghold was a holdout of the Modoc people that is located between Tulelake and Canby, California. The stronghold, which is now part of Lava Beds National Monument, is named for Native American chief Kintpuash who was also known as Captain Jack. During the Modoc War in 1873, Captain Jack along with 53 Modoc warriors, and numerous women and children in a band of 160, managed to hold out against the United States Army which outnumbered them by as much as 10 to 1 for several months.

The Modoc retreated to this area because it was part of their traditional territory where they had hunted and lived before the start of the California genocide, when agents of the United States government assisted by private citizens began the systematic killing of thousands of indigenous peoples of California in the mid-19th century. Many of the brutal acts carried out against native populations were encouraged, tolerated, and perpetuated by state authorities and militias.[3]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System – (#73000259)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "Captain Jack's Stronghold". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Adhikari, Mohamed (July 25, 2022). Destroying to Replace: Settler Genocides of Indigenous Peoples. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company. pp. 72–115. ISBN 978-1647920548.