Modoc Mission Church and Cemetery

About this property

Modoc Church and Cemetery is a historic mission church and cemetery in Miami, Oklahoma. It was built in 1892 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The listing included four contributing buildings. === After the Modoc War—Removal to Indian Territory === Following the Modoc War of 1872–1873, Modoc warriors Keintpoos (commonly referred to as Captain Jack), Schonchin John, Black Jim, and Boston Charley were tried by the Military Commission for War Crimes. Their gallows were constructed before the trial, foreshadowing the decision of the trial. The four warriors were hanged on October 3 of 1873 at Fort Klamath, Oregon. The remaining Modoc people and two other leading warriors, Barncho and Slolux, were forced to watch. At the last minute, Barncho and Slolux were chosen to be sent to Alcatraz instead of being hanged with the other four Modoc warriors. Nine days later, on October 12 of 1873, the remaining Modoc people were moved from Fort Klamath on wagons, beginning a journey to an undisclosed location. After stopping to send Barncho and Slolux to Alcatraz, there were 153 Modoc people that transitioned from wagons to cattle train cars, accompanied by soldiers in two additional cars. The boys and the men of the group were chained down to the train car, perceived to be potential risks. The cattle cars traveled East for about 2,000 miles. On November 16, 1873, they landed in Baxter Springs, Kansas. At this point in time, they were handed over to be under the supervision of an Indian Agent by the name of Hiram Jones. Under the supervision of Indian Agent Jones, the Modoc people were to set up residency at the Quapaw Agency in Northeastern Oklahoma. On the first day that they arrived, led by their own Scar-faced Charley, the Modoc people, with the help of 3 outsiders, created temporary wooden barracks with some people using tents for shelter. Their shelters and temporary barracks needed to last them through the winter, until June of the following year. Having just arrived in the middle of November, the first winter after removal for the Modoc people would be difficult for multiple reasons. The Modoc people did not receive any funding from the United States Government for necessities such as food, clothing, and medical supplies until four months after their displacement, in March 1874. Due to the hardships and poor conditions, there was an increasing death rate throughout the first decade that the Modoc people lived in the Quapaw Agency. By the time of allotment, in 1891, there were 68 Modoc people who were able to claim allotments. Many of them had been born after removal.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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