October 3 is the anniversary of The Hanging of Captain Jack in 1873. Captain Jack, whose real name was Kintpuash was a chief of the Modoc tribe, which lived in what is today Oregon. He led a reasonably successful resistance to the imperialist American invaders, and has the distinction of being the only chief executed for war crimes by the absurdly hypocritical regime.

Like all tribes, the US regime had relocated the Modoc people onto a reservation. Like many (including myself), he found life on the reservation to be unpalatable, and he and a number of men left the reserve and lived amongst white people in his former lands. Although well liked, some of the white settlers desired his land and pushed the government for his removal.

For the crime of returning home, the military was called to move him back to the reserve. Fighting broke out. After the initial skirmish and another battle that saw high losses for the imperialists, they sent in a peace commission. Knowing that a peaceful end wasn’t really in the cards, they were put to death. This included a reverend and a US army general. The highest ranking officer to ever be killed by an Indian.

The US regime responded with overwhelming force, and Captain Jack’s defences finally broke, and his men scattered. Eventually captured, the US regime, without a hint of irony, put him on trial for murder, in violation of the laws of war. Needless to say, it was not a fair trial, and several Modocs were executed.

His men were forced to relocate to Oklahoma. In 1954, the US regime took back the reservation and the treaty rights of the Modoc who did not leave the reserve. Although their treaty rights were regained in 1986, their reservation was never returned.