The Klamath Tribes are a merger of the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin tribes created by the Treaty of 1864. They were placed on a reservation in the Klamath Basin, where they became one of the wealthiest tribal groups due largely to the timber industry. Despite opposition, Congress passed the Klamath Termination Act in 1954, which ended the federal recognition of the Klamath Tribes. Tribal lands were eventually reorganized into National Forest areas and lands that could be sold.

Raymond H. Bitney joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1926 as forest assistant at the Klamath Agency. He became superintendent of Neah Bay Agency in Washington in 1930 for three years and was then superintendent of Red Lake Agency in Minnesota for six years. From 1939 to 1942, Bitney was transferred to Taholah Agency in Washington. Between 1942 and 1946, he served in the military. When Bitney returned to the Bureau, he spent two years at Red Lake Agency and another two at Klamath Agency.

The Constitution of the Klamath Tribes was established to recognize the authority of the Tribal Committees formed by the General Council in 1975. It was adopted to ensure that the Klamath Termination Act of 1954 only applied to the eligibility of tribal members to receive Federal government services and did not constitute the termination of the tribe itself.