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Encyclopedia Of American Indian History and Culture

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Encyclopedia Of American Indian History and Culture

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Native American language Native American cultures Native American nations
Name: Isily
Tribal affiliation: Cahuilla,Cupeno
Alternate spellings: Isilly, Is-El, Isil
Pronunciation:ee-seel-yih
Also known as: Coyote
Type: Animal spirits,tricksters,coyotes
Related figures in other tribes: Coyote (Southwestern)

The coyote deity Isily is the trickster figure of the Cahuilla tribe. He is clever but reckless, and is constantly getting himself and the people around him into trouble with his irresponsible and socially inappropriate behavior. Isily stories are often humorous in nature, but they can also be cautionary tales about the consequences of bad behavior and the dangers of interacting with reckless and immoral people. Cahuilla Creation Myth:
The story of the creation and education of humans, featuring Isily as trickster.

Recommended Books of Related Native American Legends
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The Heart Is Fire: The World of the Cahuilla Indians of Southern California:
Book of oral history and traditional stories told by five Cahuilla elders.

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Additional Resources
Cahuilla myths
Cahuilla language
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Isily, the Coyote trickster of the Southern California tribes (Isil)

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Native American language Native American cultures Native American nations Name: Isily Tribal affiliation: Cahuilla,Cupeno Alternate spellings: Isilly, Is-El, Isil Pronunciation:ee-seel-yih Also known as: Coyote Type: Animal spirits,tricksters,coyotes Related figures in other tribes: Coyote (Southwestern) The coyote deity Isily is the trickster figure of the Cahuilla tribe.

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Far before the terms Native American or Indian were necessary, the tribes were spread all over the Americas. Before any white man set foot on this territory, it was settled by the forefathers of bands we now call Sioux, or Cherokee, or Iroquois.

For centuries, the American Indian developed its customs and heritage without interference. And that history is fascinating.

From Mayan and Incan ruins, from the mounds left in the central and southern parts of what is today the U.S. we have learned plenty. It's a tale of beautiful art and deep spirituality. Archaeologists have unearthed highly advanced structures and public works.

While there was unavoidable tribal conflict, that was nothing more than a slight blemish in the narrative of our ancestors. They were at peace with this beautiful continent and intensely plugged into nature.

The European Settler Arrives

When European leaders dispatched the first vessels in this direction, the aim was to discover new resources - however the quality of weather and the bounty of everything from timber to wildlife subsequently changed their tune. As those leaders learned from their explorers, the drive to colonize spread like wildfire.

The English, French and Spanish rushed to carve up the "New World" by shipping over poorly prepared colonists as fast as possible. In the beginning, they skirmished with the surprised Indians of America's eastern seaboard. But that shortly gave way to trade, since the Europeans who came ashore here understood that their survival was doubtful without Indian help.

Thus followed years of comparative peace as the settlers got themselves established on American soil. But the pressure to push inland followed soon after. Kings and queens from thousands of miles away were restless to locate even more resources, and some colonists came for freedom and opportunity.

They needed more space. And so began the process of pushing the American Indian out of the way.

It took the form of cash arrangements, barter, and famously, treaties which were nearly consistently ignored after the Indians were moved away from the land in question.

The U.S. government's policies towards Native Americans in the second half of the nineteenth century were determined by the desire to expand westward into areas occupied by these Native American tribes. By the 1850s nearly all Native American tribes, approximately 360,000 in number, were living to the west of the Mississippi River. These American Indians, some from the Northwestern and Southeastern territories, were confined to Indian Territory situated in contemporary Oklahoma, while the Kiowa and Comanche Native American tribes shared the territory of the Southern Plains.

The Sioux, Crows and Blackfeet dominated the Northern Plains. These Native American groups encountered misfortune as the steady flow of European immigrants into northeastern American cities delivered a stream of immigrants into the western lands already populated by these diverse groups of Indians.

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The early nineteenth century of the United States was marked by its steady expansion to the Mississippi River. However, due to the Gadsden purchase, that lead to U.S. control of the borderlands of southern New Mexico and Arizona in addition to the authority over Oregon country, Texas and California; America's expansion wouldn't end there. Between 1830 and 1860 the United States nearly doubled the amount of land under its control.

These territorial gains coincided with the arrival of troves of European and Asian immigrants who wanted to join the surge of American settlers heading west. This, combined with the discovery of gold in 1849, presented alluring possibilities for those willing to make the long journey westward. Therefore, with the military's protection and the U.S. government's assistance, many settlers began building their homesteads in the Great Plains and other areas of the Native American group-inhabited West.

Native American Tribes

Native American Policy can be defined as the regulations and procedures developed and adapted in the United States to outline the relationship between Native American tribes and the federal government. When the United States first became a sovereign country, it implemented the European policies towards these indigenous peoples, but over two centuries the U.S. adapted its very own widely varying regulations regarding the evolving perspectives and necessities of Native American regulation.

In 1824, in order to execute the U.S. government's Native American policies, Congress created a new agency inside the War Department referred to as Bureau of Indian Affairs, which worked directly with the U.S. Army to enforce their policies. At times the federal government recognized the Indians as self-governing, distinct political communities with different cultural identities; however, at other times the government attempted to compel the Native American tribes to give up their cultural identity, give up their land and assimilate into the American traditions.

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With the steady stream of settlers in to Indian "" land, Eastern newspapers published sensationalized reports of savage native tribes carrying out massive massacres of hundreds of white travelers. Although some settlers lost their lives to American Indian attacks, this was not the norm; in fact, Native American tribes often helped settlers cross over the Plains. Not only did the American Indians peddle wild game and other necessities to travelers, but they served as guides and messengers between wagon trains as well. Despite the genial natures of the American Indians, settlers still anticipated the possibility of an attack.

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To soothe these concerns, in 1851 the U.S. government organised a conference with several local Indian tribes and established the Treaty of Fort Laramie. Within this treaty, each Native American tribe accepted a bounded territory, allowed the government to construct tracks and forts in this territory and pledged not to go after settlers; in return the federal government agreed to honor the boundaries of each tribe's territory and make total annual payments to the Indians. The Native American tribes responded quietly to the treaty; in fact the Cheyenne, Sioux, Crow, Arapaho, Assinibione, Mandan, Gros Ventre and Arikara tribes, who signed the treaty, even consented to end the hostilities amidst their tribes to be able to accept the conditions of the treaty.

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This peaceful accord between the U.S. government and the Native American tribes did not hold long. After hearing tales of fertile terrain and tremendous mineral wealth in the West, the government soon broke their pledge established in the Treat of Fort Laramie by allowing thousands of non-Indians to flood into the area. With so many newcomers moving west, the federal government established a policy of confining Native Americans to reservations, small swaths of acreage within a group's territory "" reserved exclusively for Indian use, in order to grant more territory for the non-Indian settlers.

In a series of new treaties the U.S. government commanded Native Americans to abandon their land and move to reservations in exchange for protection from attacks by white settlers. In addition, the Indians were offered a yearly stipend that would include money in addition to food, animals, household goods and farming equipment. These reservations were established in an effort to pave the way for increased U.S. expansion and involvement in the West, as well as to keep the Native Americans isolated from the whites in order to lessen the chance for conflict.

History of the Plains Indians

These deals had many complications. Most significantly many of the native people did not altogether understand the document that they were confirming or the conditions within it; further, the treaties did not consider the cultural practices of the Native Americans. In addition to this, the government agencies responsible for applying these policies were weighed down with awful management and corruption. In fact most treaty terms were never carried out.

The U.S. government rarely fulfilled their side of the agreements even when the Native Americans moved quietly to their reservations. Dishonest bureau agents repeatedly sold off the supplies that were meant for the Indians on reservations to non-Indians. Moreover, as settlers required more property in the West, the government constantly reduced the size of the reservations. By this time, most of the Native American people were unhappy with the treaties and angered by settlers' endless demands for land.

A Look at Native American Symbols

Angered by the government's dishonorable and unfair policies, several Native American tribes, including bands of Cheyennes, Arapahos, Comanches and Sioux, fought back. As they struggled to protect their territories and their tribes' survival, over a thousand skirmishes and battles broke out in the West between 1861 and 1891. In an effort to coerce Native Americans onto the reservations and to end the violence, the U.S. government reacted to these hostilities with costly military campaigns. Clearly the U.S. government's Indian policies required an adjustment.

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Native American policy shifted dramatically following the Civil War. Reformers felt that the policy of pushing Native Americans on to reservations was far too strict even while industrialists, who were concerned with their property and resources, regarded assimilation, the cultural absorption of the American Indians into "white America" to be the sole long-term means of assuring Native American survival. In 1871 the federal government enacted a critical law stating that the United States would not treat Native American tribes as autonomous nations.

This law signaled a major shift in the government's working relationship with the native peoples - Congress now regarded the Native Americans, not as countries outside of its jurisdiction, but as wards of the government. By making Native Americans wards of the "" government, Congress imagined that it would be better to make the policy of assimilation a broadly acknowledged part of the cultural mainstream of America.

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Many U.S. government administrators considered assimilation as the most effective solution to what they deemed "the Indian problem," and the sole long-term strategy for insuring U.S. interests in the West and the survival of the American Indians. In order to accomplish this, the government urged Native Americans to move out of their customary dwellings, move into wooden houses and grow into farmers.

The federal government handed down laws that required Native Americans to abandon their usual appearance and way of living. Some laws banned traditional religious practices while others instructed Indian males to cut their long hair. Agents on more than two-thirds of American Indian reservations organized tribunals to impose federal regulations that often banned traditional ethnic and religious practices.

To boost the assimilation operation, the government established Indian training centers that attempted to quickly and vigorously Americanize Indian youth. According to the founder of the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, the schools were designed to "kill the Indian and save the man." To be able to achieve this goal, the schools required students to speak only English, dress in proper American attire and to switch their Indian names with more "American" ones. These new regulations brought Native Americans closer to the conclusion of their classic tribal identity and the beginning of their daily life as citizens under the absolute control of the U.S. administration.

Native American Treaties with the United States

In 1887, Congress passed the General Allotment Act, the most significant part of the U.S. government's assimilation program, which was intended to "civilize" American Indians by teaching them to be farmers. In order to make this happen, Congress needed to increase non-public title of Indian property by dividing reservations, which were collectively held, and giving each family their own parcel of land.

In addition to this, by pushing the Native Americans onto limited plots, western developers and settlers could purchase the left over acreage. The General Allotment Act, referred to as the Dawes Act, required that the Indian lands be surveyed and each family be provided with an allotment of between 80 and 160 acres, while unmarried adults received between 40 to 80 acres; the remaining acreage was to be sold. Congress was hoping that the Dawes Act would breakup Indian tribes and inspire individual enterprise, while reducing the cost of Indian supervision and serving up prime land to be purchased by white settlers.

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The Dawes Act proved to be disastrous for the American Indians; over the next decades they lived under regulations that outlawed their traditional way of living and yet didn't provide the critical resources to support their businesses and households. Splitting the reservations into smaller parcels of land caused the significant decrease of Indian-owned land. Inside thirty years, the tribes had lost in excess of two-thirds of the acreage that they had controlled before the Dawes Act was passed in 1887; the majority of the remaining land was purchased by white settlers.

Commonly, Native Americans were cheated out of their allotments or were required to sell their land in order pay bills and provide for their families. Consequently, the Indians were not "Americanized" and were routinely not able to become self-supporting farmers or ranchers, as the makers of the policy had anticipated. It also produced anger among Indians toward the U.S. government, as the allotment process often destroyed land that was the spiritual and social location of their activities.

Native American Culture

Between 1850 and 1900, life for Native Americans changed drastically. Through U.S. administration regulations, American Indians were forced from their places of residence because their native lands were parceled out. The Plains, which they had previously roamed alone, were now filled with white settlers.

The Upshot of the Indian Wars

Over the years the Indians had been defrauded out of their territory, food and way of living, as the federal government's Indian policies forced them into reservations and tried to "Americanize" them. Many American Indian bands did not endure relocation, cultural destruction and military loss; by 1890 the Native American population was reduced to under 250,000 people. As a result of generations of discriminatory and corrupt policies instituted by the United States authorities between 1850 and 1900, life for the American Indians was altered forever.

[google-map location="Coyote CA"

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Native American Tribes & the Indian History in Coyote, | American

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Far before the terms Native American or Indian were necessary, the tribes were spread all over the Americas. Before any white man set foot on this territory, it was settled by the forefathers of bands we now call Sioux, or Cherokee, or Iroquois. For centuries, the American Indian developed its customs and heritage without interference.

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Coyote is a mythological character common to many cultures of the Indigenous peoples of North America, based on the coyote ( Canis latrans) animal. This character is usually male and is generally anthropomorphic, although he may have some coyote-like physical features such as fur, pointed ears, yellow eyes, a tail and blunt claws. The myths and legends which include Coyote vary widely from culture to culture.

The role Coyote takes in traditional stories shares some traits with the Raven figure in other cultures.

Coyote is the tutelary spirit of "Coyoteway", one of the Navajo curing ceremonies. The ceremony is intended to restore the patient's harmonious relationship with Coyote and the world, and to bring about a return to good health.

Coyote in a number of Indigenous cultures of the Americas, including:

California

Coyote is featured in the mythology of numerous peoples from the area covered by the modern state of California, including the Achomawi and Atsugewi, the Dieguenos, the Gallinomero the Juaneno, the Karok, the Luiseno, the Maidu, the Miwok, the Pomo the Rumsen, the Shasta the Shastika, the Sinkyone, the Wappo, the Yana and the Yokut. In many of these stories he is a major sacred character with divine creative powers; in others he is a malevolent and often comical trickster. In some stories he combines both roles.

An example is a Maidu myth that says that at the beginning of time, a primal being called Earth Maker is floating on the infinite waters, when Coyote calls out to him. Together they sing to create the world. After it is completed, and Earth Maker has created the people, Coyote vows to spoil the world and introduce evil to it. Earth Maker orders the people to destroy Coyote, but despite their best efforts, Coyote uses supernatural trickery to outwit them. In the end, Earth Maker is forced to recognize that Coyote's power is equal to his own.

A common theme is of Coyote benefiting the human community by organizing the theft of fire, or of the sun, from the supernatural beings who have been keeping it for themselves; in these myths he is portrayed as a benefactor of the people. In a Shasta myth, Coyote saves the world from ten evil moons which have afflicted it with everlasting winter.

In a Miwok myth, Coyote creates all animals, then calls them to a council to discuss the creation of human beings. Each animal wants people to be imbued with its own best qualities, causing an argument. Coyote mocks them all, vowing that human beings should have his own wit and cunning. Each animal makes a human model in their own likeness; but overnight Coyote destroys the other models, so that only his own model comes to life.

A Maidu myth says that as the Creator was fashioning various creatures out of clay, Coyote tried to do the same. However, as he kept laughing, his efforts did not turn out well. The Creator suggested that if he stopped laughing, he might do better. Coyote denied laughing - thus telling the world's first lie.

Some stories depict Coyote as the embodiment of evil lechery: a serial rapist who uses trickery to attack a variety of victims including, for example, his own mother-in-law and his sister. Such tales may have served to reinforce the community moral code, by using outrageous humor to portray examples of intolerable behavior.

Great Basin

Coyote is featured in myths of the Chemehuevi, Paiute, Shoshone and Ute peoples. In this region most of the stories feature him as a malevolent and lecherous trickster. However, there are some echoes of his divine role as expressed in the myths of California, in particular obtaining fire for the people.

Origin of the Horse

One such myth from the Chemehuevi involves Coyote enlisting the help of other animals in order to achieve his goals. In the later half of a myth called "Coyote Went to get Basketry Material" Coyote enlists the help of the Black Spider and Parotsokitapitsi, an unknown bird species, to take revenge on the Sky-Down-feather-Brothers for killing his grandson. This myth also involves Coyote discovering the first horse, who happens to be his own grandson.

It begins with Coyote's grandson being sent by his mother to go see Coyote and before the grandson leaves he is explicitly told not to enter a cave that lies between his mother's house and Coyote's house. However, after the grandson had traveled for some time it began to get dark and rain began to fall. Deciding to disobey his mother's instruction, the grandson spends the night and the subsequent morning in the cave.

When the youth awakens, he finds that his head feels heavy, his hands now look completely different, and he is covered in hair. As he leaves the cave, he is approached by some mountain sheep who accompany him on his journey to his grandfather's house. When he reaches Coyote's home, Coyote sees them coming and notices that one of the mountain sheep is much bigger than the rest. He plans on killing the big one before Wolf tells him that that mountain sheep is actually his own grandson and urges him to not only not kill it, but also to feed the big mountain sheep bunchgrass. Coyote obliges and decides to settle for killing some of the smaller mountain sheep instead. After eating, his grandson goes off to spend the night with the other mountain sheep before returning in the morning. Once again, Coyote kills some of the smaller sheep and feeds the biggest one some bunchgrass. This same process repeats itself several times with Coyote gaining an enormous amount of meat.

One morning, however, the big mountain sheep is spied by the two Sky-Down-feather-Brothers. The eldest, knowing who the big mountain sheep really is, plans on leaving him alone but the younger brother ignores his older brother's warning and decides to kill the big mountain sheep. After shooting the big mountain sheep the younger brother finds that his big catch has suddenly turned into a boy wearing moccasins. The two brothers then butcher the body and fly away. The following morning Wolf mourns the loss of their grandson and devises a plan for revenge. Wolf tells Coyote to hide almost all the water, have the Black Spider spin a web to fill the sky's hole, and to hide near the little water still uncovered with Parotsok^^itapitsi with a hot rock from a fire pit. Coyote agrees to this plan but before he sets it in motion, he goes to the spot where his grandson was killed where he finds some blood and a little bit of hair which he packs in a basket before leaving.

Coyote asks the Black Spider to make a web out of cooked sinew and the spider agrees to help him. He then asks Parotsok^^itapitsi to accompany him at the edge of the water and shout when the Sky-Down-feather brothers try to fly away in order to keep them in place and he also agrees to do this. Eventually, both of the Sky-Down-feather-brothers get thirsty and search for some water to drink. The younger brother quickly spots the water where Coyote is hiding and suggests they land there to drink but the elder brother knows better and tells his brother that that is where Coyote is hiding, waiting for them. The brothers then try to trick Coyote multiple times by flying close to the water and saying, "Oh, Coyote, sitting by a roasting pit heating a stone!" Each time, Coyote almost reveals himself thinking he has been discovered but each time Parotsok^^itapitsi stops him telling him that the brothers are trying to trick him. Finally, the two brothers stop to drink and in that moment, Coyote throws the hot stone at them and Parotsok^^itapitsi shouts as they try to fly away and the brothers become trapped in the web blocking the sky's hole. Then, Black Spider climbs down the web and bites the brothers on their necks and they both fall back down to the ground.

The story concludes with Coyote going to where he had left his grandson's remains only to find that his grandson had been revived and was gone. Coyote deduces that his grandson has become a horse due to the fact that all the grass in the surrounding area had been eaten.

Myths and stories of Coyote are also found in the cultures of the Plateau area: the Chinookan (including the Wishram people and the Multnomah), the Flathead, the Nez Perce, the Nlaka'pamux, the Syilx (Okanagan), the St'at'imc, the Tsilhqot'in, and the Yakama.

One story from the Chinookan describes Coyote's attempts to catch salmon. After repeated failures, Coyote defecates and his own feces begin to insult him. Eventually, his feces stop insulting him and offer detailed advice not only for catching the salmon, but also for preparing the fish once he has them. Coyote enjoys success for a while before he begins to fail once again. Coyote stops and, as before, defecates again. This batch of feces tells Coyote that there are even more aspects he has to take into consideration when fishing including specific instructions for specific geographic location. The story concludes with Coyote finally understanding how to fish properly but thoroughly exhausted.

Sk'elep is the traditional trickster figure in Secwepemc mythology. He is featured in many legends and has many powers, including the ability to die and come back to life. Like the animal his character is enjoined to, he is very clever. But like all intelligent beings, he can also have his foolish moments and can make emblematic mistakes that people can learn from. According to one story, he once decided that he had to climb into a tree and spin a web like a spider. The only result of this misguided idea was that he left behind clumps of his hair in the tree. This magical hair, however, became , the Secwepemc language for a species of lichen.

In some other Interior Salish cultures, Coyote went into the tree for other reasons; for example, in Colville-Okanagan culture, he was dropped into the tree by some swans he had grabbed in a hunt. In this story also, though, his hair became the hair moss lichen.

Coyote also appears in the traditions of the Jicarilla Apache. In the mythology of the Tohono O'odham people of Arizona, he appears as an associate of the culture-hero Montezuma.

He also appears in a legend of the White Mountain Apache, "Coyote fights a lump of pitch" (a variant of the Tar-Baby theme), and in similar legends of the Zapotec and Popoluca of Mexico.[citation needed ]

Coyote plays a prominent role in many stories in the Diné ( Navajo) mythos; see Coyote (Navajo mythology).

Coyote is compared to both the Scandinavian Loki, and also Prometheus, who shared with Coyote the trick of having stolen fire from the gods as a gift for mankind, and Anansi, a mythological culture hero from Western African mythology. In Eurasia, rather than a coyote, a fox is often featured as a trickster hero, ranging from kitsune (fox) tales in Japan to the Reynard cycle in Western Europe.

Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist proposed a structuralist theory that suggests that Coyote and Crow obtained mythic status because they are mediator animals between life and death.

Coyote figures prominently in a number of Indigenous language and cultural and preservation projects in North America. For example, the Secwepemc people of the Kamloops Indian Band in Kamloops, British Columbia, have named their recently opened elementary school the Sk'elep School of Excellence, while educational websites such as one co-sponsored by the Neskonlith Indian Band of Chase, British Columbia prominently feature stories about Sk'elep.

9. Cooper, Guy. "World Mythology." World Mythology, by Roy G. Willis, vol. 1, Metro Books, 2012, pp. 220-234.

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Coyote is a mythological character common to many cultures of the Indigenous peoples of North America, based on the coyote ( Canis latrans) animal. This character is usually male and is generally anthropomorphic, although he may have some coyote-like physical features such as fur, pointed ears, yellow eyes, a tail and blunt claws.

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Wickiup: Native Indian Houses for kids ***

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Visit this site for facts and pictures of the Wickiup. Description of the Wickiup, a Native American Indian shelter and style of house. Discover how the Wickiup was built and the Native American tribes who lived in them.

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, also called wigwam, indigenous North American dwelling characteristic of many Northeast Indian peoples and in more limited use in the Plains, Great Basin , Plateau, and California culture areas. The wickiup was constructed of tall saplings driven into the ground, bent over, and tied together near the top. This dome-shaped framework was covered with large overlapping mats of woven rushes or of bark that were tied to the saplings. Relatively easy to construct and maintain, a typical wickiup was some 15-20 feet (4.5-6 metres) in diameter. The terms wickiup and wigwam both mean "dwelling" and derive, respectively, from the and languages. By the early 21st century, wickiup had become the preferred term among many Native Americans because wigwam was believed to play into a stereotype.

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also called wigwam, indigenous North American dwelling characteristic of many Northeast Indian peoples and in more limited use in the Plains, Great Basin , Plateau, and California culture areas. The wickiup was constructed of tall saplings driven into the ground, bent over, and tied together near the top.

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Location: Central California (Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Contra Costa Counties, northern Madera & San Joaquin Counties, southern Sacramento County)

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The Miwok Indians lived in small villages, in houses made from the resources they had available to them. In the winter the Miwok lived in houses that were covered with dirt and halfway under ground. They built the houses this way because it helped keep them warm. In contrast their summer houses were above ground and made of bark to stay cool. These were generally cone-shaped and had a pole framework. Other building materials they were known to have used include brush, grass and tule.

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The Miwok Indians lived in small villages, in houses made from the resources they had available to them. In the winter the Miwok lived in houses that were covered with dirt and halfway under ground. They built the houses this way because it helped keep them warm.

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The Miwok Indians lived in small villages, in houses made from the resources they had available to them. In the winter the Miwok lived in houses that were covered with dirt and halfway under ground. They built the houses this way because it helped keep them warm. In contrast their summer houses were above ground and made of bark to stay cool. These were generally cone-shaped and had a pole framework. Other building materials they were known to have used include brush, grass and tule.

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The Miwok Indians lived in small villages, in houses made from the resources they had available to them. In the winter the Miwok lived in houses that were covered with dirt and halfway under ground. They built the houses this way because it helped keep them warm.

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Coast Miwok at Point Reyes - Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)

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Coast Miwok at Point Reyes - Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)

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Coast Miwok Dancer

The men adopted many different techniques for fishing. Dip nets (bags of netting attached to wooden frames on a handle) were used to scoop up fish, and woven surf nets were used along the open beaches. Cone-shaped traps of woven gray willow were set up in creeks and mouths of rivers. With hook and bait one could successfully catch halibut and rockfish year-round.

Hunting by use of traps and bow and arrow supplied the Coast Miwok with meat, fur and tools. Traps were used to capture such game as quail, acorn woodpeckers and rabbits, which were highly valued for their fur and meat. Deer were usually hunted with bow and arrow, and provided many necessary items. Antler tips were used for shaping arrowheads, sinew (muscle tendon) was used to fasten points to arrow shafts and leg bones were made into awls (needles used in basketmaking) and hair pins. In this way, the Coast Miwok wasted little of the animals they hunted.

In 1953, Congress passed Public Law 280, which turned over law enforcement on California reservations to state and county agencies. By 1958, the federal government "terminated" the recognition of Coast Miwok people as well as many other tribes.

After over 40 years, the Coast Miwok are once again a federally recognized tribe. Legislation was signed in December 2000 granting the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok, full rights and privileges afforded federally recognized tribes. Currently there are almost 500 members registered with the tribe.

As you explore Kule Loklo, try to imagine the lives of the people who lived so intimately with the land. In the old days, a village like Kule Loklo would have been a busy place... acorns being pounded into meal by women with stone mortar and pestle, basket weavers chatting as they worked under the sun shade, cooking fires smoking with mussels baking or deer roasting, children laughing and playing , new dancers learning songs and steps in the dance house, hunters flaking obsidian for knife blades.

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Coast Miwok at Point Reyes - Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)

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The men adopted many different techniques for fishing. Dip nets (bags of netting attached to wooden frames on a handle) were used to scoop up fish, and woven surf nets were used along the open beaches. Cone-shaped traps of woven gray willow were set up in creeks and mouths of rivers.

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In this lesson, students will analyze primary source images of Native Americans interacting with the environment. The images show different aspects of how Native Americans dressed, hunted, and lived.

Historical Background

The kinds of food the Native Americans ate, the clothing they wore, and the shelters they had depended upon the seasons. Their foods changed with the seasons. In winter, they hunted birds and animals and lived on stored foods from the previous fall. In spring, they hunted, fished and picked berries. In summer, they grew crops (beans, corn, and squash). In fall, they harvested crops and hunted for foods to preserve and keep for the winter.

The Native Americans used natural resources in every aspect of their lives. They used animal skins (deerskin) as clothing. Shelter was made from the material around them (saplings, leaves, small branches, animal fur). Native peoples of the past farmed, hunted, and fished. They used natural resources such as rock, twine, bark, and oyster shell to farm, hunt, and fish.

Hunting/Fishing/Farming:
Indian men had the primary tasks of fishing and hunting. Each winter men from different tribes would join together for hunting expeditions. Deer meat, or venison, served as a supplement to the mostly agricultural diet. The Indians used other parts of the deer such as skin for clothing and bones for tools. The men also protected their village.

The Powhatan Indians were primarily farmers planting fields that averaged one hundred acres in size. The women were responsible for working the fields and did so using various tools made from such materials as deer antlers. They grew corn, squash, pumpkins, beans and sunflowers. They also gathered wild foods from the land around them such as nuts, berries and roots. The women were responsible for making meals of these foods. Corn (maize) was the staple crop, and from it women produced such foods as corn cakes and hominy.

Homes:
Since the Powhatans were farmers, they did not move around like Indians of the western plains who had to follow the herds of buffalo. As a result, they built semi-permanent houses that were framed with saplings and covered with woven reeds or bark. Constructed by the women, these "yehakin" provided good protection from all the extremes of weather, sometimes for as many as sixteen to twenty members of an extended family. The fire in the center of the lodge was kept burning at all times which kept the house warm and dry.

Clothing:
Each tribe had a chief or "werowance" who ruled over the tribe. All the tribal chiefs were subject to Powhatan. They supported him in war and paid an allowance to him from their tribe. Status was determined by achievement, often in warfare, and by the inheritance of luxury goods like copper, shell beads and furs. Those of higher status had larger homes, more wives and elaborate dress.

Lesson Objective

VS.2e The student will demonstrate knowledge of the physical geography and native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by describing how American Indians related to the climate and their environment to secure food, clothing, and shelter.

Materials

Procedure

1. Begin with a Hook/Preview by discussing natural resources and how we use them in OUR lives. Ask students to begin by reviewing what they have previously learned about natural resources. Discuss the definition and different natural resources that they use in their lives and make a connection from our natural resources, to what natural resources Native Americans may have used many, many years ago.

2. Pre-make and hand out the primary source flipbooks. To make the flip books, use a large piece of construction paper, folded long-ways. Cut three slits on the top flap and glue the primary source images onto the four squares. Next, paste the questions on the flap behind each image. Questions include: What do you see? What natural resource(s) is it made of? What is its use? Could it be used all year long? Each flapbook should include four images, you may allow students to choose from a set of 5 or 6 primary source images or choose four images to assign.

3. Students will work in partners to answer questions about the natural resources seen in their primary source pictures.

4. Ask students to share with their table partners to check answers.

5. As a class, discuss students' answers using the ActivStudio flipchart. Go over each photo, answer the questions together, and discuss how the resource was adapted through the seasons.

6. Show a brief (four minute) YouTube video on the Powhatan use of natural resources. The students will then do a word/picture splash assessment.

Assessment

The students will create a word/picture splash in order to display what they have learned about the Native American use of natural resources. Their rubric will be based on the design, spelling, # of pictures, and # of new vocabulary terms used in their project.

References

"A Powhatan Man Ready to Hunt." Image. From The National Park Service: Historic Jamestowne. http://nps.gov/jame/historyculture/the-powhatan-indian-world.htm (accessed November 4, 2011).

De Bry, Theodor. "Their Manner of Making Boats." Engraving. In "Powhatan Indian Period Images," Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. http://historyisfun.org/Powhatan-Indian-World.htm (accessed November 4, 2011).

"Bow and Arrow." Image. Alabama Archaeology: Prehistoric Alabama. http://bama.ua.edu/~alaarch/prehistoricalabama/woodland.htm (accessed November 4, 2011).

"Powhatan Indian Village." Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. http://historyisfun.org/Powhatan-Village.htm (accessed November 8, 2011).

Image ID: 2245.257. Photograph. Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains - Online Image Database. http://www.lib.montana.edu/digital/nadb/ (accessed November 9, 2011).

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In this lesson, students will analyze primary source images of Native Americans interacting with the environment. The images show different aspects of how Native Americans dressed, hunted, and lived. The kinds of food the Native Americans ate, the clothing they wore, and the shelters they had depended upon the seasons.

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What is the Relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Animals

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What is the Relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Animals

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From time to time people ask me about the relationship between Indigenous peoples and animals. For some, the knowledge of the natural world - the land, plants, animals, seasons and cycles of nature - has been a central tenet of their lives and worldviews since the dawn of time. Their understanding of the natural world is sophisticated and comprehensive. The natural world, now commonly referred to as the "environment", is not viewed as a separate entity but one, interconnected aspect of the whole. This interconnectedness equates to a moral responsibility to care for, live in harmony with, and respect the natural world.

Many Indigenous Peoples believe that:

the Animal People have spirits and enter the human world to give their bodies to supply men with food, fur and other materials. After their flesh is used the animals return home, put on new flesh and re-enter the human world whenever they choose. [1]

Animals, in many Indigenous cultures, are imbued with great spiritual significance. In the Seven Sacred Teachings:

the traditional concepts of respect and sharing that form the foundation of the Aboriginal way of life are built around the seven natural laws, or sacred teachings. Each teaching honours one of the basic virtues intrinsic to a full and healthy life. Each law is embodied by an animal to underscore the point that all actions and decisions made by man are manifest on a physical plain. The animal world taught man how to live close to the earth, and the connection that has been established between the animal world and that of man has instilled a respect for all life in those who follow the traditional Aboriginal way. [ 2]

Love - Eagle
Respect - Buffalo
Courage - Bear
Honesty - Bigfoot
Wisdom - Beaver
Humility - Wolf
Truth - Turtle

Given this interconnected relationship between animals and humans, Indigenous Peoples were careful and respectful of the natural lifecycles of the animals they shared the Earth with - they made efforts to not over-fish, over-hunt or over-harvest. They hunted, fished and collected what was needed to sustain their families, tribes, or clans. Every part of the animal was used, and in many cultures, there were accompanying celebrations and rituals of appreciation. There was no stock or species depletion due to over-harvesting - this came with the Europeans and a prime example is the sad fate of the buffalo.

There was also no need for artificial wildlife management, which is an alien concept to numerous Indigenous cultures.

Many Yukon First Nations people find the assumption of control inherent in the agricultural metaphor absurd, perhaps even offensive to the animals. At wildlife management meetings, one Kluane First Nation hunter regularly objected to use of the term wildlife management itself. Humans cannot "manage" wildlife populations, he said. Animals manage themselves; they make their own decisions about when to reproduce, and where to go, decisions that are quite independent of any human desires. Wildlife management, he said, is not about managing animals; it is about managing people. [3]

Hard to argue with that logic!

While there is a great diversity between cultures, animals frequently figure prominently in creation stories, legends, ceremonies and art. In Northwest Coast art, the animals of particular significance are the orca, bear, wolf, beaver, dragonfly, owl, eagle and salmon. Again, as in the animals in the Seven Sacred Teachings, each animal is imbued with spiritual significance.

[1] Ruth Kirk, Tradition and Change on the Northwest Coast: The Makah, Nuu-chah-nulth, Southern Kwakiutl and Nuxalk. Seattle: University of Washington, 1986. Print.
[ 2] The Sharing Circle website
[3] Paul Nadasdy, Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power, Knowledge, and Aboriginal-State Relations in the Southwest Yukon
Featured photo: Shutterstock

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What Is the Relationship Between Indigenous Peoples and Animals

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What is the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and animals? Read this short article for an overview.

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Native American Relationships to Animals: Not Your Spirit Animal

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Native American Relationships to Animals: Not Your Spirit Animal

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Indigenous peoples' relationships with animals are the result of tens of thousands of years of connections to their environments. The non-Native concept of "spirit animals" has seen a recent rise in popularity, in and out of the classroom. Finding animals they connect with can be a fun activity for many students. However, using the concept of a "spirit animal" while teaching Native American culture trivializes Native relationships to the animal world.

In Native American traditions, animals are sometimes used to communicate the values and spiritual beliefs of Native communities. Animals' importance is also evident in the creation stories of many tribes. Animal imagery is often used to share family, clan, and personal stories. We ask that you do not copy such imagery from totem poles, pictographs, etc.

Clan and kinship systems within many American Indian tribal communities reflect relationships to animals. Each animal carries history and meaning. Clan and kinship systems are specific to each tribal community and may vary widely from one another. We ask that you do not adopt clans into your classroom.

The story of American Indians in the Western Hemisphere is intricately intertwined with places and environments. Indigenous Peoples strive to be respectful of their environments. Many believe in thoughtfully honoring the lives of animals by only taking what is needed. To respect Native Americans and animal life, we suggest that your classrooms work to support your local environments through advocating for animals and their natural habitats.

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Native Knowledge 360°-Native American Relationships to Animals: Not Your Spirit Animal

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NK360° Helpful Handouts: Guidance on Common Questions provide a brief introduction to teachers about important topics regarding Native American life, cultures, and communities. Native American Relationships to Animals: Not Your Spirit Animal explores some Native cultural practices connected to animal life and kinship. #NK360

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A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

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A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

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If you're reading this guide, then you've raised your hand to support National Public Lands Day, and the incredible work of your supporting organizations, sponsors, volunteers and friends. We hope this guide will encourage you to ask critical, and sometimes tough, questions about the land, air, water and history that make up this nation.

Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people's history and culture. Acknowledgment by itself is a small gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and informed action. But this beginning can be an opening to greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights, a step toward equitable relationship and reconciliation. Naming is an exercise in power. Who gets the right to name or be named? Whose stories are honored in a name? Whose are erased? Acknowledgment of traditional land is a public statement of the name of the traditional Native inhabitants of a place. It honors their historic relationship with the land.

Below are suggested steps to acknowledging traditional land at the opening of your National Public Lands Day event. The best way to root this practice in a local context is through dialogue with local Native groups. Not yet having those relationships doesn't mean you can't begin.

Here's how:

STEP ONE: IDENTIFY

The first step is identifying the traditional inhabitants of the lands you're on. For NLPD, we encourage you to visit www.native-land.ca and identify the traditional stewards of your land. But long term, we deeply urge you to consult the USDAC's full Land Acknowledgment guide to learn more about the deeper research necessary for this step.

A DEEPER STEP: Identify Native elders and culture-bearers in your region to join in a conversation about how they would like to see this practice take shape locally, particularly how it could be of greatest benefit for their communities. You can use this guide as a jumping-off place for conversation. If you are part of an organization or group, consider offering an honorarium to those who take part in the dialogue. This dialogue could also be a public forum, engaging others who want to learn about this practice. Or you could share a video, transcript, or other reporting to inform and engage the wider community.

STEP TWO: ARTICULATE

Once you've identified the group or groups who should be recognized, formulate the statement of acknowledgment you'll share at the beginning of your NLPD event There is no exact script for this. Craft yours after considering several levels of detail you might introduce.

At its simplest, an acknowledgment could look like this:

"We acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the ______ People."

Beginning with just this simple sentence would be a meaningful intervention in most U.S. gathering spaces. From there, there are many other elements to bring into acknowledgment:

Often, statements specifically honor elders:

"I would like to acknowledge that this meeting is being held on the traditional lands of the _______ People, and pay my respect to elders both past and present."

Some allude to the caring, reciprocal relationship with land:

"I want to respectfully acknowledge the ________ People, who have stewarded this land throughout the generations."

Acknowledgments may also make explicit mention of the occupied, unceded nature of the territory in which a gathering is taking place:

"We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the occupied/unceded/ seized territory of the _________ People."

"I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are in ___________, the ancestral and unceded territory of the ________ People.

STEP THREE: DELIVER

Once you've identified whom to name and practiced your statement (including pronunciation of names), offer your acknowledgment as the first element of a welcome to your NLPD event. For your next event or next year's NLPD, consider inviting members of your land's ancestral inhabitants to give a welcome before yours.

Acknowledgment should be approached not as a set of obligatory words to rush through. These words should be offered with respect, grounded in authentic reflection, presence, and awareness. As you step up to offer acknowledgment, breathe in awareness of both the present and of the histories that connect you with the people you are naming. Consider your own place in the story of colonization and of undoing its legacy. At your next gathering, try acknowledgment out, see how it feels, observe how or if it shifts the room. Over time, through practice, you'll learn more about what it means and what it opens up for you and others.

LEARN MORE:

Take time to learn about the Indigenous history of the land you live on, as well as the contemporary context of Native groups in your region. Search for books, articles, people, and organizations that you can learn from.

WATCH THE DISCUSSION:

In support of the guide, we hosted a webinar with the USDAC team: Amelia Winger-Bearskin (#HonorNativeLand Innovator), Brienne Colston (Co-Director of Community Healing and Transformation), Jaclyn Roessel (Director of Decolonized Futures & Radical Dreams), and Jordan Seaberry (Co-Director of Power and Possibility). This roundtable discussion focused on the history and practice of land acknowledgments, step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.

ABOUT THIS GUIDE:

NEEF is proud to partner with the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture (USDAC) to bring you this overview of guidance on Indigenous Land Acknowledgements. The USDAC is a people-powered department-a grassroots action network inciting creativity and social imagination to shape a culture of empathy, equity, and belonging.
To download the complete guide, please visit: usdac.us/nativeland

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A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

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If you're reading this guide, then you've raised your hand to support National Public Lands Day, and the incredible work of your supporting organizations, sponsors, volunteers and friends. We hope this guide will encourage you to ask critical, and sometimes tough, questions about the land, air, water and history that make up this nation.

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Native American History for Kids: Homes and Dwellings

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Native American History for Kids: Homes and Dwellings

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Native American History for Kids: Homes and Dwellings

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Kids learn about Native American Indian homes and dwellings in the United States. Teepee, wigwam, longhouse, pueblo, and more.

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Reed Hepler, Summer Stewart

Author Reed Hepler
Reed Hepler received an M.L.I.S. from IUPUI, with emphases in Digital Curation and Archives Management. He received a Bachelor's in History from USU, with minors in Religious Studies and Anthropology. He also earned a Certificate in Museum Studies. He has worked in museums, libraries, archives, and historical sites for the past four years.

Instructor Summer Stewart
Summer has taught creative writing and sciences at the college level. She holds an MFA in Creative writing and a B.A.S. in English and Nutrition

Native American Houses and Buildings

There are hundreds of Native American tribes in the United States, with dozens of cultures, religions, and customs. Unfortunately, the tendency in mainstream American culture is to think of Native Americans as a homogeneous group and give them a single culture. One example of the heterogeneity of Native American tribes is the variation in the houses and buildings created in the different groups. The construction of each of these traditional Native American buildings varied based on a number of factors, including environment and climate, as well as social structure and other cultural aspects. There were also distinct differences between homes that were temporary in nature and permanent dwellings if the tribes built both types of housing. Some tribes only built temporary dwellings, and others only constructed permanent buildings in which to live.

Native American House Designs

Did you know that at one point, all Native American homes were referred to as teepees or wigwams because of colonists' misunderstanding of Native American languages? Native Americans have always been ingenious when building homes in places than many would consider uninhabitable, and each style bears a unique name. From the teepees made by the Plains tribes to the adobe cliff houses once built by the Anasazi, Native American homes fit the needs of the tribe. If a tribe was nomadic, then homes needed to be easy to put together and take down.

Likewise, if a tribe was stationary, most likely tribes that were involved in farming, they built permanent homes designed to withstands years of use. With the exception of the Navajo, who still build hogans, the tribes we'll discuss here no longer use these structures as homes. Since dozens of Native American home types exist or existed, however, we will focus on a variety of Native American homes, discussing them in terms of temporary and permanent structures.

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Temporary Native American Shelters

The creation of temporary Native American shelters was used to protect Native American groups from the elements while allowing movability. Variations in climate meant that variation in materials and physical makeup was necessary.

Teepees of the Plains Indians

Plains Indian tribes created teepees, which were made out of bison skins laid over wooden poles. These tribes lived in the Great Plains region of the United States.

The main materials used in creating teepees were the skins of bison and the poles of trees that were in the area. Alternatively, reeds or tree bark could be used as the teepee cover. Teepees varied in size but could only typically house the members of one family (three to eight persons). Teepees were typically between ten and twenty feet tall and fifteen to thirty feet wide and were mainly constructed in a cone shape. However, when large structures were necessary, two teepees were combined in a sort of oval or conjoined-circles style.

The structure and materials used in teepees reflected the dominant aspects of their lives. Much of their time was spent following herds of bison, and so their structures were necessarily easy to transport and set up as they moved throughout the Great Plains.

Native American Wigwams

The Algonquian tribes of the Northeast region of the United States (New York, Delaware, Maine) also used a temporary structure, called a wigwam. What is a wigwam? There were several aspects of wigwams that differentiate them from teepees. Their main materials were bark or sticks and grass that the Algonquians tied together. Secondly, the wigwam was built in a dome shape while the teepee was a cone shape. Both of the structures had holes through which smoke could exit, and both of them used poles to support the walls, but those are virtually the only similarities between the two structures.

Wigwams could house as many as twenty to thirty people and could be as long as one hundred feet. The width of wigwams was generally capped around twenty feet.

Another term for this structure is ''birchbark house.''

Wigwams were built to facilitate comfort while participating in farming and other main aspects of Algonquian life. They were always built on level ground that was not too soft and not too hard. Sixteen poles were hammered into the ground in a perfect circle. Eight pairs of poles were tied together to create a dome shape, and then hoops of saplings were created to make the structure sturdy. Mats of bark, grass, or other materials were used on the inside and outside of the domes to insulate the walls. Finally, another layer of saplings was laid over these mats to hold them in place.

Igloos of the Inuit

Another group of Native American tribes that built temporary shelters were the Inuits, who built igloos. Another spelling of this term is ''iglu.'' The word is the Inuit term for ''house.'' The main materials in the construction of igloos was ice, but there were also other frequently used materials. Willow and caribou skins were mostly used to make the beds. Seal skins and fat were used for heat maintenance, and seal skins were also sometimes used to create windows. Concentric circles of ice were stacked one on another to create a dome shape; then, a narrow passageway was created in a similar fashion to allow protected entry into and storage inside the igloo.

The size of these structures varied, but usually, only one family could live in an igloo. Construction materials also included stone or sod, but the vast majority of igloos were built using ice.

The physical structure of the igloos reflected the daily life of the Inuit groups, who lived in tents made of fabric or seal skins in the summer. Some igloos were temporary, and some were semi-permanent. While Inuit groups moved around three times per year, they always went to the same hunting or fishing grounds. This meant that they could build an igloo, live in it for three or four months, and then disassemble it.

Permanent Native American Buildings

As handy as temporary dwelling structures were to Native American tribes, there was also a need in many of these groups to build permanent Native American structures. Some tribes only built permanent structures.

Longhouses of the Northeast Iroquois

The Northeast Iroquois Confederacy tribes (which include the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca tribes) resided in the Northeast U.S. (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Maine) and the U.S. Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan). The longhouses of these tribes varied in size, but they were all intended to house large numbers of inhabitants and were made of wooden poles and bark. Smaller longhouses held around four or five families (twenty to thirty individuals). Larger longhouses could hold as many as ten families (forty to fifty individuals).

Longhouses had roughly the same dimensions as a wigwam, and they also had roughly the same structure (although a bisected cylinder rather than a dome). The interiors were separated into segments for each nuclear family in the tribal group. The four corners of the longhouse had kitchens and heating appliances that were used by all the residents of the longhouse.

Frequently, longhouses were arranged in circles based on matrilineal family relationships. This ensured that all the members of the tribes lived near each other and could share resources. Groups of longhouses were considered a large family, and the entire Iroquois group of tribes represented its groups as living in different sections of an enormous longhouse.

Plank Houses in the Northwest

The Chinook, Clatsop, and Yurok tribes in the Northwest region of the United States (Washington, Oregon, Alaska) built houses of planks, in which they housed totem poles at the front of the building. These houses were permanent, although some tribes did not live in their plank houses during the entire year, preferring instead to leave in the summer and return to the permanent plank houses in the winter. They also shared a similar structure and purpose as the longhouses and wigwams of the Iroquois and Algonquian tribes.

Native American plank houses were only built out of cedarwood, and they were typically around one hundred feet long. They usually housed around twenty people or five families. Plank house construction was meant to conserve heat, and so the roof of the plank house was relatively low so that heat could not escape as easily. Unlike longhouses, plank house communities were created in a straight line.

Temporary & Portable Homes

Plains Indians lived in teepees, portable homes made of poles and animal hides. They were efficient home for the Plains Indians because they stayed cool in the summer and warm in the winter. A doorway was cut into the hide that could be closed shut or folded open depending on the weather conditions. Plains Indians continuously moved as they followed herds of buffalo, thus a home that was easy to put up and take down was necessary.

A wigwam was a house built by the Algonquian Indians in the northeastern parts of America. The word wigwam means ''house'' in several Algonquian languages. Made of wood and woven birch bark, a wigwam stood around ten feet tall and was shaped like a dome, cone, or rectangle. The birch bark or other materials, such as animal hides or blankets, used to cover the wigwam's frame was attached using rope or cord. Algonquian groups used wigwams to live in farming settlements during the growing and harvesting season. A wigwam was easy to build and to move, which is why they made sense for tribes that moved among different regions during the year.

Pacific northwestern tribes built plank houses, which were cabin-like buildings without windows. Many were constructed from red cedar trees that were cut down and shaped into planks. The planks were then used to build the flooring, roof, and walls. Plank houses were built in this region due to its wet springs and winters, when people needed indoor sleeping and working arrangements.

Tribes who relied on fishing for their livelihood built plank houses. For example, Pacific Northwestern tribes such as the Chinook, Clatsop, and Yurok built plank houses along rivers. Many of these homes housed several families and measured up to 50 feet long. However, some plank houses reached over 350 feet long! During the summer months, when the tribes moved from their winter locations, they left the homes. The homes were often reconstructed in the following winter.

Permanent Homes

A Kiich house was a semi-subterranean home built by the Yuma and Serrano Indians in California. The tribes built Kiich houses during the winter using the Yucca plant, willow sticks, and brush. The willow branches were made into poles for the frame, which were covered with brush that was tied down using cord fibers from the Yucca plant.

These Native American tribes built Kiich homes because they suited their environment. They were easy to build and could be adapted to winter conditions. A winterized Kiich house was built several feet into the ground, which helped to keep the home warm and night and cool during the day.

Native American House Designs

Did you know that at one point, all Native American homes were referred to as teepees or wigwams because of colonists' misunderstanding of Native American languages? Native Americans have always been ingenious when building homes in places than many would consider uninhabitable, and each style bears a unique name. From the teepees made by the Plains tribes to the adobe cliff houses once built by the Anasazi, Native American homes fit the needs of the tribe. If a tribe was nomadic, then homes needed to be easy to put together and take down.

Likewise, if a tribe was stationary, most likely tribes that were involved in farming, they built permanent homes designed to withstands years of use. With the exception of the Navajo, who still build hogans, the tribes we'll discuss here no longer use these structures as homes. Since dozens of Native American home types exist or existed, however, we will focus on a variety of Native American homes, discussing them in terms of temporary and permanent structures.

Temporary & Portable Homes

Plains Indians lived in teepees, portable homes made of poles and animal hides. They were efficient home for the Plains Indians because they stayed cool in the summer and warm in the winter. A doorway was cut into the hide that could be closed shut or folded open depending on the weather conditions. Plains Indians continuously moved as they followed herds of buffalo, thus a home that was easy to put up and take down was necessary.

A wigwam was a house built by the Algonquian Indians in the northeastern parts of America. The word wigwam means ''house'' in several Algonquian languages. Made of wood and woven birch bark, a wigwam stood around ten feet tall and was shaped like a dome, cone, or rectangle. The birch bark or other materials, such as animal hides or blankets, used to cover the wigwam's frame was attached using rope or cord. Algonquian groups used wigwams to live in farming settlements during the growing and harvesting season. A wigwam was easy to build and to move, which is why they made sense for tribes that moved among different regions during the year.

Pacific northwestern tribes built plank houses, which were cabin-like buildings without windows. Many were constructed from red cedar trees that were cut down and shaped into planks. The planks were then used to build the flooring, roof, and walls. Plank houses were built in this region due to its wet springs and winters, when people needed indoor sleeping and working arrangements.

Tribes who relied on fishing for their livelihood built plank houses. For example, Pacific Northwestern tribes such as the Chinook, Clatsop, and Yurok built plank houses along rivers. Many of these homes housed several families and measured up to 50 feet long. However, some plank houses reached over 350 feet long! During the summer months, when the tribes moved from their winter locations, they left the homes. The homes were often reconstructed in the following winter.

Permanent Homes

A Kiich house was a semi-subterranean home built by the Yuma and Serrano Indians in California. The tribes built Kiich houses during the winter using the Yucca plant, willow sticks, and brush. The willow branches were made into poles for the frame, which were covered with brush that was tied down using cord fibers from the Yucca plant.

These Native American tribes built Kiich homes because they suited their environment. They were easy to build and could be adapted to winter conditions. A winterized Kiich house was built several feet into the ground, which helped to keep the home warm and night and cool during the day.

What are types of Native American homes?

What were the Native American houses made of?

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types & facts - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Native American Houses | Buildings, Types & Facts - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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Reed Hepler, Summer Stewart Author Reed Hepler Reed Hepler received an M.L.I.S. from IUPUI, with emphases in Digital Curation and Archives Management. He received a Bachelor's in History from USU, with minors in Religious Studies and Anthropology. He also earned a Certificate in Museum Studies.

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Pre-European California Indians and the Geography of California

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Pre-European California Indians and the Geography of California

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California History: California State University Long Beach

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streams, the water carried the shrinking rocks to the oceans shore. Over time the rock fragments accumulated and became sand. The beach cities to the South of California host a Mediterranean climate characterized by a hot, dry summers and cold, sometimes wet winters. In comparison Northern California is characterized by gloomy rainy weather that lasts most of the year.
Over 200 exotic species are known to inhabit Redwood Nation Park; these include English ivy, spotted knapweed, and poison hemlock. California is a hotbed of seismic activity. Northern California experiences minor trembles on a daily basis, and larger quakes rarely. Large earthquakes, above a 5.0 on the Richter scale, have shifted the land enough to offset rivers, facilitate landslides, and erode the cliffs on the shore. Most rocks found in Northern California are sedimentary rocks that formed deep in the ocean. These rocks were elevated from the ocean floor millions of years ago and are part of the Franciscan Assemblage. Sandstone, siltstone, and shale are common rocks formed through sedimentation on the ocean floor. As the name suggests, there is plenty of rain in the rainforest in California. Rainfall of twenty-five to one hundred and twenty-two inches falls during the fall, winter, and spring seasons. The trees continue to receive hydration during the summer months through thick coastal fog.

"The Foothill Yokut Tribe was a group of fifteen triblets. Its territory stood along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains." (Boulé - Foothill Yokut Tribe 26) The triblets are positioned in valleys or the foothills near streams and creeks. "Men spent their days making and repairing hunting and fishing tools." (Boulé 30) Women stayed near their home and attended to their children and the daily meals. Families were named after animals found near by to help keep track of family lineage; certain families were more affluent than other, and the chief was always of Eagle family descent. The mountain and valley tribes seldom had to travel outside of their tribe for food. On the rare occasion the tribe would need to travel for food, they would travel on foot with heavy loads of food and belongings strapped to women's backs. Traveling outside the Yokut territory was harsh because the tribe's settlements were usually 6,000 feet up the mountain.
The different topographies of California shaped the way indigenous California people lived their lives. Some tribes had access to fish and shells others had access to farm land an mesquite beans. The tribes, when not at war, worked together to thrive in their various climates and landscapes. Before the Spanish missionaries colonized California, the native people had their own unique civilizations.

Works Cited:
Boulé, Mary Null., and Daniel Liddell. Coast Miwok Tribe. Vashon, WA: Merryant Pub., 1992. Print.
Boulé, Mary Null., and Daniel Liddell. Foothill Yokut Tribe. Vashon, WA: Merryant Pub., 1992. Print.
Boulé, Mary Null., and Daniel Liddell. Gabrielino Tribe. Vashon, WA: Merryant Pub., 1992. Print.
Boulé, Mary Null., and Daniel Liddell. Mohave Tribe. Vashon, WA: Merryant Pub., 2000. Print.
Boulé, Mary Null., and Daniel Liddell. Tolowa Tribe. Vashon, WA: Merryant Pub., 1992. Print.
Ebner, Matthew. Geography of California. El Camino Community College. 2013. Lecture.
Herzig, Chuck. Geology of California. El Camino Community College. 2014. Lecture
Starr, Kevin. California: A History. New York: Modern Library, 2005. Print.

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Pre-European California Indians and the Geography of California

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streams, the water carried the shrinking rocks to the oceans shore. Over time the rock fragments accumulated and became sand. The beach cities to the South of California host a Mediterranean climate characterized by a hot, dry summers and cold, sometimes wet winters.

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California Indian Peoples and Management of Natural Resources

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California Indian Peoples and Management of Natural Resources

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Native American Trade Routes

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Explore the history of CA tribes through this map.

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Mapping

We strive to map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages across the world in a way that goes beyond colonial ways of thinking in order to better represent how Indigenous people want to see themselves.

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Native Land is a resource to learn more about Indigenous territories, languages, lands, and ways of life. We welcome you to our site.

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At Tinkergarten, we have been studying and learning about a practice called "land history acknowledgement" or "land acknowledgement" as a means to better learn about and genuinely respect the Native people who are the original stewards of the land on which we live, gather, explore and play.

This tradition of land acknowledgement dates back for centuries, and our approach is a curious, humble nod to this important practice. Each season, we goal ourselves to acknowledge and share about native people as we share in big moments like the first class of a new season or special events like our annual Lantern Walk.

September 24th is Public Lands Day, a day in which people all over the country celebrate our beautiful public lands and volunteer to do their part to help conserve these special spaces. In honor of Public Lands Day, we encourage our community to enjoy the beauty of their public outdoor spaces and to stay curious to past and present day stories of the land. So many of our wondrous public spaces have many layers of complex history, including the displacement of Indigenous people. Every one of us who is genuinely curious can learn to take steps to remember, honor and know the history of Native people in our area. Here are some steps to try.

This activity is featured in our September Activity Calendar. If you do not yet have your free copy of the calendar, visit tinkergarten.com/calendar.

A great place to start is by researching which native people or peoples are indigenous to the land where you live. You can try using an app like https://native-land.ca/ to enter your zip code and find out which Indigenous People live, or historically lived, in your area. You can let kids know that "We live on the ancestral home of" whichever people or peoples you discover.

If you don't know about those native to your area, do some online searches to find out more about the specific peoples. Learn about where the names of local rivers, valleys or other land features came from and what they mean.

As an adult, also make time to find out what happened to them and their relationship with the land, as so often forced relocation and harsh treatment displaced and diminished thriving communities and whole peoples.

For young children though, a great starting place is the present - using present tense and the thriving, vibrant cultures of today. Here's an example of how you can start this conversation with children. "Native people today, and all of (our/their) family and ancestors before (us/them), have always lived here on the land where our country is built. The Tonkawa tribeis from the land where we live."

You can also share with kids what you learn about the strengths, talents and unique ways of living of the people native to your area. Start by connecting to the festivals, celebrations and happenings within Native communities today by visiting sites like indiancountrytoday.com, a news site with current events from across various Native communities.

In many places, the names of important places or natural features like rivers, mountains or even whole regions come from native languages that were spoken in the region, and the meaning behind these names can help us learn more about the land, too. For example, we live in a valley cut by the Connecticut River-a name that we discovered comes from an Algonquian word meaning "land on the long tidal river."

Whether you are kicking of a holiday, celebration or other type of special gathering-or even as you are about to take a family hike, take time to acknowledge land history in a way that feels authentic to you.

Not sure where to start? You may say something like the following:

"Since today is a special moment, I'd love to take time to express our thanks for the land on which we live and play.

An important part of the land on which we each live is the history of that land and the history of who has cared for the land before us."

"I live in {{city, state}}. And, I recently learned that the land here in {{city, state}} has been lived on and cared for by the {{name of People(s)}} for generations. I would like to say thank you to the {{name of peoples}} for taking such wonderful care of this land."

"I am a member of the {{name of People(s)}}, and my people have lived on {{this land/land around X}} for {{generations, hundreds of years}}. I would like to say thank you to the {{name of peoples}} for taking such wonderful care of this land."

Watch our Tinkergarten Teammate, Erika McLemore introduce land acknowledgement in this recent IG reel.

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Land Acknowledgement - Tinkergarten outdoor activities where kids learn through play

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At Tinkergarten, we have been studying and learning about a practice called "land history acknowledgement" or "land acknowledgement" as a means to better learn about and genuinely respect the Native people who are the original stewards of the land on which we live, gather, explore and play.

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Enter your zip code and find out which Indigenous People live, or historically lived, in your area. 

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Enter your zip code and find out which Indigenous People live, or historically lived, in your area. 

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Mapping

We strive to map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages across the world in a way that goes beyond colonial ways of thinking in order to better represent how Indigenous people want to see themselves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Native Land is a resource to learn more about Indigenous territories, languages, lands, and ways of life. We welcome you to our site.

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Indigenous tribes and the environment pay the price for California’s new reservoirs

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Indigenous tribes and the environment pay the price for California’s new reservoirs

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Last year saw the hottest and driest year in California in over a century. Since 2000, many western U.S. states have endured what scientists refer to as a megadrought not seen since 1500. In May, California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the state's top water agency to accelerate the approvals process for the proposed Sites Reservoir, a $4 billion project built on the west side of the Sacramento Valley that would pull water from the Sacramento and Trinity rivers. Newsom touted the project as a drought solution and a way to manage water levels in dry and wet seasons, but critics contend that the reservoir plan runs roughshod over the needs of Indigenous tribes and could potentially worsen the already alarming effects of the drought.

A coalition led by Indigenous leaders from the Pit River, Hoopa Valley, Winnemem Wintu, Yurok, Karuk, Pomo, and Miwok Tribes, along with Indigenous scientists, and water protectors say that the Sites Reservoir is a continuation of the state's original racist water policies, which prioritized dispossessing land from its Native stewards to fuel the economic interests of farmers and ranchers. Rather than manage water levels to prepare for climate impacts, the reservoir's construction will likely exacerbate the very conditions of climate change that state officials argue it will protect against, like flooding, parched river beds, algal blooms, and other types of pollution.

"The Sites Reservoir is just another half-baked solution to these drought problems that don't have solutions through settler-colonial policies," said Brittani Orona, a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe in northwestern California, who has a PhD in Native American studies and human rights from University of California, Davis. "Building a reservoir isn't going to give us more water."

The Sites Reservoir is funded by a combination of state and federal funds and largely benefits private agricultural firms based in the Central Valley, straddling Colusa, Glenn, Tehama, and Yolo counties. It would also likely justify the construction of the massive and ecologically disruptive Delta Conveyance Tunnel, which would transport water through industrial agricultural land and into southern parts of the state, says Regina Chichizola, executive director of Save California Salmon, a coalition trying to protect water and salmon species. The threat to the sovereignty of watersheds and traditional foods is a continuation of the cultural genocide Native tribes struggle against at the hands of the California government.

"Everything about Sites seems like a bad idea to me, from the environmental standpoint and from the clean drinking water standpoint," Chichizola said.

The dam would cover nearly 14,000 acres of land, including sensitive grassland, woodland, and riparian habitat, posing a greater risk to dozens of endangered and threatened species, like salmon, smelt, and steelhead. And when the water sits in the reservoir, it's likely to release methane, a toxic greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Moreover, once the water is trapped in the reservoir, not all of it will reach its intended destination, as some estimates say that more than 46,000 acre-feet of water could evaporate annually-on top of the 2 million acre-feet lost from the state's existing reservoirs.

Jerry Brown, executive director of Sites Project Authority, said in an email that the reservoir would not divert water in the summer season and that, "Aside from excess conditions, the Sites water right will include conditions to protect all other water rights and environmental needs prior to initiating diversions into Sites Reservoir." They also do not anticipate methane releases will constitute a "significant environmental effect" and anticipate evaporation, saying "it is not feasible to cover the reservoir of this type."

Salmon are indicative of environmental health-and the salmon are not well

The Sites Reservoir is now entering the phase of environmental review and would be operational by 2030. Tribal scientists warn that the state's proposal for the reservoir, which officials cite as a water management plan, would risk extinction for critically endangered species like Chinook salmon. Salmon are a keystone species, meaning that they balance every ecosystem, from forests to streams to oceans, and they battle nearly every climate impact, from ocean acidification, which dissolves their food source of mollusks, to warmer weather and water that bake salmon eggs before they can hatch, to forest fires that push debris into rivers and contribute to erosion and siltation.

Since 1990, the population of spring Chinook salmon has fallen below the level needed to sustain a standard of living for Native peoples, which is alarming as their population numbers are an indication of an ecosystem's health. Experts suspect that the severity of the drought is partially to blame.

"Think how close we are to losing them completely," Keith Parker, a senior fisheries and molecular biologist for the Yurok Tribe of California, said. "We're in a pretty serious situation. What people don't understand is once these genetic strains are gone, they can never come back. You can't create them in a lab."

Brown said the Sites Project Authority has been engaged in "ongoing coordination with Tribes who are culturally associated with the region where the proposed project would be sited."

But ecologists are adamant that altering the natural flow of a complex water system that includes lakes, streams, rivers, and marshes further throws the environment off balance.

"If there was supposed to be a reservoir there, then nature would have put one there," Parker said.

As drought conditions worsen, so too will its impacts. The Sites Reservoir will divert water from other rivers-as much as 100,000 acre-feet of water during drought years, which Brown said would be feasible given that their models "show there can be very wet periods during dry years."

For salmon, water flow is directly linked with species health, and severe water shortages in rivers where the fish breed create ripe conditions for Ceratonova shasta, a pathogen that killed 97% of young salmon in spring 2021. And as saltwater intrusion into the Delta is likely to increase, it will contaminate the supply of drinking water to 27 million Californians -almost 70% of the state's residents.

"If the salmon don't have clean water, neither do the people," Chichizola said.

Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chairwoman of the Shingle Springs. Rancheria (far right)." Courtesy of Save CA Salmon

Despite the current environmental harms that would be exacerbated by the reservoir's construction, proponents of the project claim that the reservoir itself would mitigate impacts of climate change. They also boast that the reservoir will create "environmental water" benefiting "native fish and Pacific Flyway habitat for migratory birds and other native species." The reservoir website claims that the build is "environmentally beneficial," and "will capture excess water from major storms and save it for drier periods."

In the Klamath Basin, 92% of households suffer from food insecurity, making salmon populations a lifeline for tribes, including the Yurok Tribe, one of California's largest tribes. But salmon are much more than sustenance. While a dietary staple for Hoopa peoples, salmon's importance reaches beyond their ability to nourish. To Native peoples and allies, it's a reciprocal relationship that remains under threat of colonialist attempts to manipulate the environment, regardless of the potential damage.

"Salmon are very much a part of who we are," Orona said. "They feed us and we protect them."

Water rights, a colonial history

Much of the fight over water comes down to the state's first water rights system, dubbed " first in time, first in right," in which settlers could claim water by pinning a declaration to a nearby tree. Starting in 1848 when the gold rush and subsequent land grabs began, and codified by California law after the state was established in 1850, claims to water were only available to white settlers, land surveyors, and those hoping to make their fortunes off of gold, Beth Rose Middleton Manning, a professor of Native American studies at UC Davis, told the podcast, West Coast Water Justice.

The mid-20th century was a boon for building water projects, often at the expense of Indigenous tribes. The California Bureau of Reclamation built 355 storage reservoirs, 15,000 miles of canals, 1,333 miles of pipelines, and 275 miles of tunnels, according to University of Colorado Law School's Charles F. Wilkinson. At least 100,000 miles of canals divert rivers to irrigation and artificially constructed ponds, lakes, and reservoirs that hold nearly 300 million acre feet of water. These networks are now known as the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project, which deliver water to agricultural land and municipalities. Additionally, the state and its largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), have a long history of flooding Native land to create dams and reservoirs to serve the agriculture industry that the state is now known for, most infamously flooding the Mountain Maidu ancestral homeland, some of which was returned in summer 2021. Now, the dams create hydroelectric power, and PG&E retains the water rights and owns the majority of the ancestral land.

Orona says that the state's water projects are colonial projects, noting how the genocide against Native peoples occurred simultaneously with the inception of the state and manipulation of its waterways.

"That's a violence against Native people because we so strongly see ourselves in the places that we're from," Orona said. "[California's] water policy is a form of violence against us."

The State Water Board has even acknowledged this reality, saying in a 2021 resolution that "white supremacy led to the genocide and forced relocation of Native American people to facilitate white resettlement and the enslavement of Native American and Black people for white economic gain." The resolution goes on to say that Native peoples "still grapple with the lasting effects of historical racial inequities stemming from those governmental decisions and policies." The State Water Board said in an email that it is currently developing an "action plan" for these goals.

While the resolution commits to centering Indigenous peoples, partnering with tribes in decision making and prioritizing "access to surface waters that support subsistence fishing," the potential construction of Sites Reservoir flies in the face of these goals. Without access to traditional homelands, Native tribes count on waterways and their ecosystems not just for sustenance, but for cultural, ceremonial, and spiritual practice. Orona said that the Trinity River, the largest tributary of the Klamath River, whose water is diverted into the Whiskeytown Dam and regulated by the Trinity River Dam, serves as the site for ceremonial dance. Some dances are even practiced on the water itself.

Today, the vast majority of California's dams are at least 50 years old and require updates to address crumbling infrastructure that's not built to handle floods and earthquakes. The water standards are similarly outdated-they were last updated in 1955, decades before the bout of severe droughts and first major push by climate scientists warning of global climate change. Essentially, the already tenuous tribal access to existing waterways is now further threatened by the same structures and systems that the state used to justify its seizure and use of Indigenous lands.

According to Morning Star Gali, a member of the Pit River Tribe and a tribal water organizer for Save California Salmon, it's insulting how the state continues to ignore the requests of local Indigenous peoples and the concerns of Indigenous youth preparing for an adulthood defined by capitalism and climate change. If policymakers were to listen to Indigenous youth and hold them in the same regard as the climate scientists, Indigenous stewards of their traditional homelands could create plans for water restoration, Gali says. Traditional Ecological Knowledge, otherwise known as TEK, refers to tribally specific cultural practices for land stewardship that support an ecosystem's health and allow it to recover from systemic degradation.

"I don't see how diverting water and desecrating sacred sites is good for climate change," Gali said. "That is not a mitigation strategy."

The State Water Board said in an email to Prism that it was "obligated to consult with California Native American Tribes regarding potential impacts to tribal resources during development of their California Environmental Quality Act analysis for the project." Records show that 14 Tribes were contacted no more than twice, with two tribes requesting a consultation or further information.

California prioritizes private industry over public good

Despite the ongoing drought and much needed updates to existing water infrastructure, state officials are pushing through a plan that flies in the face of state law. Kate Poole, a senior director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has been working in solidarity with tribes organizing against the Sites Reservoir, said that in theory, state law mandates that two legal doctrines-the principle of reasonable use and the public trust doctrine -undergird water management. In theory, water management should prioritize what would best serve the interests of the public. In practice, the public good isn't given priority over the needs of agricultural interests because of the industry's political sway, she said.

"The people who own senior water rights are very powerful, and it's just difficult to reduce any of their water usage," Poole said.

Chief Caleen Sisk of the Winnemem Wintu speaks with reporters." Courtesy of Save CA Salmon

This means that instead of addressing the root cause of drought and water mismanagement, the governor has proposed that municipalities urge individual residents to curb water consumption. This tactic won't address the needs of at least 1 million Californians who already lack access to clean water; neither will the Sites Reservoir. What the state proposes is a superficial solution-and not really a solution at all, Poole says. Eighty percent of water consumed in California is agricultural, with the remaining 20% going to urban areas, like the Bay Area and Los Angeles County.

"Even if all urban uses stopped tomorrow, we're still not even anywhere," Poole said.

Case in point: Stuart and Lynda Rae Resnick, the "richest farmers" in the country who donated $250,000 to help Newsom defeat his recall election in 2021, have an almond and pistachio crop worth $3 billion and use 80 billion gallons of water per year on their nut trees-enough water to last San Francisco's residents almost six years.

Poole says that mitigating drought impacts requires systemic change, starting with the creation of a drought plan, which doesn't currently exist. A robust, science-based plan could help lay the foundation for water system recovery rather than continue to overdraft waterways, which can lead to low water flow and higher water temperatures. Rivers that don't recover from the previous drought get hammered again, and in drought years, the state water board can approve petitions by state and federal agencies to pull amounts of water out of watersheds beyond what's normally recommended, which increases salinity and prolongs drought conditions.

Each drought season, the governor declares a drought "emergency," which affords some water regulatory powers, but largely reacts to drought impacts without getting at drought causes. After the state's severe droughts in the late 2000s into the 2010s, Poole says that the NRDC and other advocates pushed the California Department of Water Resources, the governor's office, and the State Water Board to create a plan, but their calls "were just ignored." Even back in 2014, when reflecting on the state's most recent drought, White House science advisor John Holdren said, "The problem in California is not that we don't have enough reservoirs. The problem is that there's not enough water in them ... It wouldn't help to build any more."

The environmental consequences of ignoring the warnings of local tribes can already be seen in how fire-prone anti-Native policies have made the land. Wildfires have become more frequent and destructive with each passing year, largely because state law forbade Native peoples from conducting traditional and cultural burns, which help replenish the soil and ensure that there's less fuel for unintended fires. In March 2022, Newsom formally asked for Native tribes' help in conducting cultural burns for state-wide fire management.

California's approach to water conservation now faces similar stakes, with Native tribes and other marginalized communities yet again at risk of paying the price for settler policies that rely on forcing the land to serve the needs of industry.

"We're not allowed to practice our Indigenous science and values of water restoration and salmon restoration," Gali said. "Now we're in these very dire situations that we see the extermination of the salmon populations, the rampant wildfires, and drought because the priority is not a sustainable ecosystem, the priority is Big Ag in California."

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Indigenous tribes and the environment pay the price for new reservoirs

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Last year saw the hottest and driest year in California in over a century. Since 2000, many western U.S. states have endured what scientists refer to as a megadrought not seen since 1500. In May, California's Democratic Gov.

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Native People in California Are Fighting Water Policies That Imperil Salmon

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Native People in California Are Fighting Water Policies That Imperil Salmon

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In early spring 2021, it became obvious that California's rivers and the people who depend on their salmon were facing disaster. Forecasts for the Klamath River predicted some of the lowest salmon returns on record and low allocations for tribal fishers. The once snow-peaked mountains stood bare and parched. Reservoirs were still low from previous year's water deliveries that favored industrial agriculture over salmon and tribal people. There was not going to be enough water for both fish and agriculture.

Spring and winter run Chinook and Coho salmon were nearing extinction in many watersheds, yet the state was doing little to nothing to preserve water for California's salmon runs, which were quickly becoming casualties of the state and federal governments' destructive water infrastructure.

California was poised to deliver water to agriculture rather than use its own laws to protect reservoir storage and river flows. Salmon and drinking water supplies were threatened as a result of poor water policy and an outdated water rights system.

Water justice advocates knew what to expect from previous droughts. The issue of water inequality in California is not new. California's water rights system is a holdover from the California gold rush, a time when neither women nor people of color could own land or vote. During this time, Native people were not citizens. In fact, California's first governor informed the legislature that "a war of extermination will continue to be waged between races, until the Indian race becomes extinct." Now even though Tribal water rights are encoded in the law, California largely ignores these rights.

Similarly, California's federal Central Valley Water project, which includes Shasta and Trinity Reservoirs at the headwaters to the state's largest rivers, were built exclusively to benefit large industrial agricultural interests in the arid southern Central Valley to aid development. The state part of the Central Valley project largely focused on damming Sierra tributaries to build cities. Both parts of the Central Valley Water Project targeted Tribal trust lands and relied on Tribal termination policies. This water rights system led to a situation where five times as much water is allocated than exists. Now powerful farming interests like rice farmers can use four times as much water as cities such as Los Angeles, even as climate change is making droughts commonplace.

In 2021 these conditions created the perfect storm capable of obliterating already struggling salmon populations. For Native people, the loss of salmon is apocalyptic. Water and salmon are the cornerstone for ceremony, spirituality, sustenance and physical existence. Scientists have even linked compromised mental health, as well as increased diabetes, heart disease and obesity to dwindling salmon returns.

The issue of water inequality in California is not new. California's water rights system is a holdover from the California gold rush.

"What many don't understand is that California is a salmon state, and what happens to the salmon happens to us," said Chief Caleen Sisk, spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. "What happens to the people if salmon runs are nearing extinction, and if the rivers are dangerously low and full of algae? Not only did Newsom and the state fail to take any actions to protect reservoir's storage or river flows in Northern California this year, they actually tried to say that actions like building Sites Reservoir and voluntary agreements for water withdrawals are drought measures. These proposals benefit industrial agriculture which uses 80 percent of the state's water, not the North State or Tribal communities. Salmon benefit us."

The dire state of the salmon, in addition to quickly dwindling reservoir storage, led many tribes and environmental groups to organize actions, lawsuits and protests to try to avert disaster. They knew that in the past, the state chose to let whole broods of salmon die rather than challenge the powerful agriculture industry and deal with its outdated water rights system.

Bad water decisions during the 2014-2015 drought killed over 90 percent of the Sacramento River's winter run salmon babies and eggs, and killed almost all of Klamath River's juvenile fall chinook salmon for three consecutive years.

"What happens to the salmon happens to us."

The issue came to a head at the height of California's drought last spring, when the federal Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) proposed to keep the Trump administration's plan in place for managing the Central Valley Water Project, and turned in a temperature management plan (TMP) for the Shasta Reservoir, which violated the Endangered Species Act, to the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for the Shasta Reservoir. This plan would let almost 90 percent of the endangered winter run Chinook salmon die. Tribes and environmental groups confronted the SWRCB in public hearings and even turned in an alternate plan for managing diversions from the Shasta and Trinity reservoirs. Ultimately, the state approved the plan put forward by the BOR. The BOR then violated the plan every day this summer but one and killed even more winter-run Chinook salmon than expected, along with most the spring and fall-run salmon in the river. The state has yet to take any action for these violations and is currently considering another plan to violate state water quality laws.

My organization, Save California Salmon, a grassroots group dedicated to restoring rivers through restoring flows and salmon habitat, removing dams and improving water quality throughout Northern California, teamed up with tribal representatives to hold a virtual "State of the Salmon" event in May to inform the public about the looming disaster and the need to take action.

At the event, Amy Cordalis, attorney for the Yurok Tribe, explained, "Our salmon are in the poorest condition they've ever been in and that's hard as a Tribal person to even say, to even acknowledge because that hurts us to our core. Many people know that the Klamath River was once the third-largest salmon producing river in the whole west ... now it's very hard to acknowledge that there are so few fish left."

As spring progressed, the situation worsened. Almost all of the juvenile Klamath salmon died in the Klamath River from a disease called Ceratonova shasta, or C. shasta. The C. shasta was spread by a host parasite that thrives in the low water conditions in dammed watersheds.

Scientists have said that Klamath dam removal would greatly reduce C. shasta numbers because the host parasite cannot thrive in flowing rivers. In past years, water has been released to stop the spread of C. shasta. In 2021, however, the Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water resource management, denied the Yurok Tribe's request for water releases, leaving many tribal biologists with the morbid job of counting dead salmon.

"I have worked for Yurok fisheries for 23 years and extinction was never part of the conversation, but over the last five to seven years, there's been an overall decline within the lower basin," Yurok Tribal biologist Jamie Holt said. "We have seen increased water temperatures, longer durations of high temperatures and lack of river flow leading to disease distribution. These factors led to the large-scale fish kill we witnessed in the spring. If we have another die off of this level, we will be discussing extinction."

Holt explained that the Yurok Tribe has seen at least a two-thirds reduction in juvenile fish in only a few years due to the juvenile fish kill. She said the C. Shasta hot zone has gone from a short section of the river to over a hundred miles long, right through the middle of the Yurok reservation. The situation is taking a toll on tribal biologists.

"My feelings are equal parts anger and sadness. As a scientist, this is so frustrating as so many people have called out the mismanagement of the river and said what needs to happen for so long," Holt said. "As a Yurok person I was put here to take care of these fish. I feel like we are really sinking here."

Meanwhile, downriver alfalfa farmers in two major salmon tributaries of the Klamath River, the Scott and Shasta rivers, started irrigating their fields in early spring without the restrictions that the BOR's Klamath Irrigation Project irrigators faced. River flows dropped quickly. The Shasta River, the only spring-fed tributary of the Klamath below the Klamath dams, is one of the main producers of fall-run Chinook salmon, the main salmon run that still feeds the Klamath Basin tribes. The Scott River is the main spawning ground in the Upper Klamath for Coho Salmon, an endangered species. Most years, both rivers run dry by fall due to uncontrolled water diversions. In 2021 they started going dry in early summer.

The dire situation on the Scott and Shasta rivers nudged tribal members and local residents to start calling into every California SWRCB hearing, and for the Karuk Tribe to file a legal petition requesting that the water board take immediate action to curtail irrigation deliveries in the Scott Valley.

"The worst water conditions in history led federal agencies to shut off 1,300 farms in the Upper Basin, but in the Scott Valley water users continue business as usual," Karuk Chairman Russell 'Buster' Attebery said in a statement about why the tribe asked California to curtail water diversions from the Scott River. "They are dewatering the last stronghold of Coho salmon in the Klamath Basin driving them to extinction."

In the Trinity River - the Klamath's largest tributary and the only Klamath River tributary that is diverted into California's Central Valley Water Project - the Hoopa Valley Tribe warned the Bureau of Reclamation that the river was suffering unusually high temperatures and was experiencing a toxic algae bloom. The Trinity is normally relied upon as a cool water source offering relief to salmon below its confluence with the Klamath River. In 2021 adult spring-run Chinook salmon that would typically seek refuge in cool tributary waters had few places to go where water temperatures are not lethal. They were crowding at the mouths of creeks, making them vulnerable to disease and predation.

The Klamath-Trinity spring Chinook salmon, which had recently become listed as endangered under state law due to a petition by the Karuk Tribe, were beginning to be affected by Columnaris (gill rot), the same disease that killed more than 64,000 adult salmon in 2002.

Tribes were able to get a three-day water release to help these springers move before they died. However, as the flows were being released, a comment period on a plan to divert another 36,000 acre-feet of water from the Trinity reservoirs to the Sacramento River closed. This plan threatened future water releases for the Trinity and Klamath salmon and drinking water sources.

"Sending water out of the Trinity River system is bad enough, but to send additional water out of basin during an extreme drought leaves our salmon even more vulnerable," said Allie Hostler, Hoopa Tribal member and advisory board member of Save California Salmon. "To make it through this dry season, we needed to fight to retain at least 600,000 acre-feet behind Trinity Dam. We were lucky we did not see another catastrophic fish kill. Continuing to deplete water storage while big ag gets water deliveries for non-essential crops is not acceptable."

All summer the tribes met with the Bureau of Reclamation weekly to discuss water conditions and to check temperature and water quality.

"The Hoopa Valley Tribe has fought since time immemorial to retain cold, clean water in the Trinity River," Chairman Joe Davis said. "Although we've won several landmark cases, the pressure continues to rise as we see our salmons' health dwindling and more demand for our cold, clean water. We are prepared to continue our fight and keep Trinity River water in the Trinity River system."

By the time the water year was over in October the Trinity River's reservoirs carry over storage was drained to last than 29 percent.

As the fight for California's water raged on, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe began preparations for its 300-mile Run4Salmon from the McCloud River above the Shasta Reservoir to the San Francisco Bay. This year, to draw attention to the crisis, the run followed the journey of the outmigration of young salmon as they struggled for survival, and included a Trinity River connection run.

"Run4Salmon is a way to get people onto the water, to see how the water is treated, where it is exported, and to help people think outside the box about water," said Chief Sisk of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. "Many people think the water is exported for drinking water, but it is not; it is mainly diverted to industrial agriculture, which continues to expand. These are not farmers feeding Americans, it is big ag, exporting crops like almonds. Our salmon, a healthy food source, are facing extinction; almonds and pistachios are not."

Trinity and Klamath Tribes ran and prayed with the Winnemem Wintu runners along the route that brings Trinity water into the Sacramento River and then down to industrial farms in the Central Valley.

As the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and other Sacramento River, Bay Delta and Bay Area Tribes ran, rode on horseback, boated, biked and prayed for the salmon, a massive adult fish kill of Endangered Species Act-listed spring-run Chinook salmon unfolded on Butte Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River.

Butte Creek was the one watershed in California where spring salmon were actually recovering. Over 20,000 adult spring salmon were returning to Butte Creek to spawn when they began to die from the outbreak of two fish diseases, ich and columnaris. By the time the summer was over, at least 16,000 adult spring Chinook died in Butte Creek. Local advocates blamed Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) dams and diversions for the fish kill.

"We have to allow fish to swim into the upper watershed and make sure that the water is cold by not diverting it out of the stream. What a tragedy it is to lose so many fish when there's available habitat and available water and a failing PG&E hydroelectric system is the only thing in the way," Allen Harthorn, executive director of Friends of Butte Creek, told Sacramento News and Review.

In the Klamath watershed, the annual Salmon River Spring Chinook Cooperative Dive - an event at which trained divers count all the spring Chinook and summer steelhead in the Salmon River - had even bleaker news. Less than two months after their listing under the California Endangered Species Act, only 100 wild adult spring salmon, once the predominant run in the watershed, had returned

"The cultural significance of the Spring Salmon is beyond Euro-American conception. It's more than just a policy trying to get passed through," said Hoopa Valley Tribal member and Karuk Spring Salmon Ceremonial Priest Ryan Reed. "The Spring Salmon are our relatives who are facing extinction, and a part of our lifestyle, cultural longevity and the survival of my people."

Reed was one of many tribal members that testified at a state Endangered Species Act hearing this spring that the last thing they wanted was for such an important food source to be listed as threatened; however, extinction was a worst option.

"The Spring Salmon are our relatives who are facing extinction, and a part of our lifestyle, cultural longevity and the survival of my people."

Right after the Run4Salmon concluded with an intertribal ceremony just north of San Francisco, the California SWRCB made the decision to finally cut off water diversions to additional Bay Delta farmers and to junior water right holders in the Scott and Shasta rivers. By that time the Scott River was only a series of pools full of trapped salmon.

We testified in favor of the curtailments at a State Water Board hearing. We explained: "These curtailments are vital and coming a little too late. Fishermen and tribes are facing incredibly huge losses over and over again."

Due to the water inequalities that climate change is highlighting, Save California Salmon is one of several organizations asking for the state to reassess water rights in California. As we explained in a letter to the Los Angeles Times editor in June, "Who gets clean water in California is a social justice issue.... The climate crisis highlights the fact that California has to reassess its antiquated water-rights system. Cities, native people and rivers should not continue to be without water while farmers flood their land."
For more information, please visit www.californiasalmon.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Native People in California Are Fighting Water Policies That Imperil Salmon

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In early spring 2021, it became obvious that California's rivers and the people who depend on their salmon were facing disaster. Forecasts for the Klamath River predicted some of the lowest salmon returns on record and low allocations for tribal fishers. The once snow-peaked mountains stood bare and parched.

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To Protect Native Culture, Bring Back the Salmon

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To Protect Native Culture, Bring Back the Salmon

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To Protect Native Culture, Bring Back the Salmon

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"We're salmon people," says Karuk Tribe member Leaf Hillman. "Our very identity is based on salmon."

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Reservations were created after Europeans invaded aboriginal people's lands. The invaders wanted the land for themselves. The native people fought hard to keep their traditional lands. However, they were eventually pushed off the land and onto reservations. The reservation was usually much smaller than and very far away from a group's traditional land. The land on a reservation was typically bad. It could be too dry or too wet so that it was difficult to grow crops there. Or it could be far away from any other people.

Reservations were created to ensure that an aboriginal group would have land forever. But other people usually tried to take over a group's reservation land. After some time, the land was often opened up to non-aboriginal ownership. This made the reservations much smaller.

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Reservations were created after Europeans invaded aboriginal people's lands. The invaders wanted the land for themselves. The native people fought hard to keep their traditional lands. However, they were eventually pushed off the land and onto reservations. The reservation was usually much smaller than and very far away from a group's traditional land.

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Native American Reservations - US History

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Native American Reservations - US History

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A Native American reservation is a place set aside for Native Americans to live on by the United States.

In Canada, land set aside for Indigenous Americans are called reserves. They have a long history but reservations are still around in the Americas today.

Also Read: Canada facts for kids

Are reservations part of the United States?

While reservations are surrounded by the American land controlled by national governments, they do have their own laws with their own governments.

Reservations do not follow state law. However, they do have to observe federal law. Federal laws are laws that apply across the United States.

They are considered nations of their own even though they are part of the United States.

Are reserves part of Canada?

Communities of Indigenous Americans in Canada were called "bands" by the Indian Act (first passed in 1876) by the federal government.

This Act marked out land called reserves set aside for band members. Band members often prefer to be called First Nations.

Band members have the right to live on this land and they have their own government there. However, reserves are still under the control of the national government.

The Indian Act has had many changes since it was created but it still states that no Indigenous American has the right to own the land in a reserve.

The Minister of Indian Affairs still controls who owns property on the reserves.

When did reservations comes about in the USA?

Reservations began with the Indian Appropriations Act in 1851. This Act authorised the establishment of Native American reservations in Oklahoma.

How many reservations are there in the USA and Canada?

There are 310 reservations in the USA, and Canada has between 2000-3000 reserves.

In the USA, around 2.5 million Native Americans live on reservations, but most Native Americans live in cities or other areas.

In Canada, around half of Indigenous Americans live on reserves.

What is life like on reserves?

For many Indigenous Americans, life has been tough on reservations in the USA and the reserves of Canada.

Even though Native American civil rights movements happened in the 1960s and 1970s, there is still lots of work to be done to make life fair for all citizens, especially Indigenous Americans.

There is a lot of poverty on reserve life. To show the world what life is like, a protest movement called "Idle No More" was started in 2013.

US Capitol building (home of Congress)

It was a peaceful protest to the government for sovereignty (the ability to rule one's own nation) and also for the government to protect the environment.

It's very important that the governments of the world listen to the voices of young people. For this reason, some Indigenous Americans have invited other Canadians to come and spend time on the reserves to see what life is like there.

Who owns reservations in the United States?

When was the Indian Appropriations Act?

How many reserves are there in Canada?

What was the protest movement called in 2013?

Why did this protest movement start?
Native Americans

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Native American Reservations - US History

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Native American Reservations A Native American reservation is a place set aside for Native Americans to live on by the United States. In Canada, land set aside for Indigenous Americans are called reserves. They have a long history but reservations are still around in the Americas today.

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Indian Reservations for Kids (Ducksters)

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Indian Reservations for Kids (Ducksters)

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Kids learn about Indian Reservations in the United States including laws, residents, treaties, relocation, Native American culture, and interesting facts.

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Saving the Bay - Cultivating an Abundant San Francisco Bay

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Saving the Bay - Cultivating an Abundant San Francisco Bay

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The early human inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Ohlone and the Coast Miwok, cultivated an abundant environment. View this segment to learn

about shellmounds and other ways in which California Indians affected the landscape.

how the native people actually cultivated the land.

ways in which tribal members are currently working to restore their lost culture

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Saving the Bay - Cultivating an Abundant San Francisco Bay

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The Ohlone: San Francisco's Original People (video)

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The Ohlone: San Francisco's Original People (video)

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The Ohlone: San Francisco's Original People

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Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Ohlone, Part 1

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Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Ohlone, Part 1

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The Ohlone people occupied the San Francisco and Monterey Bay regions for thousands of years. Part 1 of a 2 part series.

In the first part of this series, we will discuss the Ohlone name, their traditional territory, Ohlone languages, housing, food and clothes.

The Ohlone Name

The greater San Francisco Bay region is home to some of the world's biggest companies: Apple, Google, Facebook. It is also home to over 7 million people. Yet one thing that is easily forgotten, is that for several thousand years, it has been traditional territory of a people known as the Ohlone.

Today term "Ohlone" actually refers to a number of native groups of the north-central coast of California who spoke similar languages, and who eventually became part of the Spanish missions.

The Spanish referred to these people as costeños (coastal people), and anthropologists later anglicized that to "Costanoan." Today the term "Ohlone," is more common, and comes from a village on the San Mateo County coast, whose name was ʔolxon, sometimes spelled Alchone, Olchone, Oljon or Ol-hon.

What Language did the Ohlone Speak?

The Ohlone spoke many different languages. Scholars today believe that there were around 40 different languages spoken in Ohlone territory when the Spanish arrived. Some of these languages are Karkin, Chochenyo, Tamyen and Rumsen, and they correspond to tribal groups present during the 1770s.

Anthropologists today apply the names Ohlone or Costanoan to people who spoke these related languages. Early explorers noted that there were a great number of different languages among the natives they encountered, though the languages were very similar, like Spanish is to French. Mission records show that at each mission multiple languages were spoken by the native people there.

First Contact with the Spanish

The first contact between Ohlone groups and the Spanish probably took place in 1602, when Sebastián de Vizcaíno's expedition arrived in the Monterey area, searching for a safe harbor for Spanish ships. After Vizcaíno, however, the Spanish paid little attention to Alta California, until 1769, when Gaspar de Portola's expedition arrived in the Monterey area and established the presidio there. That is when continuous contact between the Olhlone and the Spanish really began.

Ohlone Territory

The Ohlone occupied the area from the northeastern extensions of the San Francisco Bay to just south of Monterey Bay, i n what are today the counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, San Benito and northern Monterey.

The Ohlone were a numerous people in the region. Even in the early days of Spanish exploration, travelers such as Pedro Fages and Fr. Pedro Font mentioned seeing a large number of native settlements.In 1775, Juan Bautista de Anza mentioned seeing ten villagesin the area between what is today Palo Alto and San José, some with as many as twenty homes each.

The climate of the north-central California coast is generally mild. It is characterized by cool, rainy winters, and hot summers, though areas closer to the coast are naturally cooler and more moist, while inland valleys tend to be hotter and drier.

Ohlone territory is home to a large variety of geographical features, from mountains such as Mt. Diablo and Mt. Umunum, to valleys like the Livermore and Santa Clara Valley.

Of course one of the most important aspects of this area is a long stretch of the Pacific Coastline.The two main bodies of water are the San Francisco Bay and the Monterey Bay. TheOhlone also lived along a number of river systems, such as the San Lorenzo and the Carmel rivers, as well seasonal creeks and streams.

Ohlone Houses

In pre-mission times, the Ohlone lived in circular dwellings made of branches from willow trees or other plant materials, such as tule. The branches would be lashed or woven onto a framework of thin poles stuck into the ground supported by a circle of stones. In more forested or mountainous areas, they would also make houses out of redwood or other types of bark. Theses houses would usually have an opening in the top to let smoke from the fire escape. During hot periods of the year, families would often construct more open brush huts or ramadas near the ocean or river shores. During colder times of the year, they would move inland.

Ohlone homes were meant to be temporary - when it was time to move to another location, or when the houses became to old and dirty, they would be dismantled and burned.

The Ohlone also built structures for ceremonies, such as the temescal or sweat lodge, or larger buildings for dances or community gatherings.

When the Ohlone came into contact with the Spanish, over time, most joined the mission system. In many of the missions, Ohlone would move their homes close to the mission church. Some families that became more prominent at the mission would eventually build and move into permanent adobe homes.

What did the Ohlone Eat?

Prior to contact with the Spanish, the Ohlone followed a hunter-gather lifestyle, as did most California Indians.They harvested a large variety of plants and animals that grew in northern California.

Plants

Acorns were probably the most important food eaten by the Ohlone. They often used poles to knock the acorns loose from the oak trees. Once they had gathered enough acorns, they could grind them into a paste. Then they could either make a mush or a type of bread. Juan Crespí and Pedro Font, two Franciscan priests who accompanied Spanish explorers and wrote diaries of their expeditions, spoke of the Ohlone making "tamales" out of acorns.

One of the most important things about preparing acorns was to leech all of the bitterness out of them by soaking the paste in water. Otherwise the acorns could be very unpleasant to eat. Some of the soldiers of Gaspar de Portolá's expedition mentioned getting indigestion and even fever after eating acorns.

In addition to acorns, the Ohlone gathered and roasted a number of different plant seeds, and ate the nuts of the buckeye tree. They also collected berries, roots (like soaproot, and those of the wild onion and cattail), as well as wild carrots. One of the ways the Ohlone kept the land fertile was by doing periodic burns. These burns would allow them to clear away underbrush and permit seeds to germinate.

Hunting

Another advantage of periodic burns was that it could be an effective way to remove hiding places for game. The Ohlone were hunters, and would hunt large animals, such as the grizzly bears that used to roam the hills of Alta California. The would also hunt elk, deer and antelope. When hunting deer, one of their most effective techniques was to wear a deer's head as a disguise.They also hunted smaller mammals such as rabbits, squirrel and mice.

Waterfowl such as geese and ducks were an important part of the Ohlone diet, and they were masters at making nets to capture the birds. They also trapped or ensnared smaller birds, like quail and mourning doves. When hunting birds, the Ohlone also used decoys: a dead goose stuffed with straw could be very effective for attracting other geese.

In the rivers and streams, the Ohlone caught steelhead, salmon, sturgeon and other varieties of fish. On the coast, they hunted sea lions, or obtained meat from whale carcasses that washed up on the shore. According to early European visitors, the Ohlone were very fond of shellfish, particularly mussels.

During the mission period, the Ohlonebecame skilled farmers and ranchers, and learned to eat other foods, such as beef, fruits and vegetables and grains, in addition to their traditional foods.

What did the Ohlone Wear?

Thanks to the mild weather, Ohlone clothing prior to contact with the Spanish was fairly simple. Ohlone women often wore skirts that could be made of the skins of animals, such as deer or rabbit, or plant fibers woven together. They would also wear abalone or other types of shells as jewelry.

In warmer weather, men generally went about completely naked. During colder times of the year, they would at times wear a loincloth made of animals skins. Like almost all California native people, they would also wear rabbit skin blankets. Men would dress up by painting their bodies and wearing feathers or other objects for ceremonial dances or other special occasions.

Both men and women would sometimes wear tattoos or other types of body paint. It was customary to wear long hair, but sometimes it would be cut shorter, to about 4 or 5 inches.

When both men and women entered the missions, they were given a shirt with long sleeves called a cotón, and a blanket. Both were made of wool. Women were also given a woolen petticoat and men received a breechclout to cover their groin area. Each year everyone would receive a new set of garments.

Those who took up certain occupations, such as vaqueros or cowboys, would wear clothes appropriate to their jobs. Vaqueros, for example, would wear a broad-brimmed hat, trousers and boots suitable for horsemanship.

As the years passed, and the Ohlone became more accustomed to dealings with soldiers and settlers, many would adopt clothes similar to what was worn throughout Latin America.
Read Part 2 here. To learn more, I recommend you pick up one or more of the following books: The Costanoan Indians (Local History Studies Vol. 18) The Ohlone: Past and Present. Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Region Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 8: California California Indians and Their Environment: An Introduction Do you have a question? Write it in the comments section below.

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Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Ohlone, Part 1

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The Ohlone people occupied the San Francisco and Monterey Bay regions for thousands of years. Part 1 of a 2-part series about the life of the Ohlone people.

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Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Ohlone, Part 2

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Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Ohlone, Part 2

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The second of a two part series. Read part 1 here.

In this second part, we discuss Ohlone culture, including political organization, religion, myths, music and art, tools and crafts, the Ohlone today and Ohlone sites you can visit.

How Was Ohlone Culture Organized?

Although today the Ohlone are referred to with one name, they were not one single tribe. Instead, there were many different groups of one or more villages. The Spanish referred to them as "nations," and anthropologists have used the term "tribelet" to describe this organization.

In the period before contact with the Spanish, there were probably at least 40 tribelets or nations between San Francisco and Big Sur. Usually each tribelet was made up of dozens of family groups organized around a main village. The boundaries of tribelets depended on geographic features, like rivers, forests or hills, and could be very strict. At times war could break out over the boundaries between different Ohlone groups.

Each group was led by a chief, who could be either a man or a woman. There was usually a council of elders to advise the chief. The office was normally passed down from father to son, but when the chief had no son, his sister or daughter inherited the office.

During the Spanish and Mexican periods, the Ohlone who lived at missions had a different organization. According to Spanish law, there were to be and at each mission. These would be people who represented the interests of the native community at the mission to the padre, and who would be in charge of enforcing the rules of mission life.

Ohlone Religion

Another difference between the time before and after contact with the Spanish was in the area of religion. In traditional Ohlone religion, the different elements of nature were considered to have their own special powers. For example, people would make prayers and offerings to the sun and to spirits they believed inhabited different places in their territory. Sometimes they would offer seeds, shell beads or tobacco, and also blow smoke toward the sky.

When Ohlone people died, they believed the dead went to a land across the sea. They were buried or cremated at death, and all their belongings were destroyed or buried with them. People would mourn for the deceased by cutting their hair, and the dead were not to be spoken about again.

One of the most important people in the Ohlone religious system was the shaman. The Ohlone believed he had the power to communicate with the spirit world, to cure diseases or control the weather. He was in charge of performing special dances or ceremonies to ask for abundant growth of acorns, fish or animals to hunt.

After encountering Franciscan missionaries and joining the missions, the Ohlone began to adopt Christianity. This involved a gradual process of education by the missionaries. Many Ohlone embraced the new religion, while others continued to maintain some or all of their old beliefs. Nevertheless, after a number of generations had been born at the missions, Catholicism became the dominant religion among the Ohlone.

In traditional Ohlone culture, there were many stories for explaining how the world came to be, and how human beings fit into it. Animals played a very important role in these stories. For example, to the Ohlone, the coyote was the chief of the animals and a trickster who would play jokes on other animals. But he was also known for being a teacher to human being and giving them the skills necessary to live in the wild.

The following is a story about Coyote and teaching human beings about how to survive:

Now Coyote gave the people the carrying net. He gave them bow and arrows to kill rabbits. He said: 'You will have acorn mush for your food. You will gather acorns and you will have acorn bread to eat. Go down to the ocean and gather seaweed that you may eat it and your acorn mush and the acorn bread. Gather it when the tide is high, and kill rabbits, and at low tide pick abalone and mussels to eat. When you can find nothing else, gather buckeyes for food. If the acorns are bitter, wash them out; and gather 'wild oat' seeds for pinole, carrying them on your back in a basket. Look at these things of which I have told you. I have shown you what is good. Now I will leave you. You have learned. I have shown you how to gather food, and even though it rains a long time people will not die of hunger. Now I am getting old. I cannot walk. Alas for me! Now I go."

The Ohlone created art in different ways. One was in the form of petroglyphs (rock carvings) and pictographs (drawings on rocks). Some of them display astronomical symbols or figures related to Ohlone mythology. There are a number of Ohlone petroglyphs preserved throughout northern California.

In Ohlone tradition, music was very important. Music accompanied most important ceremonies, especially dances. The Ohlone had whistles and flutes that were made of either bird bones or wood and bows that made music by attaching a string to them and plucking it.

They also had rattles and other percussion instruments. Some rattles were made from moth cocoons attached to a stick. Another rattle was made from splitting a bay laurel branch and striking it against the palm of the hand.

Ohlone people were very talented musicians. At the missions, some learned how to play musical instruments from Europe and Latin America and to sing Catholic hymns in Latin and Spanish. An American who visited Mission San José in 1831 commented that "the music was well-executed, for it had been practiced daily under the particular supervision of Fr. Narciso Durán. The number of musicians was about thirty; the instruments performed were violins, flutes, trumpets and drums."

In Ohlone culture, dances were very important and there were many ceremonies that involved dancing. Some were named after animals, such as bear, coyote or dove. Men would often paint their bodies and cover them with feathers, or wear special headdresses made of feathers. Oftentimes dancing would be accompanied by singing and clapping with the split stick, and making movements, such as jumps. The movements would imitate events of daily life or battles.

A Russian visitor to Mission San José described a dance that men performed in imitation of a battle:

A large straw figure represented the enemy, and a number of the men armed with bows and arrows sprang and danced about with fierce gesticulations and contortions... One of the Indians finally gave a signal and at the same moment, the straw figure was pierced with arrows, whereupon it was presented in triumph to the man who personated the chief."

According to many traveler's accounts, the Ohlone loved to play games in their leisure time. One game was called "Tussi," and involved trying to guess which hand a small stick was held in. Another game involved rolling a stick with a hole carved in it along the ground. As the stick rolled, someone would try to throw a spear through the hole. You would get 10 points if the spear went through the hole. Some other games involved throwing carved pieces of wood and getting points based on whether the pieces fell on their flat or curved sides.

Ohlone Tools and Crafts

Another aspect of Ohlone culture was toolmaking and crafts. One of the most important hunting tools used by the Ohlone was the bow and arrow. These were usually 3 to 4 1/2 feet long. The Ohlone would attach to a bow made of wood while it was wet to use as a string. That made the bow very effective and easy to draw. They would use arrows with points made of lava rock or obsidian. According to Fr. Palóu, the biographer of Junípero Serra, the Ohlone were also known to carry short lances with points made of flint.

The Ohlone crafted boats, called for fishing, hunting waterfowl, and traveling up and down the coast. Some early visitors said they were about ten feet long and made of rushes or rolled up dried grass. These boats would be thick in the middle and tapered on the ends. Whoever was in the boat would use a double-bladed oar to paddle through the water.

Early visitors were also very impressed with Ohlone basketwork. They were able to weave plant fibers in such a way that they were completely waterproof. This way, they could be used for drinking, holding food and even roasting over a fire. Ohlone baskets were often decorated with beads, mother-of-pearl and feathers.

After the closure of the missions, many Ohlone used the skills they learned to work on local farms and ranches. Some even had their own ranches, like Roberto and Marcelo from Mission Santa Clara.

During the American period, they had to fight for their survival, and some scientists who studied Native American life considered the Ohlone to have disappeared. But they had never left.

Today the Ohlone are still with us, and continue to maintain their traditions. If you would like to know more about Ohlone culture today, their descendants are represented through groups such as the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of San Francisco Bay, the Indian Canyon Nation, and the Amah-Mutsun Tribal Band.

There are many sites you can visit today to learn about Ohlone culture and life. Some are outdoors, where you can experience the natural setting in which the Ohlone lived before the encounter with the Spanish. In those places you may even see pictographs and petroglyphs. Other places are indoors, such as museums, where you can see artifacts and exhibits related to Ohlone culture. Below are a few of my favorites:

* Alameda County: The museum at Mission San José has some very informative exhibits about the Ohlone before, during and after the mission period.
* San Francisco County: The museum and grounds at Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) have excellent exhibits on Ohlone culture. The museum at the Presidio of San Francisco also has some very good information about the life of the Ohlone in early times.
* San Mateo County: The Sanchez Adobe not only gives insight into Hispanic Alta California, but is built on the site of an Ohlone village called Pruristac.
* Santa Clara County: Chictactac-Adams County Park features Ohlone grinding rocks, petroglyphs, and information about the Ohlone up until modern times. The De Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University even has a reproduction of an Ohlone tule house.
* Santa Cruz County: The Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park provides access to the adobe homes that Ohlone families lived in at Mission Santa Cruz.
Have you visited an Ohlone site? Are there any you would like to recommend? If so, let me know in the comments below!

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Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Ohlone, Part 2

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In this second part, we discuss Ohlone culture, including political organization, religion, myths, music and art, tools and crafts, the Ohlone today and Ohlone sites you can visit. Although today the Ohlone are referred to with one name, they were not one single tribe. Instead, there were many different groups of one or more villages.

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Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe San Jose, CA

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Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe San Jose, CA

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HorŠe Tuuxi! Welcome to the Official Website of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. The present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is comprised of all of the known surviving American Indian lineages aboriginal to the San Francisco Bay region who trace their ancestry through the Missions Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Jose; and who were also members of the historic Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County. The aboriginal homeland of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe includes the following counties: San Francisco, San Mateo, most of Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and portions of Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano and San Joaquin. This large contiguous geographical area, which historically crosscuts aboriginal linguistic and tribal boundaries, fell under the sphere of influence of the aforementioned three missions between 1776 and 1836. The missionization policies deployed by the Catholic Church and militarily supported by the Hispanic Empire, brought many distantly related, and in some cases, already inter-married tribal groups together at the missions.

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muwekma ohlone tribe of the san francisco bay area san jose ca

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aboriginal tribe of the san francisco bay area san jose ca

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american indian lineages aboriginal to the san francisco bay region san jose ca

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Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe San Jose, CA Home

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HorŠe Tuuxi! Welcome to the Official Website of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. The present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is comprised of all of the known surviving American Indian lineages aboriginal to the San Francisco Bay region who trace their ancestry through the Missions Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Jose; and who were also members of the historic Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County.

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Summary of Exhibits at the Replica Ohlone Village

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Summary of Exhibits at the Replica Ohlone Village

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Mojave Tools and Weapons

Have you ever wondered what the Indians would use to survive in the desert? Well me too. They used tools and weapons to help them get food and shelter. Where they found the stuff was like trees around them and the desert sure has a lot of rocks right. The purpose of having tools was to make everyday tasks easier like weaving baskets maybe they used tools for weaving it like a tool for rainbow loom. What they used for food was bows and arrows, spears and so much more. For shelter they would basically use axes to chop wood. I have many things to tell you like about what they made the things out of mainly wood, also about who made even made the tools and who made the weapons.

What They Made the Tools and Weapons out of

They made the tools and weapons out of many things like mostly animal skin from hunting,wood from near by trees, and rocks from well around them the desert has lots rocks . The bows and arrows were made of wood backed animal muscles to make them springier. The spears were made of lightweight wood and the spear heads were made of carved stone or animal bone they had a feather on it to make it fly straight. The axes were made of carved wood at the handle and sharp stone at the head it needs to be sharp to chop wood. The swords were made of carved and detailed wood or stone with razor sharp edges.

What They used the Tools and Weapons for

They used the tools and weapons for many different things. They used bows and arrows for hunting animals small ones of course because 1 little arrow won't kill something that big like a woolly mammoth or a Great Bison. Spears were used for big animals like the great bison because the spear is like an arrow time's 100. Axes were used for chopping wood for shelter but if you were here for houses you have come to the wrong place. Knives were used for preparing foods for an everyday meal or a big feast.

Who Made the Tools and Weapons

Who made tools and who made weapons. The men in the tribe would make the bows and arrows, spears, war clubs, axes, swords, and bolas that are 3 rock or metal balls on string attached together and they used it for war they swung it around and hit the people they were at war with. Some of them were made for war like the war clubs swords and bolas. The women usually made tools like baskets, coup sticks which are like staffs, and the knives. the men would get the supplies and the women and the men would put it together like carve the objects and build it.

What Were Used for Hunting and Gathering Food

What were the tools that were used to hunt and what were the tools that were used to gather food. The main weapon for hunting was the bow and arrow even though you had a few arrows to kill the animal. They hunted animals such as bison, buffalo, and fish. The spears were popular for hunting too they were either thrown by hand or thrown from a catapult. The animals that were hunted with the spear was the great bison and woolly mammoths. The knives were used to open acorns to help make mush, and for preparing meals.The axes were used for chopping wood for shelters.

What Were the Most Important Tools and Weapons

The most important tools and weapons were well a lot so read and find out. The bow and arrow of course because they could hunt to survive. Spears were important also because they could hunt really big animals. The Mojave would not have survived without the meat from the big animals because they had to try to feed the whole village. Knives were versatile because they could be used for killing really small animals and to prepare food like meat, vegetables, and fruit. Axes were very important because they could cut down wood to build shelters.

They had to make lots of tools to survive in the desert and they couldn't survive without them either. One of the main ideas is that what the tools and weapons are, and what they are made of, and another main idea is that how the tools were used to help them survive in harsh times and what they even used the tools and weapons for example like spear, bows and arrows, knives, and swords. In conclusion the tools and weapons seem scary but really if you think about it they helped the Mojave Indians survive the harshest of times.

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Mojave Tools and Weapons - California Indians

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Have you ever wondered what the Indians would use to survive in the desert? Well me too. They used tools and weapons to help them get food and shelter. Where they found the stuff was like trees around them and the desert sure has a lot of rocks right.

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Indians 101: Southern California Tools of Life (Photo Diary)

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Indians 101: Southern California Tools of Life (Photo Diary)

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Often evidence of agriculture-the deliberate planting and harvesting of foods-has been overlooked by non-Indian researchers. In his entry on the Cahuilla in the Handbook of North American Indians, Lowell Bean reports:

"Proto-agricultural techniques existed among the Cahuilla. Corn, beans, squashes, and melons of the types used by neighboring Colorado River tribes were most commonly raised."

One of the displays in the Riverside Metropolitan Museum in Riverside, California, looks at the Southern California Indian tools of life. According to the display:

"From acorns to willow, life for Southern California Native Americans depended on hunting and gathering seasonal and local foods. Coastal and desert peoples used baskets, nets, and digging sticks to gather plants, while traps and rabbit sticks were used to hunt small animals. Along the coast, canoes made of dugout trees created opportunities for hunting and fishing, as well as travel. The objects seen here as tools of life, used by local peoples to survive and flourish."

One of the mainstays of the diet for the region was the acorn which was used in soup, porridge, and bread. There are a number of steps involved in gathering and processing the acorns. They are gathered in September and October. Traditionally, the people gathered the acorns by climbing the tree and then beating off the nuts with a long slender pole. Harvesting would take place over a fairly short period of time, about two or three weeks.

The acorns which are collected have white bottoms and no insect holes. The acorns are then dried in their shells, a process which takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. During this time, the acorns are stirred to increase air circulation and encourage drying.

Once dry, the acorns are cracked to remove the nutmeat. This was traditionally done with a small, handheld stone pestle. The acorns are then ground or pounded into acorn flour. The flour is pounded as fine as possible. Once the acorns are ground into flour, they are then leached. Acorns contain tannic acid which is very bitter, and which is poisonous in large amounts. The leaching process removes the tannic acid from the acorn flour.

With regard to the importance of the acorn, anthropologist James Downs, in his chapter on California in North American Indians in Historical Perspective, puts it this way:

"This natural crop above all others probably contributed to the fact that California peoples did not experience annual famine months or develop traditions or legends dealing with famine."

In her book America Before the European Invasions, Anthropologist Alice Beck Kehoe notes:

"Westerners also noticed that the acorn oaks so important to most California Indians tended to grow in regular rows near villages, without realizing that they had been planted as orchards."

In some tribes, a typical family might consumer 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of acorns per year.

Many of the foods obtained from plants had to be processed. Lowell Bean reports:

"Grinding acorns and dried berries was done in stone mortars with stone pestles; stone manos were rolled on stone metates to grind hard seeds as well as soft foods like piñon nuts; and wooden mortars were used to pulverize soft, fibrous foods like honey mesquite."

Indians 101

Indians 101 is a series exploring American Indian cultures, museums, histories, and current concerns. More about California Indians from this series:
Indians 101: Medicinal Plants used by California's Chumash Indians Indians 101: The Soboba Indian Reservation Indians 101: Southern California Indian Clothing (Photo Diary) Indians 101: The Luiseno Village Indians 101: Cahuilla Life (Photo Diary) Indians 101: Between Two Worlds in California (Photo Diary) Indians 101: The Cahuilla Big Four Foods Indians 101: Southern California First Peoples

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Indians 101: Southern California Tools of Life (Photo Diary)

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Often evidence of agriculture-the deliberate planting and harvesting of foods-has been overlooked by non-Indian researchers. In his entry on the Cahuilla in the Handbook of North American Indians, Lowell Bean reports: "Proto-agricultural techniques existed among the Cahuilla. Corn, beans, squashes, and melons of the types used by neighboring Colorado River tribes were most commonly raised."

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Drake's Landing in California, an engraving published by Theodor de Bry in 1590.
Public domain.

The Coast Miwok

The native inhabitants of the area greeted Drake's crew and, from examining the descriptions of these people, anthropologists have identified the Coast Miwok people of what in now Marin County as the people with whom Drake encountered. The Coast Miwok are thought to have believed these pale-skinned people from the sea were the spirits of their dead ancestors. They came often to visit the small encampment Drake had built while he completed his repairs, and it is thought that Drake gifted them with Chinese porcelains.

The Plate of Brass

Once the repairs to the Golden Hind were completed, Drake claimed the land for England by setting up a stout post to which he nailed a metal plate engraved with his declaration and a sixpence and named the land Nova Albion. In 1936, a brass plate was found in Marin County at Limantour Beach. Historians believed that this plate, which carried a similar text as recorded from Chaplain Fletcher's diary, was final proof that Drake landed in Marin.

However, the plate did not withstand the tests of time or science. Modern testing confirmed that the plate could not have been manufactured with the technology available to sailors in the late 1500s and must have been created much later. It wasn't until 2002 that the origin of the fake plate was finally uncovered. Today, the plate can be found in the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley as an object lesson in how hoaxes can be accepted as fact.

Potsherds

While the original metal plate has yet to be found, the delicate blue and white Chinese porcelains given to the Miwok has provided modern scholars with additional evidence of the site of Drake's Nova Albion. Over the years, bits and pieces of porcelain have been recovered from the beaches of Drakes Bay and nearby Miwok archaeological sites. Close inspection by the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco in the 1990s found that some of the pieces were scratched and worn as if tossed along sandy beaches. Other bits had sharp, unworn edges and had mostly been recovered from archeological sites. The worn pieces are believed to be from the San Agustin, a Spanish galleon that wrecked in Drakes Bay in 1595, while the sharp-edged, unworn shards are thought to be from Drake's earlier gifts to the Miwoks in that foggy June of 1579.

Completing "The Voyage of Circumnavigation"

Drake continued across the Pacific to Indonesia and then around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, completing the last leg "The Voyage of Circumnavigation" as he returned to England. The Golden Hind, bulging with treasures from the East Indies, arrived in Plymouth in September of 1580. In 1581, Queen Elizabeth I knighted Drake on board the Golden Hind in recognition of this journey. Sir Francis Drake continued a career of service to his queen, serving as Mayor of Plymouth and a Member of Parliament in the early 1580s before returning to the sea in 1585 to raid Spanish settlements in the Caribbean.

Drake's Later Years

Through the spring of 1586, Drake raided and plundered many Spanish colonies in the Caribbean before heading north along the Atlantic coast of North America. In June of 1586, Drake arrived at Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina. There he found a 115-man English military detachment that had arrived there in 1585, at what is now Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The military colony was on the brink of starvation and were anticipating an impending Algonquian attack. Drake had arrived just in time to rescue and transport them back to England.

He didn't get to stay home long before he was dispatched by Queen Elizabeth I to lead an attack on the Spanish fleet at Cadiz in 1587. The expedition was a military success, with over one hundred Spanish vessels destroyed or captured and delaying King Philip's plan to launch his armada to invade England by a year. When the Spanish Armada did launch in 1588, Drake helped lead the successful defense of England as vice admiral in command of the English fleet. This victory helped pave the way for England to become a global superpower and helped Drake secure a reputation as one of the finest sailors in history.

However, the defeat of the Spanish Armada was among the last of Drake's successful ventures. An expedition to attack Spain failed in 1589. He returned to the Caribbean in 1595, where he suffered many defeats, including the Battle of San Juan, which occurred on November 22. Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro), now part of San Juan National Historic Site, defended the harbor of San Juan and good fortune was on the side of the Spanish. A miscalculation by Drake, together with the bravery of the defenders of El Morro led to a totally unexpected defeat for the English.

Drake sailed on with his injured fleet to attack the port of Panamá in early January 1596, but was, once again, defeated. A couple weeks later, Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship of dysentery on January 28, 1596, and was buried at sea near Portobelo on the Caribbean coast of Panamá.

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Francis Drake - Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)

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The native inhabitants of the area greeted Drake's crew and, from examining the descriptions of these people, anthropologists have identified the Coast Miwok people of what in now Marin County as the people with whom Drake encountered. The Coast Miwok are thought to have believed these pale-skinned people from the sea were the spirits of their dead ancestors.

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Native American Tribes web links (from the group  presentations)

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Native American Tribes web links (from the group  presentations)

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Nat Geo Kids Native People of California

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Nat Geo Kids Native People of California

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People have lived in what's now California and Baja California (a part of Mexico) for almost 20,000 years. Because the landscape has so many different habitats-the rainy redwood forests; the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains; the Central Valley farmlands; the Mojave Desert; and the Pacific Ocean coastline-the ancient people who settled here split into hundreds of smaller groups, each developing their own culture and lifestyle.

COOL CULTURE

The more than 500 tribes that lived in this region developed very different cultures from one another. The Pomo (POH-moh) lived along the northern coast and built homes using slabs of redwood tree bark. The mountain-dwelling Miwok (MEE-wuk) made cone-shaped bark houses, and the Maidu (MY-doo), who lived in valleys, created round lodges from earth. In the south, the Chumash (CHOO-mash) built circular frames using wooden poles, covering the structures with grass and marsh plants. In the summer, many tribes camped in temporary brush huts while they moved around to hunt and gather fruits and vegetables.

Tribal crafts differed depending on what natural resources were available. Tribes in the north, like the Tolowa (toh-LAW-wah), built canoes from giant redwood trees; in the south, the Cahuilla (kaw-WEE-ah) made clothing, nets, and sandals out of desert agave plants. In fact, these tribes produced so many different items that they created a huge trading network in which people traveled by foot or river to swap their goods. Some tribes, like the Chumash and Cahuilla, broke off pieces of giant clam shells to use as money.

People of the forest-based Cahto (KAH-toh) and Wintun (win-TOON) tribes ate caterpillars, bees, and grasshoppers. They also gathered acorns that could be ground into flour or made into soup. The desert-dwelling Cahuilla and Chemehuevi (cheh-meh-WAY-vee) snacked on snakes and lizards. Along the coasts, tribes like the Chumash fished and hunted sea lions and whales.

LIFE TODAY

When gold was discovered in 1848 in Coloma, California, thousands of settlers rushed onto tribal lands, pushing out native people. By the late 1800s, the U.S. government had forced the Native Americans to live only on small pieces of land called reservations. Many tribal members still live on reservations today, where they express their heritage while living a modern life.

Elders teach children traditional tribal dances and ceremonies such as the World Renewal Ceremony, in which dancers move and sing to ensure plentiful food and prevent disasters like earthquakes, and the Jumping Dance, meant to remove evil from the world and replace it with good. The Cahto still walk to the coast once a year, following the path their ancestors took to fish and gather seaweed.

Text and photos adapted from the Nat Geo Kids Encyclopedia of American Indian History and Culture.

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People have lived in what's now California and Baja California for almost 20,000 years.

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Get Epic Book Collection: California Native Americans 

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Get Epic Book Collection: California Native Americans 

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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under.

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California Native Americans Book Collection on Epic

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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under. Get Started

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California Indian History
OF CALIFORNIA INDIAN HISTORY REGIONAL LIFEWAYS
One manner in which we can seek to understand aboriginal California Indian cultures is to look at the tribes inhabiting similar climatic and ecological zones. What emerges from this approach is a remarkable similarity in material aspects of the many different tribes inhabiting those territories. Generally speaking technologies and materials used to manufacture tools, homes and storage containers show great similarity. Hunting, trapping and fishing technologies also are shared across tribal lines terrain, available water plants and animals affected the density of populations, settlement patterns as each tribe adjusted to its environment.
NORTHWEST
This area would include the Tolowa, Shasta, Karok, Yurok Hupa Whilikut, Chilula, Chimarike and Wiyot tribes. The distinctive northern rainforest environment encouraged these tribes to establish their villages along the many rivers, lagoons and coastal bays that dotted their landscape. While this territory was crisscrossed with thousands of trails, the most efficient form of transportation was the dugout canoe used to travel up and down rivers and cross the wider and deeper ones such as the Klamath. These tribes used the great coast Redwood trees for the manufacture of their boats and houses. Redwoods were cleverly felled by burning at the base and then split with elkhorn wedges. Redwood and sometimes cedar planks were used to construct rectangular gabled homes. Baskets in a variety of designs were manufactured in with the twined technique only. Many of these arts survived into the twentieth century and traditional skills have enjoyed a great renaissance in the past twenty years.

The elaborate ritual life of these tribes featured a World Renewal ceremony held each Fall in the largest villages. Sponsored by the wealthiest men in the communities, the ceremony's purpose was to prevent future natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, floods or failure of acorn crop or a poor salmon run. Supplication to supernatural spirits. Because such disasters directly threaten the community, great attention to detail and the utmost solemnity accompanied such ceremonies. This and other traditional rituals continue to be practiced, despite the grinding poverty that plagues many of these groups.

These tribes were governed by the most wealthy and powerful lineage leaders. The great emphasis on wealth found in these cultures is reflected in the emphasis on private ownership of food resources such as oak groves and fishing areas.
NORTHEAST
This region included the Modoc, Achumawi, and Atsugewi tribes. The western portion of this territory was rich in acorn and Salmon. Further to the East, the climate changes from mountainous to a high desert type of topography. Here food resources were grass seeds, tuber berries along with rabbit and deer.

These Indians found tule to be a useful source of both food (the rootbulb is consumed) and a convenient material when laced together to form floor mats and structure covering. Volcanic mountains in the Western portion of their territory supplied the valuable trade commodity obsidian. The Social-political organization of these peoples was independent but connected to their neighbors by marriage ties. Following contact, the Achumawi and Atsuguewi suffered a tremendous population decline due to vigilante violence and respiratory diseases. The Modocs spectacular 1872 resistance to removal to the Oregon territory was the last heroic military defense of native sovereignty in 19th century California Indian History.

Some surviving Northeast tribesmen received public land allotments around the turn of the century. The XL Rancheria was established for some of these Indians in 1938. Tragically the surviving Modocs were exiled to either Oregon or Oklahoma.
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
This vast territory includes: Bear River, Mattale, Lassick, Nogatl, Wintun, Yana, Yahi, Maidu, Wintun, Sinkyone, Wailaki, Kato, Yuki, Pomo, Lake Miwok, Wappo, Coast Miwok, Interior Miwok, Wappo, Coast Miwok, Interior Miwok, Monache, Yokuts, Costanoan, Esselen, Salinan and Tubatulabal tribes.

Vast differences exist between the coastal peoples, nearby mountain range territories, from those living in the vast central valleys and on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Nevertheless, all of these tribes enjoyed an abundance of acorn and salmon that could be readily obtained in the waterways north of Monterey Bay. Deer, elk, antelope and rabbit were available elsewhere in vast quantities.

In this region basketry reached the height of greatest variety. Perhaps the Pomo basket makers created the most elaborate versions of this art. Both coiled and twine type baskets were produced throughout the region. Fortunately, basket making survived the years of suppression of native arts and culture to once again become one of the most important culturally defining element for Indians in this region.

Common in this area was the semi-subterranean roundhouse where elaborate Kuksu dances were held in the past and continue to this day. These rituals assure the renewal of the world's natural foods both plant and animal. Despite differences, between tribes, these rituals share similar purposes.

Like everywhere else, in California, villages were fiercely independent and governed internally. The abundant food supply allowed for the establishment of villages of up to 1000 individuals, including craft specialists who produced specific objects and goods for a living. In smaller communities, each family produced all that was necessary for survival.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Southern California presents a varied and somewhat unique region of the state. Beginning in the north, tribes found in this area are the Chumash, Alliklik, Kitanemuk, Serrano, Gabrielino Luiseno Cahuilla, and the Kumeyaay. The landmass and climate varied considerably from the windswept offshore Channel Islands that were principally inhabited by Chumash speaking peoples. Communication with their mainland neighbors was by large and graceful planked canoes powered by double paddle ores. These vessels were called "Tomols" and manufactured by a secretive guild of craftsmen. They could carry hundreds of pounds of trade goods and up to a dozen passengers. Like their northern neighbors, the Tactic speaking peoples of San Nicholas and Santa Catalina Islands built planked canoes and actively traded rich marine resources with mainland villages and tribes. Shoreline communities enjoyed the rich animal and faunal life of ocean, bays and wetlands environments. Interior tribes like the Serrano, Luiseno, Cahuilla, and Kumeyaay shared an environment rich in Sonoran life zone featuring vast quantities of rabbit, deer and an abundance of acorn, seeds and native grasses. At the higher elevations Desert Bighorn sheep were hunted.

Villages varied in size from poor desert communities with villages of as little as 100 people to the teaming Chumash villages with over a thousand inhabitants. Conical homes of arroweed, tule or croton were common, while whale bone structures could be found on the coast and nearby Channel Islands. Interior groups manufactured clay storage vessels sometimes decorated with paint. Baskets were everywhere manufactured with unique designs. Catalina Island possessed a soapstone or steatite quarry. This unique stone was soft and could easily be carved with cutting tools and shaped into vessels, pipes and cooking slabs.

Each tribe and community had a chieftain, sometimes females, whose duty it was to organize community events and settle conflicts among their followers. This leader was usually assisted by a crier or assistant, Shaman or Indian doctors were known everywhere and greatly respected. The ritual use of the hallucinogen jimsonweed (Datura meteloides) was primarily in male puberty rituals. Like other California Indian communities, society was divided into three classes, the elite, a middle class and finally a less successful lower class. These robust peoples were among the first to encounter the strangers who would change their world forever.
HISTORY
The Spanish entrada into Alta California was the last great expansions of Spain's vastly over extended empire in North America. Massive Indian revolts among the Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande in the late 17th century provided the Franciscan padres with an argument to establish missions relatively free from colonial settlers. Thus, California and its Spanish Colonization would be different from earlier efforts to simultaneously introduce missionaries and colonists in their world conquest schemes. Organized by the driven Franciscan administrator Junipero Serra and military authorities under Gaspar de Portola, they journeyed to San Diego in 1769 to establish the first of 21 coastal missions.

Despite romantic portraits of California missions, they were essentially coercive religious, labor camps organized primarily to benefit the colonizers. The overall plan was to first militarily intimidate the local Indians with armed Spanish soldiers who always accompanied the Franciscans in their missionary efforts. At the same time, the newcomers introduced domestic stock animals that gobbled up native foods and undermined the free or "gentile" tribe's efforts to remain economically independent. A well-established pattern of bribes, intimidation and the expected onslaught of European diseases insured experienced missionaries that eventually desperate parents of sick and dying children and many elders would prompt frightened Indian families to seek assistance from the newcomers who seemed to be immune to the horrible diseases that overwhelmed Indians. The missions were authorized by the crown to "convert" the Indians in a ten-year period. Thereafter they were supposed to surrender their control over the mission's livestock, fields, orchards and building to the Indians. But the padres never achieved this goal and the lands and wealth was stolen from the Indians.

Epidemic diseases proved to be the most significant factor in colonial efforts to overcome native resistance. Soon after the arrival of Spanish colonists, new diseases appeared among the tribes in close proximity Spanish missions. Scientific study of demographic trends during this period indicate the Indians of the America's did not possess any natural immunities to introduced European diseases. Maladies such as smallpox, syphilis, diphtheria and even children's' ailments such as chickenpox and measles caused untold suffering and death among Indians near the Spanish centers of population. Even before the outbreak of epidemics, a general population decline was recorded that can be attributed to the unhygienic environment of colonial population centers. A series of murderous epidemic diseases swept over the terrified mission Indian populations. Beginning in 1777 a voracious epidemic likely associated with a water born bacterial infection devastated Santa Clara Valley Costanoan children. Again, children were the primary victims of a second epidemic of pneumonia and diphtheria expended from Monterey to Los Angeles was recorded in 1802. By far the worst of these terrifying epidemics began in 1806 and killed thousands of Indian children and adults. It has been identified as measles and attacked Indian populations from San Francisco to the central coast settlement of Santa Barbara. Sadly, the missionary practice of forcibly separating Indian children from their parents and incarcerating children from the age of six in filthy and disease-ridden gender barracks most likely increased the suffering and death of above mentioned epidemics. Excessive manual labor demands of the missionaries and poor nutrition probably contributed to the Indians inability to resist such infections. Less easily measured damage to mission Indian tribes occurred as they vainly struggled to understand the biological tragedy that was overwhelming them. Faith in their traditional shaman suffered when native efforts were ineffective in stemming the tide of misery, suffering and death that life in the missions resulted in. With monotonous regularity, missionaries and other colonial officials reported upon the massive death and poor health of their Indian laborers. Pioneering demographer Sherburne F. Cook conducted exhaustive studies and concluded that perhaps as much as 60% of the population decline of mission Indians was due to introduced diseases.
NATIVE RESISTANCE
The unrelenting labor demands, forced separation of children from their parents and un-ending physical coercion that characterized the life of Indians under padre's authority resulted in several well documented forms of Indian resistance. Within the missions, the so-called "converts" continued to surreptitiously worship their old deities as well as conduct native dances and rituals in secret. By far the most frequent form of mission Indian resistance was fugativism. While thousands of the 81,586 baptized Indians temporarily fled their missions, more than one out of 24 successfully escaped the plantation like mission labor camps. Many Mission Indians viewed the padres as powerful witches who could only be neutralized by assassination. Consequently, several assassinations occurred. At Mission San Miguel in the year of 1801 three padres were poisoned, one of whom died as a result. Four years later another San Miguel Yokut male attempted to stone a padre to death. In 1804 a San Diego padre was poisoned by his personal cook. Costanoan Indians at Mission Santa Cruz, in 1812, killed a padre for introducing a new instrument of torture which he unwisely announced he planned to use on some luckless neophytes awaiting a beating. Few contemporaries Americans know of the widespread armed revolts precipitated by Mission Indians against colonial authorities. The Kumeyaay of San Diego launched two serious military assaults against the missionaries and their military escorts within five weeks of their arrival in 1769. Desperate to stop an ugly pattern of sexual assaults, the Kumeyaay utterly destroyed Mission San Diego and killed the local padre in 1775. Quechan and Mohave Indians along the Colorado River to the east destroyed two missions, killed four missionaries and numerous other colonists in a spectacular uprising in 1781. This last rebellion permanently denied the only overland route into Alta California from Northern New Spain (Mexico) to Spanish authorities. Military efforts to reopen the road and punish the Indians were met with utter failure. The last great mission Indian revolt occurred in 1824 when disenchanted Chumash Indians violently overthrew mission control at Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and La Purisima. Santa Barbara was sacked and abandoned while Santa Ynez Chumash torched 3/4 of the buildings before fleeing. Defiant Chumash at La Purisima in fact seized that mission and fought a pitched battle with colonial troops while a significant number of other Chumash escaped deep into the interior of the Southern San Joaquin Valley. After 1810 a growing number of guerrilla bands evolved in the interior when fugitive mission Indians allied with interior tribes and villages. Mounted on horses and using modern weapons, they began raiding mission livestock and fighting colonial military forces.

The impact of the mission system on the many coastal tribes was devastating. Missionaries required tribes to abandon their aboriginal territories and live in filthy, disease ridden and crowded labor camps. Massive herds on introduced stock animals and new seed crops soon crowded out aboriginal game animals and native plants. Feral hogs ate tons of raw acorns, depriving even the non-missionized tribes in the interior of a significant amount of aboriginal protein. Murderous waves of epidemic diseases swept over the terrified Mission Indian tribes resulting in massive suffering and death for thousands of native men, women and children. The short life expectancy of mission Indians prompted missionaries to vigorously pursue runaways and coerce interior tribes into supplying more and more laborers for the padres. Missionary activities therefore thoroughly disrupted not only coastal tribes, but their demand for healthy laborers seriously impacted adjacent interior tribes. Finally, by 1836 the Mexican Republic forcibly stripped the padres of the power to coerce labor from the Indians and the mission rapidly collapsed. About 100,000 or nearly a third of the aboriginal population of California died as a direct consequence of the missions of California.

Despite the devastating population decline suffered by tribes in whose territories missions had been established, many managed to maintain tribal cohesion. After 1800, most mission populations were a hodgepodge of different tribes speaking a multiplicity of languages. Because many Indians refused to learn or feigned ignorance of the Spanish language, missionaries appointed labor overseers from each tribe to direct work crews. Such practical policies kept tribesmen from losing culturally distinct identity. Further evidence of cultural persistence was the practice of tribes maintaining separate housing in multi-tribal Indian villages built next to the missions. Finally, many former mission Indians continued to speak their native languages and provide researchers with detailed ethnographic and linguistic data well into the 20th century.
INDIANS AND THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC
In 1823 the Spanish Flag was replaced by that of the Mexican Republic. Little immediate change in personal or Indian policy occurred. However, the independence government was decidedly anti-clerical and the growing body of colonial leaders deeply resented the monopoly of Indian lands and the unpaid Indian labor enjoyed by the Franciscans. While no land grants to the colonists had occurred under Spanish rule, some 25 grazing permits or concessions had been issued to colonial citizens. This was the beginning of the dispossession of tribal lands by colonial authorities. The vast plantation like missions claimed about 1/6 of the present territory of the state. But legal title to these lands were assigned to the Spanish crown. The missions were only supposed to last 10 years, after which the developed estates were to be distributed to surviving mission Indians. It was assumed that the Indians would evolve into hardworking, tax paying citizens of Mexico. But the missionaries kept coming up with excuses why they should not surrender the rich pastoral and agrarian empire they had erected with the lands, resources and hard labor of mission Indians. The Mexican Republic's 1824 constitution declared Indians to be citizens with rights to both vote and hold public office. Despite this liberal declaration, Indians throughout the republic continued to be treated as slaves.
COLLAPSE OF THE MISSION SYSTEM
In actual practice, the new government gave 51 land grants to its colonial citizens between 1824 and 1834. These lands actually belonged to various tribes then incarcerated in nearby missions. These actions just increased the lust for more Indian lands by a growing body of colonial ranchers. There followed a growing chorus of demands that the missionaries surrender their monopoly on Indian labor and "free" the Indians. The sincerity those sentiments should be seriously doubted. The power of this class prevailed and between 1834-36 the government revoked the power of the Franciscans to extract labor from the Indians and inaugurated a plan to distribute mission lands. Venal public officials in charge of the distribution granted the most valuable lands to themselves and their relatives. The secularization processes, it was called, was so restrictive that few ex-mission Indians were eligible for the distributed lands. More significant still, the majority of surviving mission Indians were not native to the areas of coastal missions. Most neophytes at this time had been forced to relocate from their tribal domains and promptly returned to them following their liberation.

Many of these returned exiles were faced with difficult tasks of reconstructing their decimated communities in the wake of crippling population declines. Furthermore, their tribal lands had become transformed by the introduction of vast herds of horses, cattle, sheep, goats and hogs that destroyed the native flora, the primary source of native diet. Wild game animals were likewise driven off by these new animals. What developed from this new condition was the emergence of guerrilla Indian bands made-up of former fugitive mission Indians and interior tribesmen from villages devastated by official and unofficial Mexican paramilitary attacks and slave hunting raids. Eventually a significant number of these interior groups joined together to form new conglomerate tribes. These innovative and resilient tribes quickly converted the anti-mission activities of their members into systematic efforts to re-assert their sovereignty by widespread and highly organized campaigns against Mexican ranchers and government authority in general.

Vastly overestimating their power, Mexican authorities authorized an additional 762 land grants by 1847. In reality, the effectiveness of Indian stock raiders increased dramatically when American and Canadian fur trappers provided a lucrative market for purloined horses by the mid 1830's. Interior Mexican ranches were increasingly abandoned in the face of economic ruin by native stock raiding activities. Even Johann A. Sutter was reduced to begging the Mexican government to buy his fort following a mauling at the hands of Miwok Indians near the Calaveras in June of 1846.

Despite these successes, a series of murderous epidemics in the twilight years of the Mexican era severely reduced the interior population. For instance, in 1833 an American party of fur trappers introduced a murderous scourge of malaria into the Sacramento and San Joaquin River drainages. While traversing the epicenter of the plague, J. J. Warner reported,
"From the head of the Sacramento to the great bend and slough of the San Joaquin we did not see more than six or eight live Indians; while large numbers of their skulls and dead bodies were seen under almost every shade tree near the water, where the uninhabited and deserted villages had been converted into graveyards."
In this tragedy, more than 20,000 Central Valley Miwok, Yokuts, Wintun, and Maidu Indians perished. A new outbreak of small pox devastated Coast Miwok, Pomo, Wappo, and Wintun tribes. Approximately 2000 died in this 1837 epidemic originating from Fort Ross. By 1840 these and other murderous maladies had so thoroughly saturated the Indian population of Mexican California that diseases became endemic.

Mexican forced labor and violence at the hands of the militia and paramilitary slave hunting parties account for a significant amount of the population decline suffered by California Indians. On the eve of the American take-over the aboriginal population of approximately 310,000 had been reduced to about 150,000. This gut wrenching 50% decline had occurred in just 77 years. The implications for survivors is largely a mute tale of suffering and grieving over the loss of a stunning number of children, parents and elders. What came next was worse still.
THE AMERICAN INVASION
Alta California the poorly managed and badly neglected stepchild of Mexico was rapidly overwhelmed by a combination of aggressive Indian raids and the arrival of United States Army, Navy and Marine forces in the summer of 1846. Despite a seemingly irrational murderous attack on Sacramento River Maidu Indian villages by U.S. Army forces under the command of John C. Fremont, the majority of California Indians involved in that struggle aided the Americans as scouts, warrior-soldiers and wranglers.

When Mexican resistance collapsed in January of 1847, thereafter Indian Affairs was administered by a succession of military governors. Stock raiding Indians in the interior recommenced their depredations when they learned Indian slavers such as Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and Johann A. Sutter had been appointed as Indian sub-agents. Military government's policy was to suppress stock raiding and furthermore imposed draconian restrictions on the free movement of Indians and required Indians to carry certificates of employment.
THE GOLD RUSH
The discovery of gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada at a sawmill construction site developed by Indian Agent Johann Sutter, ushered in one of the darkest episodes of dispossession widespread sexual assault and mass murder against the native people of California. Sutter immediately negotiated a treaty with the chief of the Coloma Nisenan Tribe which would have given a three-year lease to lands surrounding the gold discovery site. During those negotiations, the chief prophetically warned Sutter that the yellow metal he so eagerly sought was, "very bad medicine. It belonged to a demon who devoured all who searched for it". Eventually the military governor refused to endorse Sutter's self-serving actions.

Within a year a hoard of 100,000 adventurers from all over the world descended upon the native peoples of California with catastrophic results. The entire state was scoured by gold seekers. Thinly spread government officials were overwhelmed by this unprecedented deluge of immigrants and all effective authority collapsed. Military authorities could not prevent widespread desertion of soldiers and chaos reigned.

A virtual reign of terror enveloped tribesmen the mining districts. Wanton killings and violence against Indians resisting miners developed into a deadly pattern. An Oustemah Nisenan female named Betsy later recalled,
"A life of ease and peace was interrupted when I was a little girl by the arrival of the whitemen. Each day the population increased and the Indians feared the invaders and great consternation prevailed .... as gold excitement advanced, we were moved again and again, each time in haste. Indian children.... when taken into town would blacken their faces with dirt so the newcomers would not steal them...."
Numerous vigilante type paramilitary troops were established whose principal occupation seems to have been to kill Indians and kidnap their children. Groups such as the Humboldt Home Guard, the Eel River Minutemen and the Placer Blades among others terrorized local Indians and caused the premier 19th century historian Hubert Howe Bancroft to describe them as follows.
"The California valley cannot grace her annals with a single Indian war bordering on respectability. It can, however, boast a hundred or two of as brutal butchering, on the part of our honest miners and brave pioneers, as any area of equal extent in our republic......"
The handiwork of these well-armed death squads combined with the widespread random killing of Indians by individual miners resulted in the death of 100,000 Indians in the first two years of the gold rush. A staggering loss of two thirds of the population. Nothing in American Indian history is even remotely comparable to this massive orgy of theft and mass murder. Stunned survivors now perhaps numbering fewer than 70,000 teetered near the brink of total annihilation.

The newcomers sometimes met organized Indian resistance. In 1850 a Cupeno chief named Antonio Garra Sr. organized local Southern California Indians to resist an illegal tax imposed upon San Diego Indians by the county sheriff. Sporadic attacks upon both Americans and some Mexicans by Garra's followers resulted in a massive crackdown on Indian communities. Soon a rival Cahuilla chief captured Garra and turned him over to the authorities who promptly hung him and several of his followers. In 1851 several mountain Miwok tribes offered armed resistance to the hoard of miners overrunning their territory. When one tribe destroyed a trading-post owned by an American who kept at least 12 Indian "wives" a paramilitary militia was formed and aggressively attacked Indians throughout the southern mines area. Eventually this group calling itself the "Mariposa Battalion" breached the unknown granite fortress of the valley of Yosemite. A ruthless campaign against the Yosemite Indians resulted in the capture of their Chief Teneya and a temporary exile to the San Joaquin River "Indian Farm".

In reality, these Indian campaigns were motivated by rapacious greed of the miners to gain Indian lands and provide political capital for ambitious office seekers. Sadly, both the state and federal government eventually reimbursed the vast majority of these paramilitary forays for expenses incurred. This is indeed a dreary story of subsidized murder on a scale unequaled in all of this country's Indian wars.
TREATY MAKING AND TREATY REJECTION
In 1849 Washington sent two special emissaries to California to report on the nature of Mexico's recognition of Indian land titles in California. Neither spoke to a single Indian and eventually produced an ambiguous and inaccurate report to the great disadvantage of the Indians. Upon this misinformation, and in an attempt to stem the unprecedented chaos and mass murder of the gold miner's confrontation with the California Indians, Congress authorized three federal officials to make treaties with the California Indians. Their purpose was to extinguish Indian land titles and provide the Indians with territories that would be protected from encroachment by non-Indians. They were given just $25,000 to accomplish this monumental task. Soon after their arrival in San Francisco in January of 1851, the enormous size of territory prompted the commissioners to split up and negotiate treaties on their own. The reports and correspondence of the treaty commissioners clearly demonstrate that the suspicious and reluctant Indians who could be persuaded to attend the treaty meetings were only vaguely aware of its purpose. This can be attributed to the frequent problems of translators who often had to translate several Indian dialects into Spanish and again into English. Few if any of the Indians could understand English. The random manner in which the commissioners organized the meetings resulted in the majority of tribes not participating. Despite these crippling drawbacks, the treaty process proceeded until January 5th of 1852. In all, eighteen treaties were negotiated. The treaties agreed to set aside certain tracts of land for the signatory tribes. They additionally promised the assistance of farmers, school teachers, blacksmiths, stock animals, seeds and agricultural equipment, cloth and much more. In return, the signatory tribes promised to forever quitclaim to the United States their lands. Just what specific lands being surrendered were not specified. Anthropologists in the 20th century could only identify 67 tribes, 45 village names and 14 alternative spellings of tribal names. Eighteen groups were unidentifiable. Despite the obvious fact that not all California Indian tribes had been consulted or contacted they too would be bound by the negotiations. Nevertheless, the federal government promised to reserve 7,466,000 acres of land to the dispossessed Indians,

An immediate outcry from an enraged public followed the completion of the commissioner's task. It was revealed that the commissioners had overspent their budget by a half a million dollars in the incredibly inflated economy of gold rush California. Local newspapers orchestrated an abusive campaign and local politicians echoed the fears of their compassionate electorate that the treaty reserves might contain something valuable, like gold. Most Americans simply wanted the Indians removed to some other territory or state. California's newly elected state senators provided the final blow. On July 8, 1852, the Senate in executive session refused to ratify the treaties. They were filed with an injunction of secrecy that was finally removed in 1905!

Meanwhile, Congress had created a commission to validate land tittles in California. The commission was required by law to both inform the Indians that it would be necessary to file claims for their lands and report upon the nature of these claims. Because no one bothered to inform the Indians of these requirements, no claims were submitted. Through this neat trick, the federal government "legally" avoided the normally lengthy and duplicitous negotiations over land sessions.

The practical result was the complete dispossession of the Indians in the eyes of the government. Despite this chicanery, several tribes would violently and later legally contest these frauds to defend their territory, homes and families.

From the native viewpoint, signatories of the treaties had agreed to move to specific locations promised in the treaties. Yet such attempts often met with violent attacks by miners and others opposed to the very existence of Indians. Non-treaty groups simply endured the madness and race hatred of those waging a merciless war against them. Most tribes did their best to withdraw from all contact with the mayhem overwhelming them.
A HARSH STATE GOVERNMENT
The formation of the state government proved to be an official instrument of the oppressive mentality of the miner's militia. In Governor McDougall first address to the legislature he promised, "a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race becomes extinct......." Despite guarantees in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Indians were denied state citizenship, voting rights and more important still, the right to testify in court. These acts effectively removed all legal redress for native peoples and left them to the mercy of anyone who chose to sexual assault, kidnap even murder them. Despite entering the union as a free state in 1850, the California legislature rapidly enacted a series of laws legalizing Indian slavery. One of the laws sanctioned an indenture system similar to Mexican peonage in widespread practice throughout California prior to 1850. All levels of state, county and local governments participated in this ugly practice that evolved into a heartless policy of killing Indian parents and kidnapping and indenturing the victim's children. Indian youth could be enslaved by the cruel act to the age of 30 for males and 25 for females. This barbarous law was finally repealed four years after President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation in 1863.

The federal government finally decided to establish an Indian policy in California in 1854 when Edward F. Beale was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California. Beale quickly established a prototype Indian preserve within the boundaries of the Army's military reserve in the Southern San Joaquin Valley, called Fort Tejon. The site was chosen because of the continuing problem of local horse raiding by Southern California Indians. Yokut, Gabrielino and Kitanemuk tribesmen were gathered together on this barren 50,000-acre parcel call San Sebastian. Beale's instruction from Washington authorized him to establish four additional reserves with a $250,000 budget. Apparently, Beale squandered his entire allocation on less than 200 Indians at San Sebastian. This action becomes comprehensible only when it is known that within a decade, Beale wound up owning much of that short-lived reserve. His behavior in office set the standard for decades of widespread corruption and incompetence that distinguishes the Bureau of Indian Affairs in California and elsewhere. Following Beale's removal from office in 1856, Col. T.J. Henely established Indian Reserves on the Klamath River, Nome Lackee near Colusa, Nome Cult (Round Valley) and the Mendocino Reserve at the mouth of the Noyo River on the coast. The latter two were both located in Mendocino County.

These hastily organized communities provided little in the way of support or even minimal refuge for native peoples cajoled to move there. These unsurveyed reserves lacked game, suitable agricultural lands and water. They soon became overrun with white squatters who systematically corrupted the Indians and introduced an epidemic of venereal diseases. More unsatisfactory still, were Indian Farms located on lands rented from newcomers now holding legal title to said lands. The Fresno and Kings River Indian Farms were established in the south-eastern San Joaquin Valley along the rivers of the same name. Federal records clearly show these farms provided only a handful of Indians homes, the majority completely lacked cultivation, but they did provide paychecks for the superintendent's friends and political cronies. The majority of these early reserves and Indian Farms were abandoned in the 1860's due to the state's Indian slavery codes that allowed all able-bodied males, females and even children to be indentured to white citizens. A great many reservation residents could not participate in the agricultural and ranching programs because their labor "belonged" to private state citizens. Frequently, federal and Indian agents themselves indentured his wards for personal enrichment. Government records for this period show that fewer than 3000 of the less than 70,000 surviving California Indians received recognition let alone provisions for reservations. South of the Tehachapi Mountains California Indians remained totally ignored by Washington. So what were the vast majority of Indians doing during this period?
LATE 19TH CENTURY ADAPTATION AND RESISTANCE
The vast majority of California Indians struggled to survive without government aid or recognition. Many on the verge of actual starvation dispersed throughout their territories and sought to support themselves through agriculture and ranch labor for the new "owners" of California. This was a traditional pattern of behavior when drought and other natural catastrophes struck. Deprived of land and their life sustaining resources, they were left with no other options. With a few notable exceptions, the mass murder of the Gold Rush era diminished, as Indian victims became scarce and survivors learned to avoid Americans whenever possible. The great hardships of this adaptation were made bearable with the development of a messianic cult movement called the Ghost Dance of 1870. In part triggered by the introduction of Christian missionary activities, this new religious movement was pan-tribal in nature and obviously a response to the massive population decline. The movement promised the return of dead relatives and the disappearance of the oppressors. It was most desperately embraced by those tribes who had most recently suffered great population declines. Despite lasting only a few years, it was fundamental in revitalizing intra-tribal religious integration. In short, it provided hope for the nearly hopeless situation Indian found themselves confronted with.

The last organized violent reaction to dispossession and federal Indian policy erupted between 1860-1872. The first was a series of Indian wars in Northwestern California. Here Yurok, Karok, Hupa and other tribes fought the increasingly paranoid and aggressive Americans who routinely murdered them, stole their children and burned their villages. Jack Norton, a Hupa historian characterized the situation as a "deranged frontier". Attempts to disarm Indians and continued kidnapping for sexual slavery quickly led to violent resistance. In 1858, the militia established a fort in the Hupa Valley to make war on the Wilkut and Chilula tribes. Many members of those tribes had been captured and deported to the Mendocino Reservation. Frustrated by the stiff resistance of interior groups, the militia found it easier to murder nearby inoffensive peaceful and non-hostile Indians. The notorious Indian Island massacre in Humboldt Bay was the bitter fruit of that race hatred. Eventually some Hupa Indians agreed to assist the soldiers in hunting their hostile neighbors. Despite this defection, several bands of Hupa joined the hostiles and effectively resisted until 1864 when they surrendered. This led to the establishment of the Hupa Valley Reservation in August of 1864.

Because both state and federal authorities seriously underestimated the number of surviving California Indians, plans to remove all Indians to the handful of reservations already established, proved impractical. Several attempts to place multiple tribes on single reservations frequently resulted in violence, mass murder and war. The Modoc war of 1872 was caused by such a policy that insisted the Modocs be deported out of California to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon. Driven twice from that reserve, a third attempt to deport the Modocs back to Klamath resulted in a stunning war in 1872. The Indian service removed the Konkow Indians of Chico and the Atsugewi of Shasta County to the Round Valley Reservation in 1862. Squatters overrunning the Reservation descended upon these unfortunate tribesmen and murdered 45 of them. The mob justified its actions by claiming the Indians might steal food from the squatters. Survivors fled in terror back to Chico, only to be again removed to Round Valley sometime afterwards. The BIA showed little interest in assisting such tribes. Those lucky enough to have reservations established in the aboriginal territories were understandably reluctant to share the scant advantages they enjoyed with newly arrived emigre tribes. Also true was the fact that no tribes desired to be relocated outside of their aboriginal territories. After all, each tribe's creation story emphasized the sacred nature of its own particular landscape. Tradition emphasized territorially and to stray from it required one to steal food resources from neighboring tribes. Non-Indians could not fathom the intensity and depth of the Indians spiritual attachment to their territories.

A steady population decline accompanied by widespread reports of destitution and hunger haunted those tribes without reserved lands. Despite hardship encountered, survival demanded innovation and adaptation. Being driven to the edge of extinction, Indians demonstrated again and again a strong will to survive. That determination notwithstanding, the widespread kidnapping, slavery and violence took a frightful toll on tribesmen and their cultures. Leadership lineages became scattered and displaced. Many ceremonies could no longer be held because access to sacred places was now denied. Cultural mandates to feed ceremonial guests could no longer be achieved by those who otherwise were able to hold public rituals. Finally, Christian missionaries gained control at many reservations under President Grant's Peace Policy of 1869. These folks were determined to destroy Indian culture and aboriginal belief systems that undergirded it.

The California superintendency attracted a succession of special investigators caused by constant reports of corruption that reached Washington. Special reports conducted in 1858, 1867 and 1883 clearly and thoroughly document the corruption and inefficiency plaguing government programs for Indians. President Grant's Peace Policy of 1869 inaugurated an era of acculturation under duress. Policy makers in the government declared the only path of salvation for surviving Indians would be Christianization, along with the adaptation of private ownership of' property. Once these twin goals were realized, Indians would be rewarded with citizenship and take their place among the lower classes with other non-whites in American society. Reservation agents insisted their residents join churches and cease practicing the old ways. The General Allotment Act of 1887 forcibly divided reservation tribal lands, doling out small parcels to individual Indians and their families. If the allotee built a house, engaged in farming or ranching, sent his children to government Indian schools and renounced his tribal allegiance and otherwise pleased the agent, he would (after 25 years) receive title to his land and citizenship. Unlike tribal lands, these parcels would become taxable. The program was inaugurated in California in 1893. By 1930 approximately 2,300 allotments had been carved out of the tiny communal tribal reservation lands. Traditional Indians opposed the detribalizing goals of allotment. The uneven and unequal distribution of allotments was used by Indian agents to keep tribal populations divided and politically impotent. Nevertheless, considerable tribal resistance and pan-tribal organizing developed in opposition to allotment. The program ground to a halt in 1930 due to Indian opposition and failure of BIA to complete the necessary paperwork. The law was repealed in 1934. Thousands of acres of California Indian lands and millions of acres nationally were lost to this destructive and ill-conceived policy.
PAN-INDIAN GROUPS, LANDLESS INDIANS AND RANCHERIAS
Several hundred individual land allotments were distributed to California Indians from public lands found principally in northern California. Often times these were isolated havens from hostile neighbors. Many were assigned to clusters of individuals who were related by kinship and are likely core tribal members who otherwise hand no lands. The tribal communities often held traditional ceremonies and participated in those of their more fortunate reservation Indians.

Southern California Indians were finally provided with recognition when several parcels of their former tribal domains were set aside by executive order beginning in 1873 with the establishment of the Tule River Indian Reservation. Fourteen Southern California Indian Reservations were set aside by executive orders beginning in 1891 and amended in 1898. Unfortunately, Indians in both Orange and Los Angeles counties were excluded from land distributions due in part to the value of coastal real estate. Nevertheless, small tribes from this area participated in pan-Indian organizations.

Reduced to severe destitution the majority of Indians struggled to support their families as landless laborers. Only 6,536 Indians were recognized and living on reservations about the turn of the century. Every Indian who survived to see the dawn of the 20th century had witnessed great suffering and the irreplaceable loss of numerous grandparents, mothers, fathers and children. Some lineages disappeared altogether. The nadir had been reached. Demographer S.F, Cook determined the California Indian population declined to fewer than 16,000 individuals in 1900. This figure represents a gut wrenching descent from over 300,000 into a vortex of massive death in just 131 years of colonization! These staggering losses prompted non-Indians of good will to assist Indian tribes in efforts to secure lands for the still numerous landless Indians.

Several Indian reform groups blossomed before and after the turn of the century. One of their earliest successes was a long legal effort to prevent the Cupa Indians from being dispossessed of their ancestral village of Warner's Hot Springs. While losing the legal case Cupa Indians and their allies managed to secure lands on the nearby Pala Indian Reservation in San Diego County. More important for the majority of landless Indians were the efforts of the Northern California Indian Association that goaded the BIA into enumerating landless Indians in 1905. The result of the survey and political pressure from Indians and their friends resulted in federal actions creating 36 new reservations and Rancherias in 16 Northern California counties. Rancherias were very small parcels of land aimed at provided homesites only for small bands of landless Indians. They are all located in Northern California. Unfortunately, the BIA's investigator failed to visit 12 other counties, thus ignoring the luckless Indians in those areas. Between 1933 and 1941 Congress authorized the enlargement of several Southern California reservations by 6492 acres. No rancherias or homesites were made available for landless Southern California Indians.

Important developments occurred as a result of political activism on the part of both tribes and pan-Indian organizations from 1921 to the present. Beginning with the early efforts of the Indian Board of Cooperation, numerous California Indians self-help organizations and tribes pushed for a lawsuit over the failure of the United States to compensate the Indians of California for the loss of their aboriginal lands. Congress relented and passed the Jurisdictional Act of 1928. This legislation allowed the Indians to sue the federal government and use the state Attorney general's office to represent them. Lacking control of their legal representative a controversial settlement was finally achieved in 1944. $17,053,941.98 was offered for the failure of the government to deliver the 18 reservations promised in treaty negotiations of 1851-2. Incredibly, the government decided to deduct all of its "costs" of providing reservations, supplies and even the salaries of corrupt and do-nothing Indians agents native peoples had endured for nearly a century. After an-other long battle, little more than 5 million dollars were finally distributed on a per-capita basis to 36,095 California Indians in 1951. A paltry $150. was distributed to surviving Indians. This parsimonious and unfair settlement prompted California Indians to seek further legal redress.

The efforts of California Indians to sue the federal government under the Jurisdictional Act of 1928 resulted in the creation of the federal Indian Claims Commission in 1946. This federal body allowed Indian groups to press for compensation to tribes over the theft of their lands in the 19th century. By August of 1951, twenty-three separate petitions had been filed by attorneys on behalf of tribes in California. After 20 years of tortuous maneuvering all separate claims were consolidated into a single case. A compromise settlement of $29,100,000 was offered for 64,425,000 acres of acres of tribal territory. After deduction of attorney's fees ($12,609,000) and the addition of interest and about half a million left over from the first settlement the payment worked out to an offer of 47 cents per acre! The purchase of public domain lands in California in 1850 was never less than $1.50 per acre. This outrageous offer offended many Indians who had pinned their hopes on a settlement that would provide seed money for desperately needed economic development. Despite bitter opposition by many of the original claimants, the federal government prepared a census of eligible Indians in preparation for an anticipated judgment. The BIA organized a series of meetings to convince the litigants to accept the settlement. Eventually a majority of the groups agreed, except the Pit River tribe. They offered strong, vociferous and persistent opposition. However, through questionable balloting, the government declared they had accepted the offer in 1964. Nearly 65,000 California Indians were deemed eligible to share in the settlement. Payments of little more than $600 per person was distributed in 1968. What is of great significance here is the fact that the entire claims activities were conducted outside of normal court proceedings protected by the constitution. Thus, Indians are the only class of citizens in the United States who are denied constitutional protection of their lands by extra-constitutional means.
TERMINATION
During the divisive and controversial land claims battle the BIA began to submit plans to end all services to California Indians and transfer all authority over federal Indian reservations to the State. This new policy, called Termination, was put into motion in 1951. Special agents were sent to prepare for the end of federal jurisdiction over tribal lands. At first the state was enthusiastic over the prospect of increasing its tax base with the anticipation of the privatization of federal trust properties. Termination became law in California under authority of the Rancheria Act of 1958. This statute allowed tribes to vote on a plan to divide communal tribal property into parcels to be distributed to its members. Distributees would receive title to their lands and be free to sell it and be obliged to pay property tax from that time forward. The BIA targeted the smallest, least organized and most isolated tribes to persuade them to accept this plan for cultural and tribal suicide. Government personnel promised acceptance would result in freedom and economic independence. They further made elaborate promises to upgrade squalid housing, pave roads, build bridges, construct water projects and even provide college scholarships in return for a vote to terminate. Between 1958 and 1970 twenty-three rancherias and reservations were terminated. Chronically high unemployment rates, low educational achievement and sometimes emergency medical needs soon forced many to make loans on, or sell their lands. Worse still, many BIA services like health, education were abruptly ended for all Indians in the state. Like the earlier allotment policy, the implementation of termination set in motion a series of events that ultimately divested small tribes of 10,037 acres of land, disrupted tribal institutions and traditions and ultimately left these tribes more desperate, and impoverished than ever. Termination failed miserably to improve the socioeconomic or political power of the California Indians.

The occupation of Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, by nearly 100 American Indian College students in the fall of 1969 ushered in a new era of Indian affairs. A new generation of young, energetic and highly educated California Indians emerged during this period. Highly skeptical of the government they were committed to protecting tribal sovereignty. More important still, they found great value in tribal traditions. They encouraged traditional ceremonies, language retention and sought to remove impediments to the exercise of tribal religious practices. These developments paralleled a new generation of tribal leaders who would dynamically defend tribal rights. These activities made three things apparent; many California Indians were still landless, terminated tribes had been swindled, and some tribes had never been recognized by the federal government. However, reservation, landless and unrecognized tribesmen all shared lives of desperate poverty and little hope for employment or economic development.

In recognition of the growing sophistication of California Indians, the state legislature created the, Native American Heritage Commission in 1978. This all Indian commission works as a liaison between state, federal and tribal governments. It has been successful in protecting Indian burials, sacred places and providing access to government lands to harvest native plants for ceremonial practices and basketmaking.

To date 17 rancherias and reservations have reversed the disastrous termination process. Other tribes are currently pursuing legal avenues to reverse their termination status. Unrecognized tribes have vigorously pursued acknowledgment processes whose requirements are so impossibly demanding that many large tribes in Arizona and New Mexico could not today meet such standards of cultural continuity. Nevertheless, the Acagchemem of San Juan Capistrano the Muwekma of the San Francisco Bay area, and the Coast Miwok of Marin County are close to federal recognition and acquiring a trust land base.

Government developed economic development plans have a history of nearly a century of total failure. Currently more than thirty reservations and rancherias have established gaming businesses on their lands. Some are highly successful while other are not. Some public opposition to these activities seems to center around the fear that Indians may be cheated by their business partners. Such fears smack of paternalism and ignore the reality that few if any valuable resources can be found on Indian lands. Few private investors have come forward to work with Indian tribes outside of the gaming industry. With few choices, wise reservation leadership view gaming as an interim step toward greater economic independence. The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians are the best example of how that dream can be achieved.

The amazing adaptive capabilities of California Indians has demonstrated the resiliency and genius of these much misunderstood and hardworking tribes can achieve under the most unfavorable of circumstances. We know, and our friends and counter parts in local and national governmental agencies must understand that only through the exercise of our tribal sovereignty can we successfully take our rightful place in our prosperous and free nation. We enter the next century filled with optimism.

Professor Edward D. Castillo
Cahuilia-Luiseno

(Permission to reproduce without written consent of the author is forbidden)

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OF CALIFORNIA INDIAN HISTORY REGIONAL LIFEWAYS One manner in which we can seek to understand aboriginal California Indian cultures is to look at the tribes inhabiting similar climatic and ecological zones. What emerges from this approach is a remarkable similarity in material aspects of the many different tribes inhabiting those territories.

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Indigenous peoples of California Facts for Kids

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Indigenous peoples of California Facts for Kids

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The indigenous peoples of California (known as Native Californians) are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. With over forty groups seeking to be federally recognized tribes, California has the second largest Native American population in the United States. The California cultural area does not conform exactly to the state of California's boundaries. Many tribes on the eastern border with Nevada are classified as Great Basin tribes, and some tribes on the Oregon border are classified as Plateau tribes. Tribes in Baja California who do not cross into California are classified as indigenous peoples of Mexico.

List of peoples

Achomawi, Achumawi, Pit River tribe, northeastern California

Atsugewi, northeastern California

Chumash, coastal southern California

"Barbareño", Coast Central Chumash

"Cruzeño, Isleño", Island Chumash

"Emigdiano", Tecuya, Interior Central Chumash

"Interior"[disambiguation needed ], Cuyama, Interior Northwestern Chumash

"Inezeño", "Ineseño", Samala, Inland Central Chumash

"Obispeño", Yak-tityu-tityu-yak-tilhini, Northern Chumash

"Purisimeño", Kagismuwas, Northern Chumash

"Ventureño", Alliklik - Castac, Southern Chumash

Chilula, northwestern California

Chimariko, extinct, northwestern California

Kuneste, "Eel River Athapaskan peoples"

Esselen, west-central California

Hupa, northwestern California

Karok, northwestern California

Kato, Cahto, northwestern California

Konkow, northern-central California

Kumeyaay, Diegueño, Kumiai

Ipai, southwestern California
Jamul, southwestern California

Tipai, southwestern California and northwestern Mexico

La Jolla Complex, southern California, c. 6050-1000 BCE

Maidu, northeastern California

Miwok, Me-wuk, central California

Monache, Western Mono, central California

Nisenan, eastern-central California

Nomlaki, northwestern California

Ohlone, Costanoan, west-central California

Patwin, central California

Pauma Complex, southern California, c. 6050-1000 BCE

Pomo, northwestern and central-western California

[[Te'po'ta'ahl[[, ("Salinan"), coastal central California

Shasta northwestern California

Tolowa, northwestern California

Takic

Acjachemem, ("Juaneño"), Takic, southwestern California

Iívil̃uqaletem, Iviatim, ("Cahuilla"), Takic southern California

Kitanemuk, ("Tejon") Takic, south-central California

Kuupangaxwichem, ("Cupeño"), southern California

Payómkawichum, ("Luiseño"), Takic, southwestern California

Tataviam, Allilik Takic ("Fernandeño"), southern California

Tongva, ("Gabrieleño"), ("Fernandeño"), ("Nicoleño"), "San Clemente tribe" Takic, coastal southern California

Yuhaviatam Morongo, Vanyume Mohineyam ("Serrano"), southern California

Tubatulabal, south-central California

Bankalachi, Toloim, south-central California

Pahkanapil, south-central California

Palagewan, south-central California

Wappo, north-central California

Whilkut, northwestern California

Wintu, northwestern California

Wiyot, northwestern California

Yana, northern-central California

Yokuts, central and southern California

Yuki, Ukomno'm, northwestern California

Yurok, northwestern California

Before European contact, native Californians spoke over 300 dialects of approximately 100 distinct languages. The large number of languages has been related to the ecological diversity of California, and to a sociopolitical organization into small tribelets (usually 100 individuals or fewer) with a shared "ideology that defined language boundaries as unalterable natural features inherent in the land".

"The majority of California Indian languages belong either to highly localized language families with two or three members (e.g. Yukian, Maiduan) or are language isolates (e.g. Karuk, Esselen)." Of the remainder, most are Uto-Aztecan or Athapaskan languages. Larger groupings have been proposed. The Hokan superstock has the greatest time depth and has been most difficult to demonstrate; Penutian is somewhat less controversial.

There is evidence suggestive that speakers of the Chumashan languages and Yukian languages, and possibly languages of southern Baja California such as Waikuri, were in California prior to the arrival of Penutian languages from the north and Uto-Aztecan from the east, perhaps predating even the Hokan languages. Wiyot and Yurok are distantly related to Algonquian languages in a larger grouping called Algic. The several Athapaskan languages are relatively recent arrivals, no more recent than about 2000 years ago.

Precontact

Evidence of human occupation of California dates from at least 19,000 years ago. Prior to European contact, California Indians had 500 distinct sub-tribes or groups, each consisting of 50 to 500 individual members. The size of California tribes today are small compared to tribes in other regions of the United States. Prior to contact with Europeans, the California region contained the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. Because of the temperate climate and easy access to food sources, approximately one-third of all Native Americans in the United States were living in the area of California.

Early Native Californians were hunter-gatherers, with seed collection becoming widespread around 9,000 BC. Due to the local abundance of food, tribes never developed agriculture or tilled the soil. Two early southern California cultural traditions include the La Jolla Complex and the Pauma Complex, both dating from c. 6050-1000 BCE. From 3000 to 2000 BCE, regional diversity developed, with the peoples making fine-tuned adaptations to local environments. Traits recognizable to historic tribes were developed by approximately 500 BCE.

The indigenous people practiced various forms of sophisticated forest gardening in the forests, grasslands, mixed woodlands, and wetlands to ensure availability of food and medicine plants. They controlled fire on a regional scale to create a low-intensity fire ecology; this prevented larger, catastrophic fires and sustained a low-density "wild" agriculture in loose rotation. By burning underbrush and grass, the natives revitalized patches of land and provided fresh shoots to attract food animals. A form of fire-stick farming was used to clear areas of old growth to encourage new in a repeated cycle; a permaculture.

Contact with Europeans

Different tribes encountered non-native European explorers and settlers at widely different times. The southern and central coastal tribes encountered Spanish and British explorers in the mid-16th century. Tribes such as the Quechan or Yuman Indians in present-day southeast California and southwest Arizona first encountered Spanish explorers in the 1760s and 1770s. Tribes on the coast of northwest California, like the Miwok, Yurok, and Yokut, had contact with Russian explorers and seafarers in the late 18th century. In remote interior regions, some tribes did not meet non-natives until the mid-19th century.

Mission era

The Spanish began their long-term occupation in California in 1769 with the founding of Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego. The Spanish built 20 additional missions in California. Their introduction of European invasive plant species and non-native diseases resulted in havoc and high fatalities for the Native Californian tribes.

19th century

The population of Native California was reduced by 90% during the 19th century-from more than 200,000 in the early 19th century to approximately 15,000 at the end of the century, mostly due to disease. Epidemics swept through California Indian Country, such as the 1833 malaria epidemic.

Early to mid 19th Century, coastal tribes of northwest California had multiple contacts with Russian explorers due to Russian colonization of the Americas. At that time period, Russian exploration of California and contacts with local population were usually associated with the activity of the Russian-American Company. A Russian explorer, Baron Ferdinand von Wrangell, visited California in 1818, 1833, and 1835. Looking for a potential site for a new outpost of the company in California in place of Fort Ross, Wrangell's expedition encountered the Indians north of San Francisco Bay and visited their village. In his notes Wrangell remarked that local women, used to physical labor, seemed to be of stronger constitution than men, whose main activity was hunting. Local provision consisted primarily of fish and products made of seeds and grains: usually ground acorns and wild rye. Wrangell surmised his impressions of the California Indians as a people with a natural propensity for independence, inventive spirit, and a unique sense of the beautiful.

Another notable Russian expedition to California was the 13 months long visit of the scientist Ilya Voznesensky in 1840-1841. Voznesensky's goal was to gather some ethnographic, biological, and geological materials for the collection of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. He described the locals that he met on his trip to Cape Mendocino as "the untamed Indian tribes of New Albion, who roam like animals and, protected by impenetrable vegetation, keep from being enslaved by the Spanish".

In 1834 Mexico secularized the Church's missions and confiscated their properties. But the new government did not return their lands to tribes but made land grants to settlers of at least partial European ancestry. Many landless Indians found wage labor on ranches. Following the United States victory in the Mexican-American War, it took control of California in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Its administrators worked to honor Mexican land grant title but did not honor aboriginal land title.

California Gold Rush (1848-1855)

20th century

During the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th century, the government attempted to force the indigenous peoples to break the ties with their native culture and tribalism and assimilate with the white society. In California, the federal government established such forms of education as the reservation day schools and American Indian boarding schools. Some public schools would allow Indians to attend as well. Poor ventilation and nutrition (due to limited funding), and diseases were typical problems at schools for American Indians. In addition to that, most parents disagreed with the idea of their children being raised as whites: at boarding schools, the students were forced to wear European style clothes and haircuts, were given European names, and were strictly forbidden to speak indigenous languages. The Native American community recognized the American Indian boarding schools to have oppressed their native culture and demanded the right for their children to access public schools. In 1935 the restrictions that forbid the Native Americans from attending public schools were officially removed.

Since the 1920s, various Indian activist groups were demanding that the federal government fulfil the conditions of the 18 treaties of 1851-1852 that were never ratified and apparently, were classified. In 1944 and in 1946 the native peoples brought claims for reimbursements asking for compensations for the lands affected by treaties and Mexican land grants. They won $17.5 million and $46 million, respectively.

Throughout the 20th century, the population of indigenous peoples of California gradually rose.

21st century

California has the largest population of Native Americans out of any state in the United States, with 723,000 identifying an "American Indian or Alaska Native" tribe as a component of their race (14% of the nation-wide total). This population grew by 15% between 2000 and 2010, much less than the nation-wide growth rate of 27%, but higher than the population growth rate for all races, which was about 10% in California over that decade. Over 50,000 indigenous people live in Los Angeles alone.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are currently over one hundred federally recognized native groups or tribes in California including those that spread to several states. Federal recognition officially grants the Indian tribes access to services and funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Federal and State funding for Tribal TANF/CalWORKs programs.

Material culture

Basket making was an important part of Native American Californian culture. Baskets were both beautiful and functional, with a wide variety of shapes and sizes based on their function, and of different patterns. Baskets were generally made by women.

Acorns are a primary traditional food throughout much of California. Corn was very important as well. Different tribes' diets included fish, shellfish, insects, deer, elk, antelope, and plants such as buckeye, sage seed, and yampah (Perideridia gairdneri).

Society and culture

Many tribes in Central California and Northern California practised the Kuksu religion, especially the Nisenan, Maidu, Pomo and Patwin tribes. The practice of Kuksu included elaborate narrative ceremonial dances and specific regalia. A male secret society met in underground dance rooms and danced in disguises at the public dances.

In Southern California the Toloache religion was dominant among tribes such as the Luiseño and Diegueño. Ceremonies were performed after consuming a hallucinogenic drink made of the jimsonweed or Toloache plant (Datura meteloides), which put devotees in a trance and gave them access to supernatural knowledge.

Native American culture in California was also noted for its rock art, especially among the Chumash of southern California. The rock art, or pictographs were brightly colored paintings of humans, animals and abstract designs, and were thought to have had religious significance.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Pueblos indígenas de California para niños

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Indigenous peoples of California Facts for Kids

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Learn Indigenous peoples of California facts for kids

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California Indians in Olden Times for Kids and Teachers - Native Americans in Olden Times for Kids

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California Indians in Olden Times for Kids and Teachers - Native Americans in Olden Times for Kids

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The Far West was a land of great diversity. Death Valley and Mount Whitney are the highest and lowest points in the United States. They are within sight of each other. Tribes living in what would become California were as different as their landscape.

Eastern California: The Plateau people: The Plateau refers to a region in the United States that includes parts of many modern US state. Some people of the Plateau lived in what is now part of eastern California.

Northern California: Hokann, Penutian:The early people who wandered into the Northern California region were in awe of their discovery. The Hokan and the Penutian people looked around and saw deer, elk, bear, rabbits and squirrels. There were marshes and lakes teaming with wild birds and fish and turtles. There were wild vegetables, delicious wild fruits, acorns and other nuts. The word plentiful hardly describes it. Food was available in abundance.

Central California: Wintun,The Big Head Dance:Like the early people in Northern California, the Wintun Native Americans, who lived in central California, had abundant food. They were very grateful for their riches. They held many "Big Head Dances" from October to May. Their headdresses were four feet wide and just about as tall. They danced on foot drums, accompanied by bird-bone whistles, gourd rattles, and magic staffs. They believed the wonderful world they had found would disappear if they did not thank their gods with their big head dances.

Southern California: Mohavae, Yuma, Kamia, Diegueno:Tribes in Southern California - the Mohave, Yuma, Kamia, and Diegueno, also had access to a great deal of wild vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Game was plentiful. They learned from the early people in Mexico how to grow maize, beans, squash. They soon became farmers, as well as hunters and gatherers.

Coastal California: Miwok:The Miwok, who lived along the ocean coast, had all the advantages of the other early people, plus they added clams, mussels, abalones, crabs, and crayfish to their diet.

Coastal California: Chumash:Another ocean group were the Chumash Native Americans. In olden times, they lived along the Santa Barbara coast. Like everyone else, their food was bountiful. But this group was unique in several ways.

Homes : Like other California tribes, they lived in dome shaped houses made of willow poles, covered with mats. These homes were typically quite large. They could hold 40 or 50 people. What was unusual was that Chumash homes were partitioned into rooms. Some rooms had built in platform beds supported by poles. To reach the bed, you climbed a ladder to leave space underneath to walk upright.

Planked Canoes:They also made planked canoes, which they took out on the ocean for quick travel and to fish.

Soapstone Carvings:They made grass baskets, like the other groups, but they also made beautiful polished pots and carved animals out of soapstone.

Clothing:The climate was mild and lovely. The early people in California did not need to spend a lot of time tanning skins for clothing. They did not make fabric. They wore very little clothing. In winter, as needed, they wore buckskin aprons and perhaps a fur wrapped draped around their shoulders. Some wore buckskin socks, others wore plant fiber woven sandals, and most went barefooted. They dressed for the weather. If they needed to be warm, they added clothing.

Pumo Baskets : The peace-loving Pumo created a colorful basket made out of feathers. Baskets were also used to store goods and to haul and make food. They made an acorn soup in the fall by dropping hot stones into tightly woven baskets filled with water. Across the country, all Native American people took pride in their baskets.

Chiefs:In California, many early people had hereditary chiefs, which was different from the way many other groups across the country selected their leaders.

Medicine Men:In olden times, the medicine men had more power than the chief. Some specialized in certain types of medicine. Some only cured and prevented snake bites. If you had another problem, you had to see another medicine man. The snake specialists used live rattlesnakes in their ceremonies. The bear doctor was another specialist. Hunters went to the bear specialist before a hunt, to protect themselves from a bear attack. The bear doctor was feared. The people believed he had the power to turn himself into a grizzly bear at will. That power gave him the ability to kill people who did not pay their bill without fear for his own safety - a grizzly bear killed a man, not him.

For Kids

The Miwok People
Return to Native Americans in Olden Times

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California Native Americans in Olden Times for Kids and Teachers - Native Americans in Olden Times for Kids

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The Far West was a land of great diversity. Death Valley and Mount Whitney are the highest and lowest points in the United States. They are within sight of each other. Tribes living in what would become California were as different as their landscape.

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More: https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/California-Indians/480465

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The California Indians are Native Americans who traditionally occupied an area that includes most of the U.S. state of California and the northern part of the Mexican state...

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Sign on with Google Classroom

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom READ ALOUD ~RING AROUND RONINA~

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Digital Atlas of California Native Americans

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Digital Atlas of California Native Americans

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Digital Atlas of California Native Americans

DISCLAIMER. PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING: The Digital Atlas of California Native Americans (Atlas) is for educational and display purposes only. The geographical information displayed in the Atlas is not for use in determining locations of cultures, boundaries or people for recognition, consultation or any other legal or policy purpose. The resources displayed in the Atlas remain the property of their owners as cited. All resources are found in the public domain or displayed with the owner's permission.

Welcome to the Digital Atlas of California Native Americans. Created at the California Department of Parks & Recreation with generous financial support from the DRAM Antitrust Settlement, this web application (web app) displays a collection of map layers related to the history and cultural heritage of Native Americans in California. The map layers include:

Cultural Base Map: the 60 traditional cultural regions of California, with links to a directory of affiliated Tribes and Tribal Atlas pages

Historical Lakes & Wetlands: California's lakes and wetlands as depicted in an 1866 survey, prior to major water control and diversion projects

Natural Resources: Natural resources traditionally used in different regions of the state

Estimated Population in 1769: Estimated population by region before colonization

Trails: Approximate routes of trails used before colonization

Trade Relations: Trade relationships that existed before colonization

Missions: Locations of missions established during Spanish colonization

Spanish & Mexican Land Grants: Land appropriated and privatized during Spanish and Mexican colonization

Treaty Lands: Reservations and cessions as negotiated between Tribes and federal agents in early days of U.S. colonization

An American Genocide: Incidents of genocide as documented by historian Benjamin Madley in his 2016 book An American Genocide

Bounty Lands: Lands granted by the U.S. government to militiamen who participated in campaigns against Native Americans

Reservations & Allotments: Reservations and public domain allotments (PDA) in the 21st century

The map layers may be turned on and off using the layers button near the upper left corner of the web app:

Location of map layers button in upper-left menu (circled in yellow).

Most map layers are interactive; users may click on the map for more information. Examples (click on image to open app):

Example 1: Pop-up information on trade relations, with trails and cultural base map also visible

Example 2: Pop-up shows regional population in 1769

Example 3: Pop-up shows date, grantor and grantee of Spanish land grant

Example 4: Pop-up shows information on treaty lands, including links to original document and transcript

Background map sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, Bureau of Land Management, EPA, NPS
Credits & References Link to web app

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DISCLAIMER. PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING: The Digital Atlas of California Native Americans (Atlas) is for educational and display purposes only. The geographical information displayed in the Atlas is not for use in determining locations of cultures, boundaries or people for recognition, consultation or any other legal or policy purpose.

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Explore ALL tribe stories: Sacred Text Archive

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Explore ALL tribe stories: Sacred Text Archive

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Sacred-texts Native American

Native Californians

General Northern Southern Missions Nevada

There were hundreds of small tribes of Native Californians, with diverse cultures and languages. Most Native Californian tribes were decimated by disease and the stress of their virtual enslavement by the Spanish Missionaries. Later the Americans hunted down and exterminated many of the remaining tribes without mercy. Some were completely wiped out with little trace, such as the Esselen of Big Sur. Others survived adversity and remain active today, particularly some of the tribes in the Northwest coast, and some of the Southern desert bands.

However, a great volume of detailed and accurate information on their culture, mythology and religion is available. This is thanks to pioneering anthropologists at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Many of these scholars were affiliated with the University of California.

Abbreviations: UCPAAE: University of California Publications in American Ethnography and Ethnology; JAFL: The Journal of American Folk-Lore; BAEB: Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin.

General

Religion of the Indians of California
by A. L. Kroeber. UCPAAE Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 319-356. [1907]
Kroeber, who taught at the University of California at Berkeley, is best known for his study of Ishi, described as 'the last wild Indian' (see Yana Texts). He was also the father of the science fiction writer Ursula LeGuin.

Northern California

The Dawn of the World
Myths and Weird Tales Told by the Mewan [Miwok] Indians of California, by C. Hart Merriam [1910]

Yana Texts
by Edward Sapir. UCPAAE Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 1-235. [1910]
The Yana lived in the north-east Sacramento Valley. The most famous Yana was Ishi, 'the last wild Indian'. He is the subject of an excellent book by Theodora Kroeber, wife of Alfred Krober,Ishi in Two Worlds.

Achomawi and Atsugewi Tales and Achomawi Myths
by Roland B. Dixon. JAFL Vol. 22, no. 81, pp. 159-77 [1908] and JAFL Vol. 23, no. 85, pp. 283-7 [1909].
The Achomawi and Atsugewi lived in north-eastern California.

Southern California

Mythology of the Mission Indians
by Constance Goddard Du Bois; JAFL Vol. XVII, No. 66. pp. 185-8 [1904]; Vol. XIX. No. 72 pp. 52-60 and 73. pp. 145-64. [1906].
This is an article about the mythology of the Luiseño people, who lived to the north of San Diego.

Ceremonies and Traditions of the Diegueño Indians
by Constance Goddard Du Bois; JAFL XXI, No. 82 pp. 228-36 [1908].

Missions

Nevada

Some Western Shoshoni Myths
by Julian H. Steward; BAEB 136; pp. 249-299 [1943].

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native american indian california
 karok karuk hupa hupa achomawi yurok miwok maidu shasta yahi modoc
 chumash ohlone costanoan salinan esselen luiseno gabrieleno mission

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Sacred-texts Native American Native Californians General Northern Southern Missions Nevada There were hundreds of small tribes of Native Californians, with diverse cultures and languages. Most Native Californian tribes were decimated by disease and the stress of their virtual enslavement by the Spanish Missionaries. Later the Americans hunted down and exterminated many of the remaining tribes without mercy.

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Sacred Texts Native American California

The Indians
Their Customs, Legends and Beliefs, and the Story of Yosemite

Herbert Earl Wilson

[1922]

Jump to contents Start Reading

This short book about Yosemite Valley and its original inhabitants was written early in the 20th century. Of particular interest are the photographs, which are all in the public domain; while not as gorgeous as those taken in later years by Ansel Adams, they adequately convey the magnificent landscape.

This book has a few factual inaccuracies, but only because of the limits of contemporary knowledge. For instance, at the time of writing, Ribbon Falls was thought to be the highest waterfall in the world; today we know that Angel Falls in Venezuela has this distinction. Also, the small but signficant survival of Chinese Redwoods was likewise unknown at the time, so we can today qualify the statement that this tree only exists in California. However, for the most part this book is fairly accurate; in particular, the geological description is not obsolete.

The core of this book is a description of the beliefs and material culture of the Miwok of Yosemite, and the disgraceful history of their ejection from the valley. The historical and ethnographic information is fairly accurate; in contrast, the information on religion is the thinnest part of this book. Wilson writes of a 'Great Spirit'; as far as I know, this is not a part of Miwok beliefs. There is no concept of an overarching deity. Rather, Miwok mythology revolves around Coyote and the other animal-people inhabitants of the dreamtime.
Title Page
Contents
List Of Illustrations
Introductory Note

Chapter I. The Coming of the White Man to Yosemite
Chapter I. The Coming of the White Man to Yosemite

Chapter II. The Story of Yosemite
The Story of Yosemite
The Gateway
Bridal Veil Fall
El Capitan
Ribbon Fall
The Valley
Cathedral Rocks
Cathedral Spires
The Three Brothers
Sentinel Rock
Yosemite Fall
Glacier Point
Half Dome
North Dome and Basket Dome
Happy Isles
Mirror Lake
Clouds Rest

Chapter III. Sunset in the Yosemite
Chapter III. Sunset in the Yosemite

Chapter IV. Big Trees of the Mariposa Grove
Chapter IV. Big Trees of the Mariposa Grove
Introduction to Myths and Legends

Chapter V. Indian Myths and Legends
The Legend Of Tu-tok-a-na
The Legend Of Tu-tok-a-nu-la And Tis-sa-ack
The Legend of the Lost Arrow
The Legend Of Tis-sa-ack
The Legend Of Po-ho-no
The Legend Of Yo-sem-i-te
The Legend Of Pi-wy-ack
The Legend Of Loi-ya
Legend of the Origin of Thunder and Lightning
Legend of the Fish-Women (Mermaids)

Chapter VI. Creation
Chapter VI. Creation

Chapter VII. The Coming of the Indian to Yosemite
The Coming of the Indian to Yosemite
Acorns
Grasshoppers
Clover Grasses, Grass Seeds, and Edible Roots
Berries and Nuts
Fish
Deer
Small Game, Mushrooms, Worms, and Beetles
Dwellings
Bedding
Sweat-Houses
Clothing
Baskets
Weapons

Chapter VIII. His Customs, Religious Beliefs, and Ceremonies
His Customs, Religious Beliefs, and Ceremonies
Division of Territory
Commerce
Communications
Annual Feasts
Dances
Hand Game
Medicine Men
Marriage
Widows
Children
Disposal of Their Dead
The Present Day Indian in Yosemite

Chapter IX. Retrospection and Prophecy
Chapter IX. Retrospection and Prophecy

Chapter X. Geology of the Yosemite Valley
Chapter X. Geology of the Yosemite Valley

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native american indian mythology texts folklore california yosemite miwok

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Sacred Texts Native American California The Indians Their Customs, Legends and Beliefs, and the Story of Yosemite [1922] Jump to contents Start Reading This short book about Yosemite Valley and its original inhabitants was written early in the 20th century.

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Sacred Texts Native American Native California

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HUGE LIST- Indian Myths of South Central California

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HUGE LIST- Indian Myths of South Central California

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Sacred Texts Native American Native California

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Creation Story- Winnemem Wintu Salmon Story

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Creation Story- Winnemem Wintu Salmon Story

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An introduction to the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, our concerns for our homeland, and our salmon relatives.

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List of Federally-Recognized Tribes in CA

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List of Federally-Recognized Tribes in CA

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List of Federally-Recognized Tribes in CA | Resources for Tribal Leaders

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The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The provision of health services to members of federally-recognized Tribes grew out of the special government-to-government relationship between the federal government and Indian Tribes.

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Early human inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Ohlone and the Coast Miwok

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Early human inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Ohlone and the Coast Miwok

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Native Americans have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for thousands of years.
Shellmounds—constructed from shells, bone, soil, and artifacts—have been found in
numerous locations across the Bay Area. Certain shellmounds date back 2,000 years
and more. Many of the shellmounds were also burial sites and may have been used for
ceremonial purposes. Due to the fact that most of the shellmounds were abandoned
centuries before the arrival of the Spanish to California, it is unknown whether they are
related to the California Indians who lived in the Bay Area at that time—the Ohlone and
the Coast Miwok.
The Ohlone, also called Costanoans by the Spanish, lived in the areas known today as
San Francisco, the East Bay, and the South Bay, whereas the Coast Miwok made their
home in the North Bay. Organized into small independent tribes, the Ohlone and Coast
Miwok maintained villages in locations including present-day Crissy Field in San
Francisco and Big Lagoon in Muir Beach. Approximately 20,000 people lived in the San
Francisco Bay Area, and they spoke many different languages.
The Ohlone and the Coast Miwok made use of the abundant life in the San Francisco
Bay region through seasonal rounds of hunting, fishing, and gathering. They gathered
shellfish, seeds, and native plants and hunted deer and elk. They cultivated the land by
encouraging the growth of certain plants through periodic burning of the landscape.
Their complex culture included song, dance, and rituals. These early inhabitants of the
Bay Area fashioned tools, fishing nets, watertight baskets, and boats. They also
maintained sophisticated trade systems with other tribes.
With the arrival of Europeans, the California Indians were exposed to new diseases,
and that, combined with Spanish colonization, caused their population to decline. The
Mexican rancho period and Anglo-American policies and attitudes also played
significant roles in reducing the numbers of native people. By 1900, only 25,000 of the
300,000 native people living in California survived. Today, against considerable odds,
many descendents of the Ohlone and the Coast Miwok are organized into tribes, and
tribal members are working to maintain and restore their native culture. These efforts
include protection of ancestral sites, the practice of traditional plant uses, story telling,
basket weaving, and restoration of native languages.