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California Indians
Most of the American Indians in California are native California Indians, while many other Indians have come from other states either through relocation by the United States government or for employment purposes. There are over 100 federally-recognized Indian tribes in California, and almost 100 Federal Indian reservations in the state, with about 40 Indian groups seeking to gain federal recognition. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the native peoples of California lived in all areas of the state. There was no "empty" land, as long as that land could support human life. Nowhere else in the United States is there such a variety of cultures and languages spoken. California Indians have dozens of languages and dialects from seven major language families: Hokan, Penutian, Algonkian, Shoshonean, Athabascan, Lutuamian, and Yukian.3 The multiplicity of languages, cultures, and individual tribal histories creates a fascinating tapestry of California Indian history. For some pictures of California Indians, check photographs by Edward S. Curtis in books or online. California is an amazing and varied region with mountains, valleys, deserts, and the Pacific ocean coast. Native peoples lived in these regions for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived a few hundred years ago. Archaeologists have determined that people were present in some parts of California at least 19,000 years ago.4 Some evidence shows that human occupation in parts of California goes back 50,000 years. About 9000 B.C.E., California Indians began a transition from hunting to an economy that also depended heavily on seed collecting. By approximately 2000 B.C.E., these peoples had developed subsistence patterns that were quite varied. Regional and local diversification had advanced sufficiently by about 500 years ago that the basic patterns and customs of many historical peoples had been established. Populations grew and village life became more complex. The tribelet became the predominant form of political organization and the largest autonomous group. It is estimated there were around 300,000 California Indians in the 18th century, in about 250 distinct Indian cultures and California Indians spoke over 300 different dialects of some 100 languages.5 With all the diversity in geographic settings and languages, California Indians still tended to share many cultural similarities. They all depended on acorns as a staple food. They also relied on such foods as fish, deer, elk, antelope, chia, buckeye, and epos root. They had shamans who cured by sucking offending objects out of the body. They used datura in religious and rite-of-passage ceremonies. Their primary political organization was the tribelet, with an emphasis on individual wealth and private property. They also made fine baskets. From as early as 1000 B.C.E., many California Indian groups created rock art.6 Trade between Indian groups was well developed in California. Organized warfare was rare. Ceremonialism played an important role in the lives of most California Indians. Most groups practiced well-defined rituals related to puberty, death, and subsistence. Marriages generally took place when the couples were very young, just after puberty. Northern California Indians had rather rigid and closed class systems based on wealth and marriage customs. Some groups kept slaves. Chiefs, shamans, and wealthy men often had more than one wife. There are similarities in aboriginal California cultures of those inhabiting similar climatic and ecological zones. Technologies and materials used to manufacture tools, homes, and other items are similar in various regions of the state. Hunting, trapping and fishing technologies were shared across tribal lines.7 In 1832/1833, the Hudson Bay Co. sponsored a fur trapping and scouting expedition to California. The expedition introduced smallpox, influenza and measles to the Indian population. According to archaeologist Peter Jensen, this single expedition resulted in a 50 percent reduction in the entire California Indian population, destroying entire villages and tribes. In the 1850s, the Gold Rush further devastated the Indian population. By 1860, less than 20 percent of the original Indian population remained.
This page http://infodome.sdsu.edu/research/guides/calindians/calind.shtml is maintained by Phillip M. White. Please use our Feedback Form for your questions, comments, and suggestions. File saved 01/29/08 15:33 PST |
