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Coast Miwok People
Bodega Bay at Dillon Beach
Bodega Bay as viewed from Dillon Beach,
ancient homeland of the Coast Miwok.
Total population

1770: 2,000
1850: 250
1880: 60
Regions with significant populations
California:

Marin County
Sonoma County
Languages
Utian:
Coast Miwok
Religions
Shamanism: Kuksu:
Miwok mythology
Related ethnic groups

Miwok

The Coast Miwok were the second largest group of Miwok Native American people. March 11, 1889 | Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of California, is one of the northernmost counties of the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, U Utian (also Miwok-Costanoan, Mutsun) is a family of indigenous languages spoken in the central and north portion of California, United Kuksu, also called the Kuksu Cult, was a Shamanistic religion in Northern California practiced in different degrees by many Native American people The mythology of the Miwok Native Americans are myths of their world order their creation stories and 'how things came to be' created Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) can refer to any one of four linguistically-related groups of Native Americans, who lived in what The Valley and Sierra Miwok (also called the Plains and Sierra Miwok) were the largest group of Miwok Native American people The Lake Miwok were a branch of the Miwok a Native American people of Northern California. The Bay Miwok refers to a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok a Native American people in Northern California who lived in Contra Costa County Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) can refer to any one of four linguistically-related groups of Native Americans, who lived in what Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Point and eastward to Sonoma Creek. March 11, 1889 | Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of California, is one of the northernmost counties of the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, U Northern California is the northern portion of the US state of California. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension Bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean Duncans Point is a cape on the Pacific Coast of northern California in the United States. Sonoma Creek is a Stream in Northern California. It is one of two principal drainages of Southern Sonoma County California, with headwaters rising The Coast Miwok included the Bodega Bay Miwok from authenticated Miwok villages around Bodega Bay and Marin Miwok. Bodega Bay is a shallow rocky Inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States.

Contents

Culture

The Coast Miwok spoke their own Coast Miwok language in the Utian linguistic group. Utian (also Miwok-Costanoan, Mutsun) is a family of indigenous languages spoken in the central and north portion of California, United They lived by hunting and gathering, and lived in small bands without centralized political authority. A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting In the springtime they would head to the coasts to hunt salmon and other seafood. Salmon is the common name for several species of Fish of the family Salmonidae. Otherwise their staple foods were primarily acorns, nuts and wild game such as California Mule Deer. The acorn is the nut of the Oak tree (genera Quercus, Lithocarpus and Cyclobalanopsis, in the California Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus californicus, is a subspecies of Mule Deer whose range covers much of the state of California. They were skilled at basketry. A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibres often made of Willow.

The Coast Miwok language is no longer natively spoken, but the Bodega dialect is documented in Callaghan (1970).

There is a recreated Coast Miwok village called Kule Loklo located at the Point Reyes National Seashore. Kule Loklo ("Bear Valley" is a recreated Coast Miwok Native American village located in Point Reyes National Seashore, in Marin County Point Reyes National Seashore is 70000 acre (283 km² park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County California, USA.

Religion

The original Coast Miwok people world view included Shamanism, one form this took was the Kuksu religion that was evident in Central and Northern California, which included elaborate acting and dancing ceremonies in traditional costume, an annual mourning ceremony, puberty rites of passage, shamanic intervention with the spirit world and an all-male society that met in subterranean dance rooms. Kuksu, also called the Kuksu Cult, was a Shamanistic religion in Northern California practiced in different degrees by many Native American people A rite of passage is a Ritual that marks a change in a person's social or sexual status The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath [1][2] Kuksu was shared with other indigenous ethnic groups of Central California, such as their neighbors the Pomo, also Maidu, Ohlone, Esselen, and northernmost Yokuts. The Pomo people are a linguistic branch of Native American people of Northern California. The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. The Ohlone people also known as the Costanoan and as the Muwekma, are the indigenous people of Northern California who have lived in the The Esselen were a Native American linguistic group in the hypothetical Hokan language family who resided in what is now known as Big Sur in the The Yokuts (also known as Mariposans) are an Ethnic group of Native Americans that live in central and northern California. However Kroeber observed less "specialized cosmogony" in the Miwok, which he termed one of the "southern Kuksu-dancing groups", in comparison to the Maidu and other northern California tribes. This article discusses scientific theories of creation (cosmogony The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. [3]

Traditional narratives

Main article: Coast Miwok traditional narratives

In their myths, legends, tales, and histories, the Coast Miwok participated in the general cultural pattern of Central California. Coast Miwok traditional narratives include myths legends tales and oral histories preserved by the Coast Miwok people of the central California coast immediately north of The Traditional Narratives of Native California are the myths legends tales and oral histories that survive as fragments of what was undoubtedly once a vast unwritten literature [1]

Mythology

Main article: Miwok mythology

Coast Miwok mythology and narratives were similar to other natives of Central and Northern California. The mythology of the Miwok Native Americans are myths of their world order their creation stories and 'how things came to be' created The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" The Coast Miwok believed in animal and human spirits, and saw the animal spirits as their ancestors. Coyote was seen as their ancestor and creator god. Coyote is a Mythological character common to many Native American cultures based on the Coyote ( Canis latrans) animal A creator deity is a Deity in a Creation myth responsible for the creation of the World (or Universe) In their case the earth began with land formed out of the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions [4]

Authentic villages

The authenticated Coast Miwok villages are: [5]

History

Documentation of Miwok peoples dates back as early as 1579 by a priest on a ship under the command of Francis Drake. Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c 1540 &ndash 27 January 1595 was an English Privateer, navigator, Slaver, and politician Other verification of occupancy exists from Spanish and Russian voyagers between 1595 and 1808. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending [6][7] Over 1000 prehistoric charmstones and numerous arrowheads have been unearthed at Tolay Lake in Southern Sonoma County - some dating back 4000 years. A charmstone is a mineral specimen believed to have Healing, mystical or Paranormal powers or energy Tolay Lake is a shallow Freshwater Lacustrine Water body in southern Sonoma County, California, United States. The lake was thought to be a sacred site and ceremonial gathering and healing place for the Miwok and others in the region. [8] Coast Miwok would travel and camp on the coast and bays at peak fishing seasons.

In the early 1800s, the Spanish-American Franciscans began to move the Miwok into missions and divide Marin-Sonoma lands into large ranches under Spanish land deeds. The Spanish Missions established from 1809 to 1834 used Coast Miwok and southern Pomo people as a labor source. Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) can refer to any one of four linguistically-related groups of Native Americans, who lived in what The Pomo people are a linguistic branch of Native American people of Northern California. Many became known as mission Indians or neophytes at Mission San Rafael Arcángel (of San Rafael), or Mission San Francisco Solano (of Sonoma). Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded on December 14, 1817 as a medical asistencia ("sub-mission" of the Mission San Francisco de PLEASE DO NOT DELETE EMPTY FIELDS UNTIL JUNE 1 2007--THIS WILL TAKE A WHILE--> San Rafael (ˌsænrəˈfɛl originally sɑn rɑfɑˈɛl Another mission bearing the name San Francisco Solano is the Mission San Francisco Solano in Coahuila, Mexico. Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County California, USA. Mission records assist in substantiating native genealogical persistence. At first the Coast Miwok were sent to the missions in San Rafael, San Francisco and as far south as Mission San Jose. The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of Religious outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between This article refers to the Spanish Mission For the neighborhood and historical town see Mission San Jose in the article on Fremont CA. 850 Coast Miwok had been converted by year 1817. [9] The entire Sonoma-Marin region virtually emptied of people. Later the Coast Miwok were transported back to Sonoma County to help build and live at the Mission San Francisco Solano in present-day town of Sonoma, from this final missions' founding in 1823 to its secularization in 1836. Another mission bearing the name San Francisco Solano is the Mission San Francisco Solano in Coahuila, Mexico. [6][7]

The Coast Miwok population declined rapidly after 1837, when a smallpox epidemic decimated the native population of the Sonoma region, as well as from other diseases brought in from the Spaniards as well as the Russians at Fort Ross. [10][7]

By the beginning of California statehood (1850) the Miwok of Marin and Sonoma Counties were making the best of a difficult oppressive situation, by earning their livelihoods through farm labor or fishing, within their traditional homelands. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Some chose to work as seasonal or year-round ranch labors for the Rancho Petaluma Adobe or other Ranches. Rancho Petaluma Adobe is the name of a historic Ranch and adobe Ranch house that was owned and constructed by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, commandant [7]

Relocation

After the Mission period (1769-1834) local Indian people continued in servitude to Mexican land grant owners throughout their confiscated tribal territories. The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of Religious outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. A land grant is a gift of Real estate - land or privileges - made by a government or other authority as a Reward for services Mexican and American period records show that a Coast Miwok, Camillo Ynitia, secured the land grant for Olompali near Novato within Coast Miwok homelands. Camillo Ynitia (original native name Heumon) was born in 1803 probably in the Miwok village of Olompali (located just north of present-day Novato California Olompali State Historic Park is a 700 acre park on the Marin Peninsula north of Novato California, USA which overlooks the Petaluma River and Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Olompali was the site of a large village, extending from prehistoric times into the Spanish/Mexican periods, and continues today as an important historic locale.

Another important locale was Nicasio northwest of San Rafael. For people with this name see Nicasius. Nicasio (ni-kash'-oh is a contiguous area of unincorporated land in west Marin PLEASE DO NOT DELETE EMPTY FIELDS UNTIL JUNE 1 2007--THIS WILL TAKE A WHILE--> San Rafael (ˌsænrəˈfɛl originally sɑn rɑfɑˈɛl Near the time of secularization (1835), the Church granted the San Rafael Christian Indians 20 leagues (80,000 acres, 320 km²) of mission lands at Nicasio. About 500 Indians relocated to Nicasio. By 1850 they had but one league of land left. This radical reduction of land was a result of illegal confiscation of land by non-Indians under protest by Indian residents. In 1870, Jose Calistro, the last community leader at Nicasio, purchased the small surrounding parcel. Calistro died in 1875, and in 1876 the land was transferred by his will to his four children. In 1880 there were 36 Indian people at Nicasio. The population was persuaded to leave in the 1880s when Marin County, California curtailed funds to all Indians (except those at Marshall) who were not living at the Poor Farm, a place for "indigent" peoples. March 11, 1889 | Marshall California, is an unincorporated town on the east shore of Tomales Bay in Marin County, Northern California.

By the early 1900s, a few Miwok families pursued fishing for their livelihoods; one family continued commercial fishing into the 1970s, while another family maintained an oyster harvesting business. The common name oyster is used for a number of different groups of Bivalve Mollusks most of which live in marine habitats or Brackish water. When this activity was neither in season nor profitable, Indian people of this area sought agricultural employment, which required an itinerant lifestyle. For the word itinerant used to describe electrons from free-electron metals see Jellium. The preferred locality for such work was within Marin and Sonoma counties. Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of California, is one of the northernmost counties of the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, U

Recognition

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly the Federated Coast Miwok, gained federal recognition of their tribal status in December 2000. The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly the Federated Coast Miwok, was officially recognized by the U The new tribe consists of people of both Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo descent.

Population

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. (See Population of Native California. Estimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods ) Alfred L. Kroeber put the 1770 population of the Coast Miwok at 1,500. Alfred Louis Kroeber (June 11 1876&ndashOctober 5 1960 was one of the most influential figures in American Anthropology in the first half of the twentieth [11] Sherburne F. Cook raised this figure to 2,000. Sherburne Friend Cook was a physiologist by training and served as professor and chairman of the department of physiology at the University of California Berkeley. [12]

The population in 1848 was estimated as 300, and it had dropped to 60 in 1880. [13]

Notable Coast Miwoks

External links

Notes

  1. ^ a b Kroeber, 1907, Vol. 4 #6, sections titled "Shamanism", "Public Ceremonies", "Ceremonial Structures and Paraphernalia", and "Mythology and Beliefs".
  2. ^ The Kuksu Cult paraphrased from Kroeber.
  3. ^ Kroeber, 1925:445. "A less specialized type of cosmogony is therefore indicated for the southern Kuksu-dancing groups. [1. If, as seems probable, the southerly Kuksu tribes (the Miwok, Costanoans, Esselen, and northernmost Yokuts) had no real society in connection with their Kuksu ceremonies, the distinctness of their mythology appears less surprising. ]".
  4. ^ Clark 1910, Gifford 1917.
  5. ^ Miwok Indian Tribe. Access Genealogy. Retrieved on 2008-01-11. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire.
  6. ^ a b c Cook, 1976.
  7. ^ a b c d Silliman, 2004.
  8. ^ Tolay Lake Park: Natural and Cultural History, County of Sonoma Regional Parks Department: Tolay Lake Regional Park, August 20, 2007.
  9. ^ Cook, 1976:182.
  10. ^ Cook 1976:213-214.
  11. ^ Kroeber, 1925:883.
  12. ^ Cook, 1976:182.
  13. ^ Cook, 1976:239, 351.
  14. ^ a b Teather, 1986
  15. ^ Teather has full name and acerage

References


Miwok Indigenous Peoples of California
Distinct Ethnic Groups

• Valley & Sierra Miwok   • Coast Miwok   • Lake Miwok   • Bay Miwok
Regions

Sierra Nevada & Central Valley | Marin & Sonoma County | Lake County | Contra Costa County  
Culture

   • Miwok mythology | Eastern Miwok Narratives | Coast Miwok Narratives | Lake Miwok Narratives  
Utian languages  • Hunting & Gathering  • Kuksu
Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) can refer to any one of four linguistically-related groups of Native Americans, who lived in what Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The Valley and Sierra Miwok (also called the Plains and Sierra Miwok) were the largest group of Miwok Native American people The Lake Miwok were a branch of the Miwok a Native American people of Northern California. The Bay Miwok refers to a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok a Native American people in Northern California who lived in Contra Costa County The Sierra Nevada ( Spanish for "Snowy Range" is a Mountain range located in the U The Central Valley is a large flat valley that dominates the central portion of the U March 11, 1889 | Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of California, is one of the northernmost counties of the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, U Lake County is a County located in the north central portion of the U Contra Costa County ( Spanish for "opposite coast" is a suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U The mythology of the Miwok Native Americans are myths of their world order their creation stories and 'how things came to be' created Eastern Miwok traditional narratives include myths legends tales and oral histories preserved by the Eastern Miwok people of central California including the Sierra, Coast Miwok traditional narratives include myths legends tales and oral histories preserved by the Coast Miwok people of the central California coast immediately north of Lake Miwok traditional narratives include myths legends tales and oral histories preserved by the Lake Miwok people of Clear Lake in the North Coast Range of northwestern Utian (also Miwok-Costanoan, Mutsun) is a family of indigenous languages spoken in the central and north portion of California, United A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting Kuksu, also called the Kuksu Cult, was a Shamanistic religion in Northern California practiced in different degrees by many Native American people

Dictionary

Coast Miwok

-proper noun

  1. A division of the Miwok people, who resided north of the San Francisco Bay.
  2. The Utian (Penutian) language spoken by this people.
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