| Miwok People |
|---|
 |
| A Sierra Miwok cedar bark umuucha cabin reproduction in Yosemite Valley. The Valley and Sierra Miwok (also called the Plains and Sierra Miwok) were the largest group of Miwok Native American people [1] |
| Total population |
|
1770: over 11,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| California: Sierra Nevada Mountains, Central Valley, Marin County, Sonoma County, Lake County, Contra Costa County |
| Languages |
| Utian languages: Miwok family |
| Religions |
| Shamanism: Kuksu Miwok mythology |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
Subgroups: |
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 is now Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family. 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 Utian (also Miwok-Costanoan, Mutsun) is a family of indigenous languages spoken in the central and north portion of California, United 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 The Valley and Sierra Miwok (also called the Plains and Sierra Miwok) were the largest group of Miwok Native American people The Coast Miwok were the second 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 Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Northern California is the northern portion of the US state of California. Utian (also Miwok-Costanoan, Mutsun) is a family of indigenous languages spoken in the central and north portion of California, United The word Miwok means people in their native language.
In 2008, Ancient Mi Wuk artifacts were unearthed, some as many as 5000 years old in Calaveras County. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Calaveras County is a County located in the Gold Country of the U Many of the artifacts will be reburied with a special ceremony. Mi Wuk's believe the artifacts belong to the land. [2]
Contents |
Culture
Generally all Miwok were a hunting and gathering people who lived in small bands without centralized political authority before contact with European Americans in 1769; generally Miwok mythology and narratives were similar to other natives of Northern California. 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 The mythology of the Miwok Native Americans are myths of their world order their creation stories and 'how things came to be' created Miwok believed in animal and human spirits and saw the animal spirits as their ancestors. Coyote was 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 1770, there was an estimated 500 Lake Miwok, 1,500 Coast Miwok, and 9,000 Plains and Sierra Miwok, totaling about 11,000 people, according to historian Alfred L. Kroeber, although this may be a serious undercount, for example he did not identify the Bay Miwok. 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 [3] The 1910 Census reported only 670 Miwok total, and the 1930 Census 491, see history of each Miwok group for more information. [4]
Groups
There are four geographically and culturally diverse ethnic subgroups of Miwok people:
- Valley and Sierra Miwok: from the western slope and foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Valley and Sierra Miwok (also called the Plains and Sierra Miwok) were the largest group of Miwok Native American people The Sierra Nevada ( Spanish for "Snowy Range" is a Mountain range located in the U The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U The San Joaquin Valley (ˌsæn wɑːˈkiːn refers to the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is an expansive inland River delta and Estuary in northern California in the United States.
- Coast Miwok : from present day location of Marin County and southern Sonoma County. 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 (This includes the Bodega Bay Miwok and Marin Miwok).
- Lake Miwok: from Clear Lake basin of Lake County. The Lake Miwok were a branch of the Miwok a Native American people of Northern California. Lake County is a County located in the north central portion of the U
- Bay Miwok: from present-day location of Contra Costa County. 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 Contra Costa County ( Spanish for "opposite coast" is a suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U
Federally recognized tribes
The United States Bureau of Indian Affairs officially recognizes nine tribes of Miwok, Mi-Wuk or Me-Wuk descent in California, as follows:
- Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians[5]
- California Valley Miwok Tribe (formerly known as the Sheep Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians)[6] [7] [8]
- Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians
- Ione Band of Miwok Indians, of Ione [9]
- Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians
- Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, of Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract)[10]
- Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, of the Tuolumne Rancheria
- United Auburn Indian Community, of the Auburn Rancheria[11] [12]
- Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok[13]
- Middletown Rancheria (Members of this tribe are of Pomo, Lake Miwok, and Wintun descent)
Non-federally recognized tribes
- Miwok Tribe of the El Dorado Rancheria
- Nashville-Eldorado Miwok Tribe
- Wilton Rancheria of Miwok Indians
- Colfax- Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe
- Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation
- Calaveras Band of Mi-Wuk Indians
See also
Notes
- ^ Craig D. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the History Although the bureau which was called the Office of Indian Affairs was formed in 1824 similar agencies had existed in the U The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly the Federated Coast Miwok, was officially recognized by the U Utian (also Miwok-Costanoan, Mutsun) is a family of indigenous languages spoken in the central and north portion of California, United Bates Museum Anthropology 17(2):13 (June 1993)
- ^ Ancient Artifacts Found At Construction Site Retrieved: April 26, 2008
- ^ Kroeber.
- ^ Cook, 1976, pages 236-245.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ http://www.califoniavalleymiwok.com/
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
References
- Access Genealogy: Indian Tribal records, Miwok Indian Tribe. Retrieved on 2006-08-01. Main source of "authenticated village" names and locations.
- Cook, Sherburne. The Conflict Between the California Indian and White Civilization. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1976. ISBN 0-520-03143-1.
- Kroeber, Alfred L. 1925. Handbook of the Indians of California. Washington, D. C: Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. (Chapter 30, The Miwok); available at Yosemite Online Library.
- Silliman, Stephen. Lost Laborers in Colonial California, Native Americans and the Archaeology of Rancho Petaluma. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8165-2381-9.
External links
- Barrett, S. A. and Gifford, E. W. Miwok Material Culture: Indian Life of the Yosemite Region. Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, California, 1933. ISBN 0-939666-12-X
- California Historical Society
- Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California in 1770 (map after Kroeber)
- Tribe information from Angel Island State Park
- U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
| Miwok Indigenous Peoples of California | |
|---|---|
| Distinct Ethnic Groups • Valley & Sierra Miwok • Coast Miwok • Lake Miwok • Bay Miwok |
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| Regions Sierra Nevada & Central Valley | Marin & Sonoma County | Lake County | Contra Costa County |
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| Culture • Miwok mythology | Eastern Miwok Narratives | Coast Miwok Narratives | Lake Miwok Narratives |
Dictionary
Miwok
-proper noun
- A linguistic group of indigenous people, native to central California.
- The Utian (Penutian) languages spoken by these groups.
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