California Native American History: California Native American History


Origins- Native Point of View: Origins- Native Point of View Tribal Creation Stories We have been here since time immemorial The first people on this land were the animal people Our people were created from the earth All stories give us a connection to the land we are from


Origins- Anthro Point of View: Origins- Anthro Point of View Anthropological View People came across the Bering Land Bridge and settled across the Americas People have only settled here for the past 15,000 yrs Creation stories are myths and legend


Pre European Contact: Pre European Contact Population up to 1,000,000 people Over 500 bands/tribes People occupied every corner of the state Cultures and languages as different as English and Chinese


European Contact: European Contact


Missions: Missions 21 Catholic Missions from San Diego to Sonoma Constructed with the forced labor of California Indians Were unable to practice their traditions and ceremonies. Average lifespan of an Indian taken to a mission was less than 10 years. By the late 1820’s over 100,000 Indians died as a direct result of the missions.


Gold Rush: Gold Rush Gold “discovered” at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma – 1848 California’s non-Indian population grew by over 100,000 by 1850. Settlers began stealing women and children for laborers.


Slide8: 1849- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1850- California admitted as a State 1850- Act for the Government and Protection of Indians 1850- 1852: 18 Treaties reserving 8,619,000 acres as Indian land (unratified) State funded militias and bounties against Indians Disease


Reservations and Rancherias: Reservations and Rancherias Reservations may not be in a tribe’s aboriginal territory. Southern CA tribes receive Reservations in late 1800’s. Not all tribes received Reservations Dispossession of tribal lands Rancherias were created for “homeless” tribes Not all landless tribes received Rancherias Tribes that did not receive land may not be recognized by the federal government as a “Tribe”


Dawes Act- 1887: Dawes Act- 1887 Objective was to assimilate tribes Allotted tribal members with individual parcels of reservation land Remaining parcels were sold to non-Indians Resulted in the loss of thousands of acres of reservation land Eroded traditional cultural values and life ways


Termination: Termination Rancheria Termination Act of 1958 terminated 39 Rancherias Government effort to assimilate Indians Much of the lands were sold 26 Rancherias have been restored since the early 1980s (not an easy battle).


Contemporary California Indians: Contemporary California Indians Tribes are proud of their cultural and ethnic identity Tribes are protecting their cultural places Tribes still have their ceremonies, their songs, and their traditions Tribes are re-telling history


American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978: American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 After over 300 years of religious persecution tribes are able to practice their traditional religions without fear. U.S. federal laws interfered with the traditional religious practices of many American Indians The purpose is to preserve and protect Native American religions


Tribal Governance: Tribal Governance


Tribal Government- 1934: Tribal Government- 1934 Passage of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) Many contemporary tribes adopted IRA Constitutions Worked to reduce the privatization of tribes’ common holdings Eroded many forms of traditional tribal governance Some tribes that were not previously recognized organized under the IRA


Today’s Tribes: Today’s Tribes 109 Federally Recognized and about 50 Unrecognized or Unacknowledged tribes Reservations and Rancherias may not be in a Tribe’s ancestral territory. Business Enterprises Government entities Cultural entities


Tribal Council: Tribal Council Sovereign government (Federally recognized tribes) Jurisdiction over reservation land Elected officials May follow more traditional forms of government, ie: hereditary leadership, or specific customs, rules, and laws Tribal Council members may have fulltime jobs


Questions?: Questions?