Presentation Transcript
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?