Miwok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Miwok People | |
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| A Miwok house reproduction | |
| Total population | 1770: over 11,000 1910: 670 1930: 491 |
| Regions with significant populations | California: Sierra Nevada Mountains, Central Valley, Marin County, Sonoma County, Lake County, Contra Costa County |
| Language | Utian languages: Miwok family |
| Religion | Shamanism: Kuksu Miwok mythology |
| Related ethnic groups | Subgroups: |
Miwok (also spelled Miwuk or Me-Wuk) is the name of four linguistically related groups Native Americans, who lived in what is now Northern California. The word Miwok means people in the Miwok language. There are four geographically detached and documented ethnic subgroups of Miwok people, as follows:
- Valley and Sierra Miwok, also called the Plains and Sierra Miwok, who lived in the western slope and foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley (the two valleys that make up the Central Valley), and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
- Coast Miwok, who lived in what is now Marin County and southern Sonoma County. (This includes the Bodega Bay Miwok and Marin Miwok).
- Lake Miwok, who lived in the Clear Lake basin of Lake County.
- Bay Miwok, who lived in what is now Contra Costa County.
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[edit] Overview
The Miwok spoke the Miwokan languages in the Utian linguistic group. With regional differences, the Miwok lived by hunting and gathering, and lived in small bands without centralized political authority. Miwok mythology and narratives were similar to other natives of Northern California. Miwok believed in animal and human spirits, and saw the animal spirits as their ancestors. Coyote was seen as their ancestor and creator god.
For the year 1770, Alfred L. Kroeber estimated that there were 500 Lake Miwok, 1,500 Coast Miwok, and 9,000 Plains and Sierra Miwok, totaling about 11,000, but this may be a serious undercount, for example he did not identify the Bay Miwok. [1] The 1910 Census reported only 670 Miwok total, and the 1930 Census 491, see history of each Miwok group for more information.[2]
[edit] U.S. Recognition
The United States Bureau of Indian Affairs officially recognized seven tribes in 2003 with the name of Miwok or Me-Wuk in California state, as follows:
- Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians
- California Valley Miwok Tribe
- Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians
- Ione Band of Miwok Indians, of Ione[1]
- Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians
- Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, of Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract)
- Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, of the Tuolumne Rancheria
Other Federally recognized Miwok tribes are:
- Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok[2]
[edit] Notes
[edit] 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. Native American research and population data.
- 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.
- U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
[edit] External links
- Access Genealogy: Indian Tribal records, Miwok Indian Tribe
- California Historical Society
- Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California in 1770 (map after Kroeber)
- Tribe information from Angel Island State Park
| Miwok Indigenous Peoples of California | |
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| 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 |
