northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
. They reside in the central
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
, in the watershed area of the
Feather
Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...
and
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
rivers. They also reside in Humbug Valley. In
Maiduan languages
Maiduan (also Maidun, Pujunan) is a small endangered language, endangered language family of northeastern California.
Family division
The Maiduan consists of 4 languages:
# Maidu language, Maidu ''†'' (also known as Maidu proper, Northeaste ...
, ''Maidu'' means "man."
Local division
The Maidu people are geographically dispersed into many subgroups or bands who live among and identify with separate valleys, foothills, and mountains in Northeastern Central California. There are three subcategories of Maidu:
* The
Nisenan
The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. The Nisenan people are classified as part of the large ...
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
,
Bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
, and
Yuba River
The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba River ...
drainages. They live in lands that were previously home to the
Martis
Martis ( sc, Martis or ''Maltis'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, about north of Cagliari and about east of Sassari. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 608 and an area of . ...
.
* The Northeastern or
Mountain Maidu
The Maidu are a Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather and American rivers. They also reside in Humbug Valley. In Maiduan languages, ''Maidu'' means "man."
...
, also known as Yamani Maidu, lived on the upper North and Middle forks of the
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over . The main stem Feather R ...
.
* The Konkow (Koyom'kawi/Concow) occupied a
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
between present-day
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
, and Pulga, along the north fork of the Feather River and its tributaries. The
Mechupda
The Mechoopda are a tribe of Maidu people, an indigenous peoples of California. They are enrolled in the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria, a federally recognized tribe. Historically, the tribe has spoken Konkow, a language related to the ...
live in the area of
Chico, California
Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...
Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred Louis Kroeber (June 11, 1876 – October 5, 1960) was an American cultural anthropologist. He received his PhD under Franz Boas at Columbia University in 1901, the first doctorate in anthropology awarded by Columbia. He was also the first ...
estimated the 1770 population of the Maidu (including the Konkow and Nisenan) as 9,000.
Sherburne F. Cook
Sherburne Friend Cook (1896-1974) was an American physiologist, who served as professor and chairman of the department of physiology at the University of California, Berkeley. He was notable as a pioneer in population studies of the native peopl ...
raised this figure slightly, to 9,500.
Kroeber reported the population of the Maidu in 1910 as 1,100. The 1930 census counted 93, following decimation by infectious diseases and social disruption. As of 1995, the Maidu population had recovered to an estimated 3,500.
Culture
Baskets and basket making
The Maidu women were exemplary basket weavers, weaving highly detailed and useful baskets in sizes ranging from thimble-sized to huge ones ten or more feet in diameter. The weaving on some of these baskets is so fine that a magnifying glass is needed to see the strands. In addition to making closely woven, watertight baskets for cooking, they made large storage baskets, bowls, shallow trays, traps, cradles, hats, and seed beaters. To make these baskets, they used dozens of different kinds of wild plant stems, barks, roots and leaves. Some of the more common were fern roots, red bark of the redbud, white willow twigs and tule roots, hazel twigs, yucca leaves, brown marsh grassroots, and sedge roots. By combining these different kinds of plants, the women made geometric designs on their baskets in red, black, white, brown or tan.
Maidu elder Marie Potts explains, "The coiled and twining systems were both used, and the products were sometimes handsomely decorated according to the inventiveness and skill of the weaver and the materials available, such as feathers of brightly plumaged birds, shells, quills, seeds or beads- almost anything that could be attached."
Subsistence
Like many other California tribes, the Maidu were primarily
hunters and gatherers
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
and did not farm. They practiced grooming of their gathering grounds, with fire as a primary tool for this purpose. They tended local groves of
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
trees to maximize production of
acorn
The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally
two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...
s, which were their principal
dietary
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism.
The word diet often implies the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons (with the two often being related). Although humans are o ...
staple after being processed and prepared.
According to Maidu elder Marie Potts:
Preparing acorns as the food was a long and tedious process that was undertaken by the women and children. The acorns had to be shelled, cleaned and then ground into meal. This was done by pounding them with a pestle on a hard surface, generally a hollowed-out stone. The tannic acid in the acorns was leached out by spreading the meal smoothly on a bed of pine needles laid over-sand. Cedar or fir boughs were placed across the meal and warm water was poured all over, a process which took several hours, with the boughs distributing the water evenly and flavoring the meal.
The Maidu used the abundance of acorns to store large quantities for harder times. Above-ground acorn
granaries
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
were created by the weavers.
Besides acorns, which provided dietary
starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
and
fat
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers spec ...
, the Maidu supplemented their acorn diet with
edible root
Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. Although botany distinguishes true roots (such as taproots and tuberous roots) from non-roots (such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers, although some contain both hypocotyl ...
s or tubers (for which they were nicknamed "Digger Indians" by European immigrants), and other plants and tubers. The women and children also collected seeds from the many flowering plants, and corms from wildflowers also were gathered and processed as part of their diet. The men hunted deer, elk, antelope, and smaller game, within a spiritual system that respected the animals. The men captured fish from the many streams and rivers, as they were a prime source of protein. Salmon were collected when they came upstream to spawn; other fish were available year-round.
Housing
Especially higher in the hills and the mountains, the Maidu built their dwellings semi-underground, to gain protection from the cold. These houses were sizable, circular structures twelve to 18 feet in diameter, with floors, dug as much as three feet below ground level. Once the floor of the house was dug, a pole framework was built. It was covered by pine bark slabs. A sturdy layer of earth was placed along the base of the structure. A central fire was prepared in the house at ground level. It had a stone-lined pit and bedrock mortar to hold heat for food preparation.
For summer dwelling, a different structure was built from cut branches tied together and fastened to sapling posts, then covered with brush and dirt. The summer shelters were built with the principal opening facing east to catch the rising sun, and to avoid the heat of afternoon sun.
Social organization
Maidu lived in small villages or bands with no centralized political organization. Leaders were typically selected from the pool of men who headed the local Kuksu cult. They did not exercise day-to-day authority but were primarily responsible for settling internal disputes and negotiating over matters arising between villages.
Religion
The primary religious tradition was known as the Kuksu cult. This central California religious system was based on a male secret society. It was characterized by the Kuksu or "big head" dances. Maidu elder Marie Mason Potts says that the Maidu are traditionally a monotheistic people: "they greeted the sunrise with a prayer of thankfulness; at noon they stopped for meditation, and at sunset, they communed with ''Kadyapam'' and gave thanks for blessings throughout the day." A traditional spring celebration for the Maidu was the Bear Dance when the Maidu honored the bear coming out of hibernation. The bear's
hibernation
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...
and survival through the winter symbolized perseverance to the Maidu, who identified with the animal spiritually.
The Kuksu cult system was also followed by the
Pomo
The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small grou ...
and the
Patwin
The Patwin (also Patween, Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people native to the area of Northern California. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500 AD.
The Patwi ...
among the
Wintun
The Wintun are members of several related Native American peoples of Northern California, including the Wintu (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern).Pritzker, 152Trickster Coyote are particularly prominent in
Maidu traditional narratives Maidu traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the Maidu, Konkow, and Nisenan people of eastern Sacramento Valley and foothills in northeastern California.
Maidu oral literature aligned the Maidu closely ...
.
Languages
The Maidu spoke a language that some linguists believe was related to the
Penutian
Penutian is a proposed grouping of language families that includes many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. The existence of a Penutian s ...
family. While all Maidu spoke a form of this language, the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary differed sufficiently that Maidu separated by large distances or by geographic features that discouraged travel might speak dialects that were nearly mutually unintelligible.
There were four principal divisions of the language: Northeastern Maidu, Yamonee Maidu (known simply as
Maidu
The Maidu are a Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather and American rivers. They also reside in Humbug Valley. In Maiduan languages, ''Maidu'' means "man."
...
); Southern Maidu or
Nisenan
The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. The Nisenan people are classified as part of the large ...
; Northwestern Maidu or
Konkow
The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...
The Maidu inhabited areas in the northeastern Sierra Nevada. Many examples of indigenous
rock art
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
and
petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s have been found here. Scholars are uncertain about whether these date from previous indigenous populations of peoples or were created by the Maidu people. The Maidu incorporated these works into their cultural system, and believe that such artifacts are real, living energies that are an integral part of their world.
Tribes
Federally recognized
*
Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians
The Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people based in northeastern California, south of Lassen Peak. They historical have spoken the Konkow language, also known as Nor ...
*
Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California
Enterprise Rancheria is the landbase for the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe, located in Butte County, near Oroville, California
Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, ...
Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California
The Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Concow and Maidu people in Butte County. Concow, or Konkow, people are the northwestern or foothill branch of the Maidu people, who traditionally spoke t ...
*
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians
The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California is a federally recognized tribe.
Government
The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians is an independent, sovereign tribal government led by an electe ...
* Honey Lake Maidu Tribe
* KonKow Valley Band of Maidu Indians
*
Nisenan
The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. The Nisenan people are classified as part of the large ...
of
Nevada City Rancheria The Nevada City Rancheria was the federally recognized land and name of the Nisenan Native American people in Northern California. The Rancheria land was obtained in 1887 by Tribal Chief Charley Cully. When he died in 1911, the land allotment wa ...
* Strawberry Valley Band of Pakan'yani Maidu (aka Strawberry Valley Rancheria)
* Tsi Akim Maidu Tribe of Taylorsville Rancheria
* United Maidu Nation
* Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe of the Colfax Rancheria
Notable Maidu people
* Dalbert Castro (
Nisenan
The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. The Nisenan people are classified as part of the large ...
), artist, painter
* Wallace Clark (Koyom'kawi yepom), traditional arts
* Frank Day (Konkow), artist
*
Harry Fonseca
Harry Eugene Fonseca (1946 – 2006) was a Nisenan Native Americans in the United States, Native American artist, and illustrator. He was an enrolled citizen of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
Education
Harry Eugene Fonseca was bor ...
(Nisenan/Miwok), artist, painter
*
Janice Gould
Janice Gould (1949—2019) was a Koyangk'auwi (Konkow, Concow) Maidu writer and scholar. She was the author of ''Beneath My Heart'', ''Earthquake Weather'' and co-editor with Dean Rader of ''Speak to Me Words: Essays on Contemporary American ...
(Konkow Maidu), artist
*
Judith Lowry
Judith Carter Lowry (née Ives; July 27, 1890 – November 29, 1976) was an American actress. She had nearly 30 film and television roles and appeared on stage, most notably in the Off-Broadway production of ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in ...
(Mountain Maidu/
Achomawi
Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi and Ahjumawi), are the northerly nine (out of eleven) bands of the Pit River tribe of Palaihnihan Native Americans who live in what is now northeastern California in the United States. These 5 autonomous bands ...
), artist, painter
* Jacob A. Meders (Mechoopda-Konkow), painter, printmaker, installation artist
*
Marie Mason Potts
Marie Mason Potts (1895 – 1978), also known as Chankutpan, or "One With Sharp Eyes", née Marie Mason; she was a Mountain Maidu cultural leader, activist, educator, writer, journalist, and editor. She was an influential California Native Americ ...
(Mountain Maidu), journalist, activist
*
Frank Tuttle
Frank Wright Tuttle (August 6, 1892 – January 6, 1963) was a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film director and writer who directed films from 1922 (''The Cradle Buster'') to 1959 (''Island of Lost Women'').
Biography
Frank Tuttle wa ...
(KonKow Maidu), artist, ceremonialist
Notes
References
* Cook, Sherburne F. 1976. ''The Conflict between the California Indian and White Civilization''. University of California Press, Berkeley.
* Kroeber, A. L. 1925. Handbook of the Indians of California '. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.
* Heizer, Robert F. 1966. ''Languages, Territories, and Names of California Indian Tribes''. University of California Press, Berkeley.
* Pritzker, Barry. 2000. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford University Press, New York.