![California-athabaskan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/California-athabaskan.svg)
The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of
Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or near the
Eel River and
Van Duzen River
The Van Duzen River is a river on the north coast of California. It is a major tributary of the Eel River and drains , mostly in Humboldt County, with a small portion in Trinity County. The river travels from its headwaters on the west side o ...
of northwestern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
These groups speak dialects of the
Wailaki language
Wailaki, also known as Eel River, is an extinct Athabaskan language spoken by the people of the Round Valley Reservation of northern California, one of four languages belonging to the ''California Athabaskan'' cluster of the Pacific Coast Ath ...
belonging to the
Pacific Coast Athabaskan group of the
Athapaskan language family which is prominently represented in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
,
western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
, and the
southwestern U.S. Other related Athapaskan groups neighboring the Eel River Athapaskans included the
Hupa
Hupa (Yurok language term: Huep'oola' / Huep'oolaa = "Hupa people") are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinook-wa, meaning "Peopl ...
-
Whilkut
The Whilkut (variants: ''Whiylqit, Hwil'-kut, Hoilkut, Hoilkut-hoi'') also known as "(Upper) Redwood Creek Indians" or "Mad River Indians" were a Pacific Coast Athabaskan tribe speaking a dialect similar to the Hupa to the northeast and Chilula ...
-
Chilula to the north, the
Mattole
The Mattole, including the Bear River Indians, are a group of Native Americans in California. Their traditional lands are along the Mattole and Bear Rivers near Cape Mendocino in Humboldt County, California. A notable difference between the Ma ...
on the coast to the west, and the
Kato to the south.
The Whilkut, Nongatl and Lassik were essentially annihilated during the
Bald Hills War
Bald Hills War (1858–1864) was a war fought by the forces of the California Militia, California Volunteers and soldiers of the U.S. Army against the Chilula, Lassik, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Tsnungwe, Wailaki, Whilkut and Wi ...
in the 1860s.
Some Wailaki people are registered members of
Round Valley Indian Tribes
The Round Valley Indian Reservation is a federally recognized Indian reservation lying primarily in northern Mendocino County, California, United States. A small part of it extends northward into southern Trinity County. The total land area, inc ...
.
Tribes
Nongatl
The Nongatl (
Hupa
Hupa (Yurok language term: Huep'oola' / Huep'oolaa = "Hupa people") are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinook-wa, meaning "Peopl ...
word meaning ″Athapaskan to the south″) lived traditionally in the territory around the Van Duzen River, from its outlet on the Eel River to its headwaters near
Dinsmore, California
Dinsmore is an unincorporated community in California. It is located on the Van Duzen River, at an elevation of . Dinsmore Airport and the Dinsmore Store are located nearby. Also nearby is the Mad River, Ruth, California and Ruth Reservoir (loc ...
, and along
Yager Creek
Yager Creek is a tributary stream of the Van Duzen River on the north coast of California in Humboldt County, California. It has its source at the confluence of North Fork Yager Creek and Middle Fork Yager Creek
Middle or The Middle may refer ...
and Larabee Creek (Elsasser 1978; Golla 2011). They had at least 35 villages.
Lassik
The Lassik (''Las'-sik'', the name of their last chief) had about 20 villages and occupied a portion of main Eel River south to Kekawaka Creek, and its east tributaries, Van Duzen River, Larabee, and Dobbyn creeks, as well the headwaters of the
North Fork Eel River
The North Fork Eel River is the smallest of four major tributaries of the Eel River (California), Eel River in northwestern California in the United States. It drains a rugged wilderness area of about in the California Coast Ranges, and flows t ...
and
Mad River. They had for neighbors toward the north the Whilkut inhabitants of the valley of Mad River and Redwood Creek; toward the east the Wintu of
South Fork Trinity River
The South Fork Trinity River is the main tributary of the Trinity River, in the northern part of the U.S. state of California.
It is part of the Klamath River drainage basin. It flows generally northwest from its source in the Klamath Mountains, ...
; toward the south the Wailaki, from whom they were separated by Kekawaka Creek; toward the west the Sinkyone (Sinkine) on Southfork of Eel River. Their dialect resembles the Hupa in its morphology and the Wailaki in its phonology. The majority of them perished during the first few years of the occupancy of their country by white people, a bounty being placed on their heads and the traffic in children for slaves being profitable and unrestrained. A few families of them are still living in the neighborhood of their former homes.
Wailaki
![Nicole Mann Official Portrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Nicole_Mann_Official_Portrait.jpg)
The Wailaki (
Wintun
The Wintun are members of several related Native American peoples of Northern California, including the Wintu (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern).Pritzker, 152[North Fork Eel River
The North Fork Eel River is the smallest of four major tributaries of the Eel River (California), Eel River in northwestern California in the United States. It drains a rugged wilderness area of about in the California Coast Ranges, and flows t ...]
in three main subdivisions: Tsennahkenne or Tsen-nah-ken-ne (Eel River Wailaki or Mainstem Eel River band); Bahneko or Bah-ne-ko keah (North Fork
el River
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
Wailaki or North Fork Eel River band); and Che-teg-gah-ahng (Pitch Wailaki or Pitch band) (located farther up the North Fork of the Eel River). These regional groupings were divided into several bands and contained almost 100 villages:
Tsennahkenne, Tsen-nah-ken-ne or Eel River Wailaki (both sides Eel River from Boulder Creek to Cottonwood Creek, then West side south to Yuki border (around Blue Rock Creek))
* Bis-kaiyaah (″slide/riverbank - band″) or Ch'inisnoo'-kaiyaah (″Indian Creek - band″); band on eastern side Eel River from Cottonwood Creek north to Willow Creek
:*Villages
:**Daabisch'i'aandin (ant-something's den-place); "ants nest place"
:**Daabistciis'aandin (ant-red-lies-place)
:**Dilkitts'oo'kaaliindin (??-milk-flows up-place)
:**Kotc'ildjildin (he slips down-place); "man slipped down"
:**Sait'ohdaadin (sand-?-mouth-place); village near Sait'oo cliff
:**Sait'ooyeeh (sand-?-under); winter shelter under Sait'oo cliff
:**Seedibiintcekinee'din (stone-sharp-DIM-base-place); "rock sharp (?) under place"
* Daadii'schow-kaiyaah (″grasshopper-big - band″) or Daadii'sdin-kaiyaah (″grasshopper-place - band″); band on western side Eel River from opposite mouth of North Fork Eel north to Natoikot Creek
:*Villages
:**Baahntceekii (warrior-cry); "war (ghosts) cry"
:**Daadii'schowdin (grasshopper-AUG-place)
:**Lhtciishseeyeehbii' (ashes-stone-under-in it); "ashes rock shelter in"
* Kaikiitce-kaiyaah (″live oak - band″) or Shaahnaa'ndoon'-kaiyaah (″Chamise Creek - band″); band on western side Eel River from Pine Creek at Horseshoe Bend north to Chamise Creek
:*Villages
:**Daakostaatcedin
:**Dindaidin (flint-place); "flint place"
:**Naadilyaasdin (pine-young-place); "pine seeds place"
* Nin'keniitc-kaiyaah (″earth-middle - band″) or Nee'taash-kaiyaah (″landslide - band″); band on western side Eel River from opposite mouth of North Fork Eel River extending about a mile south of there (north of McDonald Creek
:*Villages
:**Bischowdaadin (stream bank-AUG-mouth-place); "slide large mouth place"
:**Nin'keniitcit (earth-the middle)
* Seetaah-kaiyaah or Seetaahbii'-kaiyaah (″stone-among(-in it) - band″); band on western side Eel River from Natoikot north to Pine Creek
:*Villages
:**Ch'ibeetcekii' (pick grass-DIM-tail); "gather grass tail"
:**Ch'idee'kinee'din (something's horn-base-place); = Seetaahbii' ?
:**Ch'inaa'ghaan'tc'eedai' (something's eye-?asleep?-door?); "eye closed door"
:**Ilhgaichowkii' (??white?-AUG-tail)
:**Laashee'lhgottcedin (buckeye-pierced-DIM-place); "buckeye small hole place"
:**Sait'ootcedaadin (sand-?-DIM-tip-place); "sand point on"
:**Seedik'aandin (rock-ridge-place); "rock ridge place"
:**Seenaaghaatcedin (rock-wander-DIM-place); "stones walk around place"
* Seeyaadin-kaiyaah or Slaa-kaiyaah (″plural things/rope lies? - band″); band on eastern side Eel River from Willow Creek north to Copper Mine Creek
:*Villages
:**Ch'oolhittcebinin' (graveyard-DIM-its hillside); "graveyard hillside"
:**Kaaslinchowdin (spring-AUG-place); "spring large place"
:**K'ai'tc'il'iintaahdin (Christmas berries-among-place); "Christmas berries among place"
:**Naataalliinkii' (step over-flow-tail); "step over creek tail"
:**T'ighiskotin (cottonwood-trail down); "cottonwood trail down"
:**T'ohch'ilishchowkii' ? (grass-?-AUG-tail); "grass sour large tail"
:**Toommischowdaa'din (water-slide-AUG-tip-place); "water slide large point place"
:**Tootcedin (water?, grass?-DIM-place)
* Tciiskot-kaiyaah (″ochre-creek - band″) or Toos'aan-kaiyaah (″water-lies - band″, "water stands people"); band on eastern side Eel River from Copper Mine Creek north to Boulder Creek
:*Villages
:**K'ishs'aandin (alder tree-lies-place); "alder stands place"
:**Seechowkinee'din (rock-large-base-place); "rock large its base place"
:**tcadEtokInnEdAN (??-??-base-place)
Bahneko, Bah-ne-ko keah or North Fork
el River
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
Wailaki (both sides North Fork Eel from its mouth to about a mile up from Asbill Creek; East side Eel River between Cottonwood Creek and Yuki border (around Blue Rock Creek))
* Kaiyeeh-kiiyaahaan ″(??-under - band″); band on north and south side North Fork Eel River, from Seechow-kiiyaahaan boundary west of Wilson Creek eastward to boundary with Pitch Wailaki
:*Villages
:**Nooleehchowtaahdin (waterfall-AUG-among-place); "waterfalls large among"
:**Seeghaakindin (rocks-it floats through-place); "rocks through it (water) goes"
* Nee'lhtciichow-kaiyaah (″ground-red-AUG - band″) or Seeghaa'-kaiyaah (″moss (rock-hair) - band″), Shaahnaa'ntcin'chii'-kaiyaah (″stream-dirty-tail - band″); band on eastern side Eel River from McDonald Creek north to mouth of North Fork Eel River
:*Villages
:**K'ai'lhtciitaahdin (redbud-among-place); "redbud place"
:**Tseegholkiliinseeyeeh ? (rock-?-?-rock-under)
* Seechow-kiiyaahaan (″stone-AUG - band″); band on north and south side North Fork Eel River, next group after the Seetaandoon'-kaiyaah, extending for about one mile to a little downstream from Wilson Creek
:*Villages
:**Seelhtciidaadin (rock-red-mouth-place); "stone red mouth place"
:**Tootak'it (water-between); "between water", a summer camp
* Seelhgaichow-kaiyaah (″stone-white-AUG - band″, "rock white large people"), band on eastern side Eel River from McDonald Creek south to border with Yuki at Big Bend Creek
:*Villages
:**Seelhgaichowdin (rock-white-AUG-place); "rock white large..."
* Seelhtciichow-kaiyaah (″stone-red-AUG - band″, "rock red large people"), band on eastern side Eel River from mouth of North Fork Eel River north to Cottonwood Creek
:*Villages
:**chug/-ge/-tah (Merriam)
:**K'ai'lhtciitaahdin (redbud-among-place); "redbud place"
:**Seetaatciikaiyaa (stone-??-DIM-tribe?)
* Seetaandoon'-kaiyaah or Seetaandoon'chii'-kaiyaah (″stone-goes straight into water(-tail) - band″); band on north side North Fork Eel River from its mouth on Eel River extending about 1/2 mile upstream
:*Villages
:**Seenchiiyeeh; "rock large under"
:**Seetaandoon'chii' (rock-goes straight into water-tail); "rock runs to the water"
Che-teg-gah-ahng or Pitch Wailaki (North Fork Eel from a mile up from Asbill Creek all the way up to Lassik border (at Salt Creek); includes Hull's Creek and Casoose Creek)
* Ch'i'aankot-kiiyaahaan (″something's den/cave-creek - band″); band on Hull's Creek and Casoose Creek
:*Villages
:**Ch'i'aanmiiyeeh (something's den/cave-under it)
:**Ch'ilkoochowdin (??-AUG-place)
:**Ch'ilkoochowkinee'din (??-AUG-base-place)
:**K'aishkonteelhdin (?-valley-place)
:**Loonbistee'din ?
:**Min'k'itdin (pond-place)
:**Seetciitciikidaadin ?
:**T'aan'chowsiidin (leaf-AUG-head?-place)
:**T'aan'tciighittcin ?
* Chowkot-kiiyaahaan (″AUG?-creek - band″); band on North Fork Eel from south of Red Mountain Creek to border with Lassik at Salt Creek
:*Villages (no village names given)
* T'ohchaah-kiiyaahaan (″grass/prairie-big - band″, "prairie large people"), band on both sides of North Fork Eel River from Hull's Creek north to about a mile south of Red Mountain Creek
:*Villages
:**K'ishkonteelhdin (alder-valley-place); "alder flat"
:**Naandoon'din (it is straight?-place)
:**Seelhtcinninyeeh (rock-black?-face?-under)
:**Sin'aanyeeh ?
:**T'aantcintaanteelhdin (pepperwood-flat-place); "pepperwood flat"
* T'ohdinin'-kiiyaahaan (″grass/prairie-slope - band″, "prairie slope people"), band on both sides of North Fork Eel River from Hull's Creek southwest to border with North Fork Wailaki
:*Villages
:**Nee'lhghiindin (ground-greasy-place)
:**T'antcaanchowdin ?
:**T'ohchaahdin (grass/prairie-big-place)
:**Aantcinyaashbinin' (pepperwood-small-its hillside)
:**Seetcimmii' (stone-kind-in it)
:**Laawaasoonk'ait ?
Northern Bands (Kekawaka and allies, neither Wailaki nor Lassik; language like Wailaki, not Lassik) (both sides Eel River north of Boulder Creek on east side and Chamise Creek on west; north to Lassik border (around Kekawaka Creek))
* Daa'lhsow-kaiyaah (″surface-blue - band″, "blue ground people"), band on western side Eel River north of Chamise Creek, to Lassik border? Possibly not Eel Wailaki or Lassik, but separate people
* Ilhkoodin-kaiyaah (″??? - band″) or Yoiyidee'-kaiyaah (″far north - band″); band on eastern side Eel River from Boulder Creek north to Lassik Border? Possibly neither Eel Wailaki or Lassik, but a separate people
* K'aa'snaikot-kaiyaah (″arrow-??-creek - band″) or Kekawaka band ("The people on the north side of Kekawaka creek and on the east side of Eel river were known to the Wailaki as kasnaikotkaiya, arrow creek people. North of them were the Lassik. These people joined with the whites in the extermination of the Wailaki. That they ever had any political bond with the Wailaki is improbable. They were related by marriage, however, with the iLkodANkaiya, to whose country they came for acorns and buckeyes when their own harvest was short." (Goddard, Hab.Wail.p. 108))
* K'in'din-kaiyaah (″bow-place - band″, "bow people"), band on Jewett Creek (called by the Wailaki ''Dask'ekot'' - ″lung creek″) north to Lassik Border on Eel River
:*Villages (no village names given)
* Seetaalhtciichow-kaiyaah (″pestle-red-AUG - band″, "pestle red large people"), band north of Daa'lhsow-kaiyaah, at or near Jewett rock, close to
Harris, California
Sinkyone (Sinkine)
The Sinkyone, with about 70 villages, had the land along the Eel River and
South Fork Eel River
The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders' Grove where it joins the Eel River. The South Fork drains a long ...
, and a portion of coastline from Spanish Flat south.
Ethnobotany
The
Wailaki
The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or near the Eel River and Van Duzen River o ...
weave the roots and leaves of
Carex
''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...
into baskets and use the leaves to weave mats.
Population
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. ''(See
Population of Native California
The population of Native California refers to the population of Indigenous peoples of California. Estimates prior to and after European contact have varied substantially. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent schol ...
.)''
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 ...
(1925:883) proposed a 1770 population for the
Nongatl
The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or near the Eel River and Van Duzen River o ...
,
Sinkyone, and Lassik as 2,000, and the population of the
Wailaki
The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or near the Eel River and Van Duzen River o ...
as 1,000.
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 ...
(1976) suggested a total of 4,700 for the Nongatl, Sinkyone, Lassik, Wailaki, Mattole, and Kato. Martin A. Baumhoff (1958) estimated the aboriginal populations as 2,325 for the Nongatl, 4,221 for the Sinkyone, 1,411 for the Lassik, and 2,760 for the Wailaki, or a total of 10,717 for the four Eel River Athapaskan groups.
Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Nongatl, Sinkyone, and Lassik in 1910 as 100, and the population of the Wailaki as 200.
Today, some Wailaki people are enrolled in the
Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California, also known as the Scott's Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Sugar Bowl Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo and Wailaki Indians in Lake County. ,
[California Indians and Their Reservations.](_blank)
''San Diego State University Library and Information Access.'' 2009 (retrieved 27 July 2009) the
(formerly: Covelo Indian Community Yuki, Wailaki, Concow, Little Lake Pomo, Nomlacki, and Pit River peoples).
California Indians and Their Reservations: G.
''San Diego State University Library and Information Access.'' 2010 (retrieved 30 June 2010)
See also
* Eel River Athapaskan traditional narratives Eel River Athapaskan traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories.
Who preserves them
*the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone peoples of the Eel River basin of northwestern California.
Pattern of narratives
Ee ...
* Bald Hills War
Bald Hills War (1858–1864) was a war fought by the forces of the California Militia, California Volunteers and soldiers of the U.S. Army against the Chilula, Lassik, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Tsnungwe, Wailaki, Whilkut and Wi ...
* Alaskan Athabaskans
The Alaskan Athabascans, Alaskan Athabascans, Alaskan AthapascansWilliam Simeone, ''A History of Alaskan Athapaskans'', 1982, Alaska Historical Commission or Dena (russian: атабаски Аляски, атапаски Аляски) are Alaska ...
Notes
References
* Baumhoff, Martin A. 1958. "California Athabascan Groups". ''Anthropological Records'' 16:157-238. University of California, Berkeley.
* Cook, Sherburne F. 1976. ''The Conflict between the California Indian and White Civilization''. University of California Press, Berkeley.
* Driver, Harold E. 1937. "Culture Element Distributions: X Northwest California". ''Anthropological Records'' 1:297-433. University of California, Berkeley. ncludes data on Nongatl.* Elsasser, Albert B. 1976. "Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Lassik, and Wailaki". In ''California'', edited by Robert F. Heizer, pp. 190–204. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 8, William C. Sturtevant, general editor. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
* Essene, Frank. 1942. "Culture Element Distributions: XXI Round Valley". ''Anthropological Records'' 8:197. University of California, Berkeley. ncludes data on Lassik.
Kroeber, A. L. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C., Volume 1, Page 142-158
Keter, Thomas S. All Those Things that You’re Liable To Read in the Ethnographic Literature They Ain’t Necessarily So, Paper Presented to The Society for California Archaeology, Modesto, California, March 13, 2009
External links
Nongatl language
overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
The Survey of California and Other Indian Languages (originally the Survey of California Indian Languages) at the University of California at Berkeley documents, catalogs, and archives the indigenous languages of the Americas. The survey also hosts ...
Eel River Athabaskan
overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
The Survey of California and Other Indian Languages (originally the Survey of California Indian Languages) at the University of California at Berkeley documents, catalogs, and archives the indigenous languages of the Americas. The survey also hosts ...
ROUND VALLEY INDIAN TRIBES
{{authority control
Native American tribes in California
Native American tribes in Mendocino County, California
Bald Hills War