Topic summary
Yokuts
The Yokuts are an Indigenous people of California who live in the Central Valley. They are often divided into Foothill Yokuts, Northern Valley Yokuts, and Southern Valley Yokuts.
Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related Yokuts languages, which may belong to the proposed Yok-Utian language family.
Today, many Yokuts are enrolled in the following federally recognized tribes:
- Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California
- Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria (Tachi)
- Table Mountain Rancheria (Mono)
- Tejon Indian Tribe
- Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation
- Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California
The contemporary Wukchumni and Choinumni communities are not federally recognized.
As of the 2010 census, a total of 6,273 people identify as Yokuts. Many of them live on reservations that have casinos. Gaming has been essential to providing Yokuts with jobs, funding, and healthcare.