Coast Miwok
Encyclopedia
The Coast Miwok were the second largest group of Miwok
Native American
people. The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California
, from the Golden Gate
north to Duncans Point
and eastward to Sonoma Creek
. The Coast Miwok included the Bodega Bay Miwok from authenticated Miwok villages around Bodega Bay
and Marin Miwok.
linguistic group. They lived by hunting and gathering
, and lived in small bands without centralized political authority. In the springtime they would head to the coasts to hunt salmon
and other seafood. Otherwise their staple foods were primarily acorn
s, nuts and wild game such as California Mule Deer
. They were skilled at basket
ry.
The Coast Miwok language is no longer natively spoken, but the Bodega dialect is documented in Callaghan (1970).
There is a recreated Coast Miwok village called Kule Loklo
located at the Point Reyes National Seashore
.
, shamanic intervention with the spirit world
and an all-male society that met in subterranean dance rooms. Kuksu was shared with other indigenous ethnic groups of Central California, such as their neighbors the Pomo
, also Maidu
, Ohlone
, Esselen
, and northernmost Yokuts. However Kroeber observed less "specialized cosmogony
" in the Miwok, which he termed one of the "southern Kuksu-dancing groups", in comparison to the Maidu
and other northern California tribes.
, the Coast Miwok participated in the general cultural pattern of Central California.
and narratives were similar to those of other natives of Central and Northern California. The Coast Miwok believed in animal and human spirits, and saw the animal spirits as their ancestors. Coyote
was seen as their ancestor and creator god. In their case the earth began with land formed out of the Pacific Ocean
.
. Other verification of occupancy exists from Spanish
and Russia
n voyagers between 1595 and 1808. Over 1000 prehistoric charmstones and numerous arrowheads have been unearthed at Tolay Lake
in Southern Sonoma County - some dating back 4000 years. The lake was thought to be a sacred site and ceremonial gathering and healing place for the Miwok and others in the region.
Coast Miwok would travel and camp on the coast and bays at peak fishing seasons.
After the Europeans arrived in California, the population declined from diseases introduced by the Europeans. Beginning in 1783, mission ecclesiastical records show that Coast Miwok individuals began to join Mission San Francisco de Asis
, now known as Mission Dolores. They started joining that mission in large numbers in 1803, when the marriages of 49 couples from their Huimen and Guaulen local tribes (San Rafael
and Bolinas Bay
) appeared in the Mission San Francisco Book of Marriages. Local tribes from farther and farther north along the shore of San Pablo Bay moved to Mission San Francisco through the year 1812. Then in 1814 the Spanish authorities began to split the northern groups—Alagualis, Chocoimes (alias Sonomas), Olompalis, and Petalumas—sending a portion of each group to Mission San Francisco and another portion to Mission San Jose
in the southeast portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. By the end of the year 1817, 850 Coast Miwok had been converted.
Mission San Rafael was founded by the Spanish Franciscans in Coast Miwok territory in the late fall of 1817. By that time the only Coast Miwok people still on their land were those on the Pacific Coast of the Marin Peninsula, from Point Reyes
north to Bodega Bay
. The Spanish authorities brought most of the Coast Miwoks who had been at Missions San Francisco and San Jose back north to form a founding population for Mission San Rafael. But some who had married Ohlone or Bay Miwok-speaking Mission Indians remained south of the Golden Gate. Over time in the 1820s Mission San Rafael became a mission for Coast Miwok and Pomo speakers. Mission San Francisco Solano
, founded in 1823 in the Sonoma Valley (the easternmost traditional Coast Miwok region), came to be predominately a mission for Indians that spoke the Wappo or Patwin languages.
At the end of the Mission period
(1769–1834) the Coast Miwoks were freed from the control of the Franciscan missionaries. At the same time the Mission lands were secularized and ceded to Californios. Most Coast Miwok began to live in servitude on the ranchos for the new California
land grant
owners, such as those who went to work for General Mariano G. Vallejo
at Rancho Petaluma Adobe
. The ranch owners were dependent upon the labor pool of Indians with agricultural and ranching skills. Other Miwok chose to live independently in bands like those at Rancho Olompali
and Rancho Nicasio
.
In 1837, a smallpox epidemic decimated all the native populations of the Sonoma region, and the Coast Miwok population continued to decline rapidly from other diseases brought in from the Spaniards as well as the Russians at Fort Ross.
By the beginning of California
statehood (1850), many Miwok of Marin and Sonoma Counties were making the best of a difficult situation by earning their livelihoods through farm labor or fishing within their traditional homelands. Others chose to work as seasonal or year-round laborers on the ranches that were rapidly passing from Mexican ownership into Anglo-American ownership.
and Nicasio
.
The Coast Miwok leader Camilo Ynitia, secured a land grant of 2 sq. leagues known as Rancho Olompali, from Governor Micheltorena
of Alta California
in 1843, which included the prehistoric Miwok village of Olompali (his home village) and is north of present-day Novato
.
The village of Olompali dates back to 500, had been a main center in 1200, and might have been the largest native village in Marin County. Ynitia held onto the Rancho Olompoli land title for 9 years, but in 1852 he sold most of the land to James Black of Marin. He retained 1480 acres (6 km²) called Apalacocha. His daughter eventually sold Apalacocha.
The other Indian-owned rancho was at Rancho Nicasio northwest of San Rafael
. Near the time of secularization (1835), the Church granted the San Rafael Christian Indians 20 leagues (80,000 acres, 320 km²) of mission lands from present-day Nicasio
to the Tomales Bay. About 500 Indians relocated to Rancho Nicasio. By 1850 they had but one league of land left. This radical reduction of land was a result of illegal confiscation of land by non-Indians under protest by Indian residents. In 1870, José Calistro
, the last community leader at Nicasio, purchased the small surrounding parcel. Calistro died in 1875, and in 1876 the land was transferred by his will to his four children. In 1880 there were 36 Indian people at Nicasio. The population was persuaded to leave in the 1880s when Marin County curtailed funds to all Indians (except those at Marshall
) who were not living at the Poor Farm, a place for "indigent" peoples.
By the early 20th century, a few Miwok families pursued fishing for their livelihoods; one family continued commercial fishing into the 1970s, while another family maintained an oyster
harvesting business. When this activity was neither in season nor profitable, Indian people of this area sought agricultural employment, which required an itinerant
lifestyle. The preferred locality for such work was within Marin and Sonoma counties.
, formerly the Federated Coast Miwok, gained federal recognition of their tribal status in December 2000. The new tribe consists of people of both Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo descent.
.) Alfred L. Kroeber
put the 1770 population of the Coast Miwok at 1,500. Sherburne F. Cook
raised this figure to 2,000.
The population in 1848 was estimated as 300, and it had dropped to 60 in 1880.
Miwok
Miwok can refer to any one of four linguistically related groups of Native Americans, native to Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people. The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, from the Golden Gate
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
north to Duncans Point
Duncans Point
Duncans Point is a cape on the Pacific Coast of northern California in the United States. It is located in Sonoma County at , approximately northwest of San Francisco and approximately west of Santa Rosa....
and eastward to Sonoma Creek
Sonoma Creek
Sonoma Creek is a stream in northern California. It is one of two principal drainages of southern Sonoma County, California, with headwaters rising in the rugged hills of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and discharging to San Pablo Bay, the northern arm of San Francisco Bay. The watershed drained by...
. The Coast Miwok included the Bodega Bay Miwok from authenticated Miwok villages around Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
and Marin Miwok.
Culture
The Coast Miwok spoke their own Coast Miwok language in the UtianUtian languages
Utian is a family of indigenous languages spoken in the central and north portion of California, United States. The Miwok and Ohlone peoples both spoke languages in the Utian linguistic group...
linguistic group. They lived by hunting and gathering
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
, and lived in small bands without centralized political authority. In the springtime they would head to the coasts to hunt salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
and other seafood. Otherwise their staple foods were primarily acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s, nuts and wild game such as California Mule Deer
California Mule Deer
California mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus californicus, is a subspecies of mule deer whose range covers much of the state of California. This species is widespread throughout northern and central California in the California coastal prairie as well as inner coastal ranges and interior mountains,...
. They were skilled at basket
Basket
A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibres, which can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehair, baleen, or metal wire can be used. Baskets are...
ry.
The Coast Miwok language is no longer natively spoken, but the Bodega dialect is documented in Callaghan (1970).
There is a recreated Coast Miwok village called Kule Loklo
Kule Loklo
Kule Loklo is a recreated Coast Miwok Native American village located a short walk from the visitor center of the Point Reyes National Seashore, in Marin County, California...
located at the Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California, USA. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as a nationally important nature preserve within which existing agricultural uses are allowed to continue...
.
Religion
The original Coast Miwok people world view included Shamanism, and one form this took was the Kuksu religion that was evident in Central and Northern California. This included elaborate acting and dancing ceremonies in traditional costume, an annual mourning ceremony, puberty rites of passageRites of Passage
Rites of Passage is an African American History program sponsored by the Stamford, Connecticut US public schools. The program consists of an extra day of schooling on Saturday for 12 weeks, service projects, and a culminating educational trip to Gambia and Senegal. Gambia and Senegal are the...
, shamanic intervention with the spirit world
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
and an all-male society that met in subterranean dance rooms. Kuksu was shared with other indigenous ethnic groups of Central California, such as their neighbors the Pomo
Pomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic 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...
, also Maidu
Maidu
The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers...
, Ohlone
Ohlone
The Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
, Esselen
Esselen
The Esselen were a Native American linguistic group in the hypothetical Hokan language family, who resided on the Central California coast and the coastal mountains, including what is now known as the Big Sur region in Monterey County, California...
, and northernmost Yokuts. However Kroeber observed less "specialized cosmogony
Cosmogony
Cosmogony, or cosmogeny, is any scientific theory concerning the coming into existence or origin of the universe, or about how reality came to be. The word comes from the Greek κοσμογονία , from κόσμος "cosmos, the world", and the root of γίνομαι / γέγονα "to be born, come about"...
" in the Miwok, which he termed one of the "southern Kuksu-dancing groups", in comparison to the Maidu
Maidu
The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers...
and other northern California tribes.
Traditional narratives
In their myths, legends, tales, and historiesTraditional narratives (Native California)
The Traditional Narratives of Native California are the legends, tales, and oral histories that survive as fragments of what was undoubtedly once a vast unwritten literature.-History of Studies:...
, the Coast Miwok participated in the general cultural pattern of Central California.
Mythology
Coast Miwok mythologyMythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and narratives were similar to those of other natives of Central and Northern California. The Coast Miwok believed in animal and human spirits, and saw the animal spirits as their ancestors. Coyote
Coyote (mythology)
Coyote is a mythological character common to many Native American cultures, based on the coyote animal. This character is usually male and is generally anthropomorphic although he may have some coyote-like physical features such as fur, pointed ears, yellow eyes, a tail and claws...
was seen as their ancestor and creator god. In their case the earth began with land formed out of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Authentic villages
The authenticated Coast Miwok villages are:- On Bodega BayBodega BayBodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
: Helapattai, Hime-takala, Ho-takala, Suwutenne, Tiwut-huya, Tokau. Also in this vicinity: Awachi (at the mouth of Estero Americano CreekAmericano CreekAmericano Creek is a long westward-flowing stream in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin, which flows into the Estero Americano, a long estuary, and thence to the Pacific Ocean. This article covers both watercourses.-Course:...
), Amayelle (on San Antonio CreekEstero de San AntonioEstero de San Antonio is a stream in the northern California counties of Marin and Sonoma which empties into Bodega Bay.-Course:The Estero springs just north of the Marin-Sonoma county line and runs south along Gericke Road into Marin County...
), Kennekono (at Bodega CornersBodega, CaliforniaBodega is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sonoma County in the U.S. state of California. The town had a population of 220 as of the 2010 Census.Bodega is located on Bodega Highway, about west of Freestone, California...
). - On Tomales BayTomales BayTomales Bay is a long narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles long and averages nearly 1.0 miles wide, effectively separating the Point Reyes Peninsula from the mainland of Marin County. It is located...
: Echa-kolum, Shotommo-wi (near the mouth of San Antonio Creek), Sakloki (opposite Tomales Point, Dillon BeachDillon Beach, CaliforniaDillon Beach is a census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. Dillon Beach is located west of Tomales, at an elevation of 89 feet . The population was 283 at the 2010 census...
area), Utumia (Near present-day town of TomalesTomales, CaliforniaTomales is a census-designated place on State Route 1 in Marin County, California, United States. The population was 204 at the 2010 census. The largest employer in Tomales is Tomales High School, which has a student body of approximately 250.-Geography:Tomales is located above Keys Creek,...
.) - At the present-day City of PetalumaPetaluma, CaliforniaPetaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
: Etem, Petaluma (east of River). Also in this vicinity: Tuchayelin (northwest), Likatiut (on Petaluma RiverPetaluma RiverThe Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough near its mouth. It springs from farmlands southwest of Cotati and flows generally southward through Petaluma's old town and of tidal marshes to end in northwest San Pablo Bay.-History:The word...
north of town), Meleya (on San Antonio CreekSan Antonio Creek (Marin County, California)San Antonio Creek is an eastward-flowing stream in the California counties of Marin and Sonoma that forms part of the boundary between those counties. It empties into the Petaluma River....
southwest of Petaluma), Susuli (northwest), Tulme (northwest), Wotoki (on the south side of the Petaluma RiverPetaluma RiverThe Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough near its mouth. It springs from farmlands southwest of Cotati and flows generally southward through Petaluma's old town and of tidal marshes to end in northwest San Pablo Bay.-History:The word...
). - At the present-day City of San RafaelSan Rafael, CaliforniaSan Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
: Awani-wi. - At the present-day City of SonomaSonoma, CaliforniaSonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
: Huchi. Also in this vicinity: Temblek (west), Tuli (northwest), Wugilwa (on Sonoma CreekSonoma CreekSonoma Creek is a stream in northern California. It is one of two principal drainages of southern Sonoma County, California, with headwaters rising in the rugged hills of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and discharging to San Pablo Bay, the northern arm of San Francisco Bay. The watershed drained by...
). - At the present-day City of CotatiCotati, CaliforniaCotati is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., located about north of San Francisco in the 101 corridor between Rohnert Park and Petaluma....
: Kotati, Lumen-takala (northeast). Also in this vicinity: Payinecha (west). - At the present-day town of NicasioNicasio, CaliforniaNicasio is a census-designated place in Marin County, California. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 194 feet . The population was 96 at the 2010 census....
: Echa-tamai. - At the present-day town of OlemaOlema, CaliforniaOlema is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located on Olema Creek south-southeast of Point Reyes Station, at an elevation of 69 feet ....
: Olema-loke. - At the present-day City of SausalitoSausalito, CaliforniaSausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
: Liwanelowa. - Near the present-day town of BolinasBolinas, CaliforniaBolinas formerly Juggville is a coastal unincorporated community in Marin County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bolinas is located west-southwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 36 feet...
: Bauli-n - Near the present-day town of FreestoneFreestone, CaliforniaFreestone is a small, unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, USA located at the intersection of Bohemian Highway and Bodega Highway. It's west of Sebastopol along Salmon Creek on the U.S...
: Oye-yomi, Pakahuwe, Patawa-yomi. - Near the present-day town of IgnacioIgnacio, CaliforniaIgnacio is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located southeast of downtown Novato, at an elevation of 30 feet ....
: Ewu, Puyuku (south), Shotokmo-cha (southeast). - Near the present-day City of NovatoNovato, CaliforniaNovato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the city population to be about 51,904. Novato is about ...
: Chokeche, Olompolli (northwest). - Near the present-day town of Valley FordValley Ford, CaliforniaValley Ford is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in western Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on State Route 1 in an area of rolling hills about 75 minutes north of San Francisco by automobile...
: Ewapalt, Uli-yomi (at the headwaters of Estero Americano Creek). - Near the present-day town of Salmon CreekSalmon Creek, CaliforniaSalmon Creek is an unincorporated settlement and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast about 90 minutes drive north of San Francisco, between the towns of Jenner and Bodega Bay, California...
: Pulya-lakum (on the oceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, near the mouth of Salmon CreekSalmon Creek (Sonoma County, California)Salmon Creek is an stream in western Sonoma County, California that springs from coastal hills west of the town of Occidental and empties into the Pacific Ocean north of Bodega Head.-Course:...
).
History
Documentation of Miwok peoples dates back as early as 1579 by a priest on a ship under the command of Francis DrakeFrancis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
. Other verification of occupancy exists from Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n voyagers between 1595 and 1808. Over 1000 prehistoric charmstones and numerous arrowheads have been unearthed at Tolay Lake
Tolay Lake
Tolay Lake is a shallow freshwater lacustrine water body in southern Sonoma County, California, United States. The lake, nestled within the southern vestiges of the Sonoma Mountains, is the site of significant Native American prehistoric seasonal settlement...
in Southern Sonoma County - some dating back 4000 years. The lake was thought to be a sacred site and ceremonial gathering and healing place for the Miwok and others in the region.
Coast Miwok would travel and camp on the coast and bays at peak fishing seasons.
After the Europeans arrived in California, the population declined from diseases introduced by the Europeans. Beginning in 1783, mission ecclesiastical records show that Coast Miwok individuals began to join Mission San Francisco de Asis
Mission San Francisco de Asís
Mission San Francisco de Asís, or Mission Dolores, is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco and the sixth religious settlement established as part of the California chain of missions...
, now known as Mission Dolores. They started joining that mission in large numbers in 1803, when the marriages of 49 couples from their Huimen and Guaulen local tribes (San Rafael
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
and Bolinas Bay
Bolinas Bay
Bolinas Bay is a small bay, approximately 5 miles wide, on the Pacific coast of California in the United States. It is in Marin County, north of the Golden Gate, approximately 15 miles northwest of San Francisco...
) appeared in the Mission San Francisco Book of Marriages. Local tribes from farther and farther north along the shore of San Pablo Bay moved to Mission San Francisco through the year 1812. Then in 1814 the Spanish authorities began to split the northern groups—Alagualis, Chocoimes (alias Sonomas), Olompalis, and Petalumas—sending a portion of each group to Mission San Francisco and another portion to Mission San Jose
Mission San José
Mission San José was founded on June 11, 1797 on a site located in the "Mission San Jose District" of Fremont, California in the "Valley of San José." The settlement was the site of the first Ceasarian section childbirth in Alta California...
in the southeast portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. By the end of the year 1817, 850 Coast Miwok had been converted.
Mission San Rafael was founded by the Spanish Franciscans in Coast Miwok territory in the late fall of 1817. By that time the only Coast Miwok people still on their land were those on the Pacific Coast of the Marin Peninsula, from Point Reyes
Point Reyes
Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula, the region bounded by Tomales Bay on the northeast and Bolinas Lagoon on the southeast...
north to Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
. The Spanish authorities brought most of the Coast Miwoks who had been at Missions San Francisco and San Jose back north to form a founding population for Mission San Rafael. But some who had married Ohlone or Bay Miwok-speaking Mission Indians remained south of the Golden Gate. Over time in the 1820s Mission San Rafael became a mission for Coast Miwok and Pomo speakers. Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823, and named for Francis Solanus, a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." Originally planned as an asistencia to Mission San Rafael Arcángel, it is the northernmost Alta...
, founded in 1823 in the Sonoma Valley (the easternmost traditional Coast Miwok region), came to be predominately a mission for Indians that spoke the Wappo or Patwin languages.
At the end of the Mission period
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
(1769–1834) the Coast Miwoks were freed from the control of the Franciscan missionaries. At the same time the Mission lands were secularized and ceded to Californios. Most Coast Miwok began to live in servitude on the ranchos for the new California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
owners, such as those who went to work for General Mariano G. Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
at Rancho Petaluma Adobe
Rancho Petaluma Adobe
Rancho Petaluma Adobe is the name of a historic ranch house built from adobe bricks that was owned and constructed by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, commandant of the Sonoma Pueblo from 1834 to 1857. It is the largest example of the Monterey Colonial style of architecture in the United States...
. The ranch owners were dependent upon the labor pool of Indians with agricultural and ranching skills. Other Miwok chose to live independently in bands like those at Rancho Olompali
Rancho Olompali
Rancho Olompali was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1834 by governor Manuel Micheltorena to Camilo Ynitia, son of a Coast Miwok chief. The name Olómpali comes from the Coast Miwok language and likely means southern village or southern people. The land...
and Rancho Nicasio
Rancho Nicasio
Rancho Nicasio was a Mexican land grant of granted to the Coast Miwok indigenous people in 1835, located in the present-day Marin County, California, a tract of land that stretched from San Geronimo to Tomales Bay...
.
In 1837, a smallpox epidemic decimated all the native populations of the Sonoma region, and the Coast Miwok population continued to decline rapidly from other diseases brought in from the Spaniards as well as the Russians at Fort Ross.
By the beginning of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
statehood (1850), many Miwok of Marin and Sonoma Counties were making the best of a difficult situation by earning their livelihoods through farm labor or fishing within their traditional homelands. Others chose to work as seasonal or year-round laborers on the ranches that were rapidly passing from Mexican ownership into Anglo-American ownership.
Olompali and Nicasio
After Mission San Rafael closed during the 1834-1836 period, the Mexican government deeded most of the land to Californios, but allowed the Indians ex-neophytes to own land at two locations within traditional Coast Miwok territory: OlompaliOlompali State Historic Park
Olompali State Historic Park is a park on the Marin Peninsula, north of Novato, California, USA, which overlooks the Petaluma River and San Pablo Bay. In 1977, the State of California purchased Rancho Olompali and made it into a state historical park. The foundations of two prehistoric adobe...
and Nicasio
Rancho Nicasio
Rancho Nicasio was a Mexican land grant of granted to the Coast Miwok indigenous people in 1835, located in the present-day Marin County, California, a tract of land that stretched from San Geronimo to Tomales Bay...
.
The Coast Miwok leader Camilo Ynitia, secured a land grant of 2 sq. leagues known as Rancho Olompali, from Governor Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
of Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
in 1843, which included the prehistoric Miwok village of Olompali (his home village) and is north of present-day Novato
Novato, California
Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the city population to be about 51,904. Novato is about ...
.
The village of Olompali dates back to 500, had been a main center in 1200, and might have been the largest native village in Marin County. Ynitia held onto the Rancho Olompoli land title for 9 years, but in 1852 he sold most of the land to James Black of Marin. He retained 1480 acres (6 km²) called Apalacocha. His daughter eventually sold Apalacocha.
The other Indian-owned rancho was at Rancho Nicasio northwest of San Rafael
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
. Near the time of secularization (1835), the Church granted the San Rafael Christian Indians 20 leagues (80,000 acres, 320 km²) of mission lands from present-day Nicasio
Nicasio, California
Nicasio is a census-designated place in Marin County, California. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 194 feet . The population was 96 at the 2010 census....
to the Tomales Bay. About 500 Indians relocated to Rancho Nicasio. By 1850 they had but one league of land left. This radical reduction of land was a result of illegal confiscation of land by non-Indians under protest by Indian residents. In 1870, José Calistro
José Calistro
José Calistro was the last chief of the Coast Miwok community who resided at Rancho Nicasio, which was once a Native American rancho that stretched from present-day Nicasio, California to Tomales Bay....
, the last community leader at Nicasio, purchased the small surrounding parcel. Calistro died in 1875, and in 1876 the land was transferred by his will to his four children. In 1880 there were 36 Indian people at Nicasio. The population was persuaded to leave in the 1880s when Marin County curtailed funds to all Indians (except those at Marshall
Marshall, California
Marshall is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located on the northeast shore of Tomales Bay south of Tomales, at an elevation of 23 feet .Marshall is located on the east shore of Tomales Bay...
) who were not living at the Poor Farm, a place for "indigent" peoples.
By the early 20th century, a few Miwok families pursued fishing for their livelihoods; one family continued commercial fishing into the 1970s, while another family maintained an oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
harvesting business. When this activity was neither in season nor profitable, Indian people of this area sought agricultural employment, which required an itinerant
Itinerant
An itinerant is a person who travels from place to place with no fixed home. The term comes from the late 16th century: from late Latin itinerant , from the verb itinerari, from Latin iter, itiner ....
lifestyle. The preferred locality for such work was within Marin and Sonoma counties.
Recognition
The Federated Indians of Graton RancheriaFederated Indians of Graton Rancheria
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo Indians. The tribe was officially restored to federal recognition by the U.S. government pursuant to the Graton Rancheria...
, formerly the Federated Coast Miwok, gained federal recognition of their tribal status in December 2000. The new tribe consists of people of both Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo descent.
Population
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. (See Population of Native CaliforniaPopulation of Native California
Estimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially, both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent scholars concluding that these estimates are low...
.) Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred Louis Kroeber was an American anthropologist. He was the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through...
put the 1770 population of the Coast Miwok at 1,500. Sherburne F. Cook
Sherburne F. Cook
Sherburne Friend Cook was a physiologist by training, and served as professor and chairman of the department of physiology at the University of California, Berkeley...
raised this figure to 2,000.
The population in 1848 was estimated as 300, and it had dropped to 60 in 1880.
Notable Coast Miwoks
- José CalistroJosé CalistroJosé Calistro was the last chief of the Coast Miwok community who resided at Rancho Nicasio, which was once a Native American rancho that stretched from present-day Nicasio, California to Tomales Bay....
, was the last community leader at Nicasio.
- Chief MarinChief MarinChief Marin was the "great chief of the tribe Licatiut" , according to General Vallejo's semi-historical report to the first California State Legislature in 1850...
was a Coast Miwok of the Huimen local tribe, baptized as a child in 1803 at Mission San Francisco and noted as an alcalde at Mission San Rafael in the 1820s. He died on March 15, 1839. Marin County and the Marin IslandsMarin IslandsMarin Islands are the two islands, East Marin and West Marin, situated offshore from San Rafael, California in the San Pablo Bay extension of San Francisco Bay. The islands comprise the Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1992...
are named in his honor. He was the "great chief of the tribe Licatiut", according to General Vallejo's semi-historical report to the first California State Legislature (1850).
- Quintin, was renowned as the sub-chief of Marin and skipper at Mission Dolores, according to General Vallejo. San Quentin Peninsula (1840) is reputed to be named after him. San Quentin State PrisonSan Quentin State PrisonSan Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
was added much later.
- Ponponio (aka Pomponio) was a leader of a band of Native American fugitives in California who called themselves Los Insurgentes. Evading authorities, he was eventually captured in Marin County, and executed in Monterey in 1824.
- Greg SarrisGreg SarrisGregory Michael Sarris is a college professor, author, screenwriter, and a member and current Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. He was chosen in 2005 to fill the Endowed Chair in Native American Studies at Sonoma State University...
is the current Tribal Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton RancheriaFederated Indians of Graton RancheriaThe Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo Indians. The tribe was officially restored to federal recognition by the U.S. government pursuant to the Graton Rancheria...
, also a college professor and author.
- William Smith was born a Bodega Bay Coast Miwok, was forced relocation to Lake CountyLake County, CaliforniaLake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...
during the late 19th century, but returned to Bodega BayBodega Bay, CaliforniaBodega Bay is a town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast....
where he and his relatives founded the commercial fishing industry in the area.
- Camilo Ynitia (1816–1856) was a Coast Miwok leader who became the owner of an 8800 acres (35.6 km²) land grant secured for the Miwok, named Rancho Olompali, now the Olompali State Historic ParkOlompali State Historic ParkOlompali State Historic Park is a park on the Marin Peninsula, north of Novato, California, USA, which overlooks the Petaluma River and San Pablo Bay. In 1977, the State of California purchased Rancho Olompali and made it into a state historical park. The foundations of two prehistoric adobe...
. Ynitia also forged a ranch labor-alliance with General Vallejo, and secured semblance of peace with the white settlers (about 1830s-1840s).
External links
- Access Genealogy: Indian Tribal records, Miwok Indian Tribe
- Angel Island State Park Miwok Page
- Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria Web Site
- Kule Loklo (Bear Valley) Coast Miwok village
- Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin
- Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California in 1770 (map after Kroeber)
- U.S. National Park Service: Coast Miwok at Point Reyes
- Short radio episode Mouse Steals Fire from Coast Miwok lore in Californian Indian Nights Entertainments, 1930, California Legacy ProjectCalifornia Legacy ProjectThe California Legacy Project began in 2000 as a project at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA and later partnered with Heyday Books in Berkeley, CA. The project uses a research team of SCU interns to create radio scripts for the radio anthology "Your California Legacy" on KAZU 90.3 FM,...
.