Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California
Encyclopedia
The Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo
Indians in California
.
The tribe's reservation, the Sherwood Valley Rancheria, is located in Mendocino County
, near Willits, California
, on Highway 101. It is 356 acres (1.4 km²) large. The lands on the reservation are called the old and new rancheria.
. They spoke the Pomo language
. The last traditional chief of the Kulá Kai Pomo was Lunkaya.
Russians were the first non-Indians with whom the Pomo had sustained contact. They withdrew, only to be replaced by increasing numbers of European-Americans, who came to Pomo country to farm or to mine gold in the mid-19th century. Non-Indians quickly outnumbers the Indians and wreaked havoc on their communities. A system of rancherias, or small reservations, was established by the US government for displaced Californian tribes, including the Sherwood Valley Rancheria.
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...
Indians in 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...
.
The tribe's reservation, the Sherwood Valley Rancheria, is located in Mendocino County
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
, near Willits, California
Willits, California
Willits is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Willits is located north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1391 feet . The population was 4,888 at the 2010 census, down from 5,073 at the 2000 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and its redwood forests...
, on Highway 101. It is 356 acres (1.4 km²) large. The lands on the reservation are called the old and new rancheria.
History
The Sherwood Valley Rancheria is a community of Coastal Pomo Indians, who are indigenous to Sonoma and Mendocino Counties in northern California. Their historical community was called Kulá Kai Pomo, and they traditionally lived along the upper course of the Eel RiverEel River (California)
The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...
. They spoke the Pomo language
Pomoan languages
Pomoan is a family of endangered languages spoken in northern California by the Pomo people on the Pacific Coast. According to the 2000 census, there are 255 speakers of the languages...
. The last traditional chief of the Kulá Kai Pomo was Lunkaya.
Russians were the first non-Indians with whom the Pomo had sustained contact. They withdrew, only to be replaced by increasing numbers of European-Americans, who came to Pomo country to farm or to mine gold in the mid-19th century. Non-Indians quickly outnumbers the Indians and wreaked havoc on their communities. A system of rancherias, or small reservations, was established by the US government for displaced Californian tribes, including the Sherwood Valley Rancheria.