Washoe people
Encyclopedia
The Washoe are a Great Basin tribe of Native Americans, living in California
and Nevada
. The name "Washoe" is derived from the autonym waashiw (wa·šiw) meaning "people from here" in the Washo language
(transliterated in older literature as Wa She Shu).
for at least the last 6000 years. Prior to contact with Europeans, the territory of the Washoe people was roughly bounded by the southern shore of Honey Lake
in the north, the west fork of the Walker River in the south, the Sierra Nevada crest in the west, and the first range east of the Sierra Nevada in the east. The Washoe would generally spend the summer in the Sierra Nevada, the fall in the ranges to the east, and the winter and spring in the valleys between them.
Washoe people are the only Great Basin
tribe whose language is not Numic, so they are believed to have inhabited the region before neighboring tribes. The Kings Beach Complex that emerged around 500 CE around Lake Tahoe
and the northern Sierra Nevadas are regarded as early Washoe culture. The Martis complex may have overlapped with the Kings Beach culture, and Martis pit houses gave way to conical bark slab houses of historic Washoe culture.
The Washoe people and the neighboring Northern Paiute
people were culturally and linguistically very different, and they sometimes came into conflict.
The Washoe were confined to the area south of Carson City, and they were deprived from owning horses.
Washoe people may have made contact with Spanish explorers
in the early 19th century, but the Washoe did not sustain contact with people of European culture until the 1848 California Gold Rush
. Washoe resistance to incursions on their lands proved futile, and the last armed conflict with the Washoes and non-Indians was the "Potato War" of 1857, when starving Washoes were killed for gathering potatoes from a European-American farm near Honey Lake
in California
.
Loss of the valley hunting grounds to farm
s and the Piñon pine groves to feed Virginia City
's demand for lumber
and charcoal
drove most Washoe to dependency on jobs in white ranch
es, farms and cities. The areas where they settled became known as Indian colonies
.
Piñon pine nuts gathered in the fall provided much of the food eaten in the winter. Roots, seeds, berries and game provided much of the food eaten in the rest of the year.
The Pine Nut Dance and girls' puberty rites remain very important ceremonies.
; however, it is also considered to be a language isolate
.
Under the Indian Reorganization Act
of 1934, the colonies in the Carson Valley area of Nevada
and California
gained federal recognition as the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. The colony at Reno, Nevada
, which also had a substantial Paiute and Shoshoni population, gained separate recognition as the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. There is evidence that some Washoe settled into the southwest region of Montana
. The Susanville Rancheria includes Washoe members, as well as Northern Paiute, Northeastern Maidu
, Achomawi
and Atsugewi
members.
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...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. The name "Washoe" is derived from the autonym waashiw (wa·šiw) meaning "people from here" in the Washo language
Washo language
The Washo language is an endangered Native American language isolate spoken by the Washo on the California–Nevada border in the drainages of the Truckee and Carson Rivers, especially around Lake Tahoe...
(transliterated in older literature as Wa She Shu).
Territory
Washoe people have lived in the Great BasinGreat Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
for at least the last 6000 years. Prior to contact with Europeans, the territory of the Washoe people was roughly bounded by the southern shore of Honey Lake
Honey Lake
Honey Lake is an endorheic sink within the Honey Lake Valley located in northeastern California, near the Nevada border. Summer evaporation reduces the lake to a lower level of 12 km² and creates an alkali flat....
in the north, the west fork of the Walker River in the south, the Sierra Nevada crest in the west, and the first range east of the Sierra Nevada in the east. The Washoe would generally spend the summer in the Sierra Nevada, the fall in the ranges to the east, and the winter and spring in the valleys between them.
History
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
tribe whose language is not Numic, so they are believed to have inhabited the region before neighboring tribes. The Kings Beach Complex that emerged around 500 CE around Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
and the northern Sierra Nevadas are regarded as early Washoe culture. The Martis complex may have overlapped with the Kings Beach culture, and Martis pit houses gave way to conical bark slab houses of historic Washoe culture.
The Washoe people and the neighboring Northern Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
people were culturally and linguistically very different, and they sometimes came into conflict.
The Washoe were confined to the area south of Carson City, and they were deprived from owning horses.
Washoe people may have made contact with Spanish explorers
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
in the early 19th century, but the Washoe did not sustain contact with people of European culture until the 1848 California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. Washoe resistance to incursions on their lands proved futile, and the last armed conflict with the Washoes and non-Indians was the "Potato War" of 1857, when starving Washoes were killed for gathering potatoes from a European-American farm near Honey Lake
Honey Lake
Honey Lake is an endorheic sink within the Honey Lake Valley located in northeastern California, near the Nevada border. Summer evaporation reduces the lake to a lower level of 12 km² and creates an alkali flat....
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...
.
Loss of the valley hunting grounds to farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s and the Piñon pine groves to feed Virginia City
Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...
's demand for lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
and charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
drove most Washoe to dependency on jobs in white ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
es, farms and cities. The areas where they settled became known as Indian colonies
Indian colony
An Indian Colony is a Native American settlement associated with an urban area. Although some of them become official Indian reservations, they differ from most reservations in that they are located where Native Americans could find employment in mainstream American economy...
.
Culture
The Pine Nut Dance and girls' puberty rites remain very important ceremonies.
Language
The Washoe language is tentatively regarded as part of the Hokan language familyHokan languages
The Hokan language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families spoken in California, Arizona and Mexico. In nearly a century since Edward Sapir first proposed the "Hokan" hypothesis, little additional evidence has been found that these families were related to each other...
; however, it is also considered to be a language isolate
Language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
.
Washoe tribes
- Reno-Sparks Indian ColonyReno-Sparks Indian ColonyThe Reno-Sparks Indian Colony is an urban Native American Tribe whose members have Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone heritage. The Tribe has a colony in central Reno, Nevada and a reservation in Hungry Valley, which is about 17 miles north of Reno....
- Susanville Indian RancheriaSusanville Indian RancheriaThe Susanville Indian Rancheria is a federally recognized ranchería of Native Americans from a mixed community of Washoe, Achomawi, Mountain Maidu, Northern Paiute, and Atsugewi tribes.-Reservation:...
- Washoe Tribe of Nevada and CaliforniaWashoe Tribe of Nevada and CaliforniaThe Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California are a federally recognized tribe of Washoe Indians, living in California and Nevada. They are several communities south and east of Lake Tahoe united under a tribal council...
Under the Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
of 1934, the colonies in the Carson Valley area of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and 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...
gained federal recognition as the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. The colony at Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, which also had a substantial Paiute and Shoshoni population, gained separate recognition as the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. There is evidence that some Washoe settled into the southwest region of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. The Susanville Rancheria includes Washoe members, as well as Northern Paiute, Northeastern 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...
, Achomawi
Achomawi
The Achomawi are one of eleven bands of the Pit River tribe of Native Americans who lived in northeastern California, USA....
and Atsugewi
Atsugewi
The Atsugewi are Native Americans residing in what is now northern California, United States. Their traditional lands are near Mount Shasta, specifically the Pit River drainage on Burney, Hat, and Dixie Valley or Horse Creeks. They are closely related to the Achomawi and consisted of two groups...
members.
External links
- Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, official website
- Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, official website
- Susanville Indian Rancheria, official website