Suisunes
Encyclopedia
The Suisunes were a tribe of Native Americans
that lived in Northern California
's Suisun Marsh
regions of Solano County, California
between what is now Suisun City
, Vacaville
and Putah Creek
around 200 years ago. The Suisunes' main village, Yulyul, is believed to be where Rockville, California
is located today. Father Abella, visitor to the tribe in 1811, indicated they resided in the present location of Fairfield
, north of the Suisun Bay. One of the Suisunes' primary food sources was acorn
s. Their diet also included fish as well as Miner's Lettuce
. Their huts (as recorded by the Spaniards in 1817) were conical wikiup
s made of rushes or tule
thatch.
Indians, who were the southern branch of the Wintun
group, who had lived in the region for up to 4000 years. Few records have been handed down; approximately 2500-5000 Patwins existed in all.
region south and west of the Suisunes' region. The closest mission to the Suisunes was across the San Francisco Bay
, Mission San Francisco de Asís
. Franciscan
missionaries wanted to bring all tribes into the Spanish-controlled mission
s, pueblo
s and presidio
s, however the Spanish had not yet reached north of the present-day Carquinez Strait
to the Suisunes. The Suisunes lived sufficiently far away from the first missions to rebel from the incoming Spaniards, and over time they joined with the other Patwin tribes in the central valley
region to resist the incursion on their lands and maintain their freedom. They acquired horses from mission runaways and mission outposts.
The Suisunes might have avoided contact for several more decades with the missionaries, however in the early 19th century, Indian runaways from the missions began to seek shelter with the Suisunes. The missions would send Mission Indians
to round up "Christian" runaways. The interaction set in motion a chain of Indian battles and growing distrust.
in present-day San Francisco. A total of 326 Suisunes were baptized at this mission between 1810 and 1816.
sent his lieutenant Jose Sanchez to lead another attack against the Suisun tribe, believed to have taken place in the hills behind Benicia
. The Spaniards subsequently gained ground in present-day Fairfield
and Suisun City
today, reaching the Suisun village of Chief Malica, sachem
of the tribe. At this village, probably with imminent defeat of his people, Chief Malica and the majority of the tribe chose to end their lives in a tragic mass suicide. The Spaniards witnessed the village's brushy huts burst into flames. The chief chanting and singing, leapt into the flames, followed by the people of the village, including the women with children and babies. The Spaniards tried to save some while several Indians fled into the hills. The remaining tribe survived in the hills or through assimilation, reemerging under the leadership of Chief Sem-Yeto, also known as Chief Solano.
In 1823, Sem-Yeto and the Suisun people at Mission San Francisco moved into the new mission in the town of Sonoma, California
, the Mission San Francisco de Solano
, to help build and populate this final Franciscan mission built north of the San Francisco Bay.
In 1834, General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
of Sonoma, as the comandante of the new pueblo projects in the region, became a very valuable patron and friend to Chief Solano, and formed an alliance with the Suisunes. The mission system was closing down. Chief Solano and the Suisunes led many expeditions with the object of quelling the other tribes of the region, particularly "the Wappo
, the Satisyomis
(aka Sotoyomes, a Wappo tribe) and the Cainameros (aka the Pomo
Indians of Cainama in the region toward Santa Rosa)", who were attempting to throw off Mexican domination. Chief Solano eventually helped to secure peace between the region's Native Americans and the Mexicans. A peace treaty was signed in 1836. With the alliance with General Vallejo, the tribe was relatively powerful.
On a political venture, Vallejo even arranged for and sent Chief Solano and 100 warrior Suisunes to travel down to Monterey, California
to impress and seek military support from Juan Bautista Alvarado
, governor of Alta California (1836–1837, 1838–1842).
In 1837, a smallpox epidemic decimated the native population of the Sonoma region, as well as from other diseases brought in from the Spaniards as well as the Russians at Fort Ross. Chief Solano was one of the few natives to receive a vaccination.
Chief Solano was also one of a handful of natives to receive a land grant in the mission secularization and parcelling out of Mexican-American lands. The Suisunes who survived the epidemic began to earn their livelihoods through farm labor or fishing. Some chose to work as seasonal or year-round ranch labors for Vallejo at the Rancho Petaluma Adobe
or other area ranches.
In 1846, at the end of the Bear Flag Revolt when California was ceded to the United States, General Vallejo was taken prisoner by Americans at Sutter's Fort
, Sem-Yeto fled north, and the people continued to earn their living on the ranches of California.
Suisun Marsh
is named after the Suisunes tribe.
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...
that lived 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...
's Suisun Marsh
Suisun Marsh
Located in northern California the Suisun Marsh is the largest brackish marsh on west coast of the United States of America. The marsh land is part of the San Francisco Bay tidal estuary, and subject to tidal ebb and flood...
regions of Solano County, California
Solano County, California
Solano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. The county's population was reported by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010...
between what is now Suisun City
Suisun City, California
Suisun City is a city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 28,111 at the 2010 census. The city takes its name from the adjacent Suisun Bay, which in turn is named for the Suisunes, a Native American tribe of the area.-Geography:...
, Vacaville
Vacaville, California
Vacaville, California is a city located in the northeastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area in Solano County. The city is nearly half way between Sacramento and San Francisco on I-80. It sits approximately from Sacramento, and from San Francisco...
and Putah Creek
Putah Creek
Putah Creek is a major stream in Northern California, a tributary of the Yolo Bypass. The creek has its headwaters in the Mayacamas Mountains, a part of the Coast Range...
around 200 years ago. The Suisunes' main village, Yulyul, is believed to be where Rockville, California
Rockville, California
Rockville is a small unincorporated community in northern-central Solano County, California southwest of Fairfield and closest to Cordelia.The main economic activities are farming, tourism, and the large regional Rockville Cemetery....
is located today. Father Abella, visitor to the tribe in 1811, indicated they resided in the present location of Fairfield
Fairfield, California
Fairfield is a city located in Solano County in Northern California, USA. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately from the city center of both cities, approximately from the city center of Oakland, less than from Napa Valley, 18...
, north of the Suisun Bay. One of the Suisunes' primary food sources was 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. Their diet also included fish as well as Miner's Lettuce
Claytonia perfoliata
Claytonia perfoliata is a fleshy annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America from southernmost Alaska and central British Columbia south to Central America, but most common in California in the Sacramento and northern San...
. Their huts (as recorded by the Spaniards in 1817) were conical wikiup
Wigwam
A wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast...
s made of rushes or tule
Tule
Schoenoplectus acutus , called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the plant family Cyperaceae, native to freshwater marshes all over North America...
thatch.
History
The Suisunes were one tribe of the PatwinPatwin
The Patwin are a Wintun people native to the area of Northern California. The Patwin were a southern branch of the Wintun group and native inhabitants of California from 1,000 up to 4,000 years....
Indians, who were the southern branch of the Wintun
Wintun
Wintun is the name generally given to a group of related Native American tribes who live in Northern California, including the Wintu , Nomlaki , and Patwin tribes. Their range is from approximately present-day Lake Shasta to San Francisco Bay, along the western side of the Sacramento River to the...
group, who had lived in the region for up to 4000 years. Few records have been handed down; approximately 2500-5000 Patwins existed in all.
Mission Era
By 1800, Spain had taken control of most of the Bay Area, having erected seven missions in the OhloneOhlone
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...
region south and west of the Suisunes' region. The closest mission to the Suisunes was across the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, Mission San Francisco de Asís
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...
. Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionaries wanted to bring all tribes into the Spanish-controlled mission
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...
s, pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
s and presidio
Presidio
A presidio is a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists. Other presidios were held by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth...
s, however the Spanish had not yet reached north of the present-day Carquinez Strait
Carquinez Strait
The Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay...
to the Suisunes. The Suisunes lived sufficiently far away from the first missions to rebel from the incoming Spaniards, and over time they joined with the other Patwin tribes in the central valley
Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
region to resist the incursion on their lands and maintain their freedom. They acquired horses from mission runaways and mission outposts.
The Suisunes might have avoided contact for several more decades with the missionaries, however in the early 19th century, Indian runaways from the missions began to seek shelter with the Suisunes. The missions would send Mission Indians
Mission Indians
Mission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
to round up "Christian" runaways. The interaction set in motion a chain of Indian battles and growing distrust.
Battles
- In 1804, 14 Mission IndiansMission IndiansMission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
identified as SaclanBay MiwokThe Bay Miwok were a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native American people in Northern California who lived in Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan mission system during the early nineteenth century, suffered a devastating population decline, and lost their language as they...
and JalquinBay MiwokThe Bay Miwok were a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native American people in Northern California who lived in Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan mission system during the early nineteenth century, suffered a devastating population decline, and lost their language as they...
ventured into the Suisun homeland to recapture mission runaways, and were either killed or died in an unfortunate drowning accident. The facts are unclear. The mission statement of their deaths included this note: "It is not possible to affirm whether they died by drowning or at the hands of the pagans (i.e., the Suisunes)... I am inclined to believe they died by drowning. If the pagans (Suisunes) had killed them, their relatives would have told me about it."
- By the year 1807, 62 runaways from the missions lived in the regions of Suisunes. In February 1807, 40 Mission Indians ventured in Suisun territory looking for January runaways, particularly to reclaim one man's wife. The runaways fought for their freedom, the Suisunes defending them. 12 of the attacking Mission Indians died, the rest retreated.
- In May 1810, three more traveling Mission Indians were killed by Suisunes. In retribution, the Spaniard Gabriel MoragaGabriel MoragaGabriel Moraga a Spanish army officer, son of José Joaquín Moraga a member of Juan Bautista de Anza's expeditions to California, was one of the first Europeans to explore California's Great Central Valley . He led expeditions of Spanish soldiers into the valley, becoming its first explorer...
led an attack on 125 Suisunes and "a fierce battle took place". 125 Suisun men in this battle were driven into three huts and killed. Two huts of men died in battle, one hut was consumed by fire. The soldiers returned to San Francisco with "6 boys and 6 girls of Suisuns and Chupcans."
Migration
The next year in 1811, perhaps due to the loss of 125 men, a large group of Suisunes gave up the resistance and moved into Mission San Francisco de AsísMission 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...
in present-day San Francisco. A total of 326 Suisunes were baptized at this mission between 1810 and 1816.
Village Perishes
In 1817, Jose DeArguello, the commandant of the Presidio of San FranciscoPresidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
sent his lieutenant Jose Sanchez to lead another attack against the Suisun tribe, believed to have taken place in the hills behind Benicia
Benicia, California
Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...
. The Spaniards subsequently gained ground in present-day Fairfield
Fairfield, California
Fairfield is a city located in Solano County in Northern California, USA. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately from the city center of both cities, approximately from the city center of Oakland, less than from Napa Valley, 18...
and Suisun City
Suisun City, California
Suisun City is a city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 28,111 at the 2010 census. The city takes its name from the adjacent Suisun Bay, which in turn is named for the Suisunes, a Native American tribe of the area.-Geography:...
today, reaching the Suisun village of Chief Malica, sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
of the tribe. At this village, probably with imminent defeat of his people, Chief Malica and the majority of the tribe chose to end their lives in a tragic mass suicide. The Spaniards witnessed the village's brushy huts burst into flames. The chief chanting and singing, leapt into the flames, followed by the people of the village, including the women with children and babies. The Spaniards tried to save some while several Indians fled into the hills. The remaining tribe survived in the hills or through assimilation, reemerging under the leadership of Chief Sem-Yeto, also known as Chief Solano.
Era of Chief (Sem-Yeto) Solano 1823-1850s
Sem-Yeto (later known as Chief Solano), born about 1800, emerged as the next in line to be the chief of the next generation of Suisunes. Sem-Yeto was described as tall, 6 feet 7 inches, handsome and brave. Sem-Yeto was baptized in the San Francisco Mission in July 1810 at roughly age 10 with the name "Francisco Solano" and lived there until adulthood. He became known as Chief Solano. His baptism took place 2 months after the tragedy of 1810. Sem-Yeto was possibly captured as a child in Moraga's raid of 1810 or his family brought him within two months of the battle.In 1823, Sem-Yeto and the Suisun people at Mission San Francisco moved into the new mission in the town of Sonoma, California
Sonoma, California
Sonoma 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...
, the Mission San Francisco de 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...
, to help build and populate this final Franciscan mission built north of the San Francisco Bay.
In 1834, General Mariano Guadalupe 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...
of Sonoma, as the comandante of the new pueblo projects in the region, became a very valuable patron and friend to Chief Solano, and formed an alliance with the Suisunes. The mission system was closing down. Chief Solano and the Suisunes led many expeditions with the object of quelling the other tribes of the region, particularly "the Wappo
Wappo
The Wappo are a group of Native Americans who traditionally lived in Northern California in the areas of Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River. When Mexicans arrived to colonize California, Wappo villages existed near the present-day towns of Yountville,...
, the Satisyomis
Wappo
The Wappo are a group of Native Americans who traditionally lived in Northern California in the areas of Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River. When Mexicans arrived to colonize California, Wappo villages existed near the present-day towns of Yountville,...
(aka Sotoyomes, a Wappo tribe) and the Cainameros (aka 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...
Indians of Cainama in the region toward Santa Rosa)", who were attempting to throw off Mexican domination. Chief Solano eventually helped to secure peace between the region's Native Americans and the Mexicans. A peace treaty was signed in 1836. With the alliance with General Vallejo, the tribe was relatively powerful.
On a political venture, Vallejo even arranged for and sent Chief Solano and 100 warrior Suisunes to travel down to Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
to impress and seek military support from Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...
, governor of Alta California (1836–1837, 1838–1842).
In 1837, a smallpox epidemic decimated the native population of the Sonoma region, as well as from other diseases brought in from the Spaniards as well as the Russians at Fort Ross. Chief Solano was one of the few natives to receive a vaccination.
Chief Solano was also one of a handful of natives to receive a land grant in the mission secularization and parcelling out of Mexican-American lands. The Suisunes who survived the epidemic began to earn their livelihoods through farm labor or fishing. Some chose to work as seasonal or year-round ranch labors for Vallejo at the 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...
or other area ranches.
In 1846, at the end of the Bear Flag Revolt when California was ceded to the United States, General Vallejo was taken prisoner by Americans at Sutter's Fort
Sutter's Fort
Sutter's Fort State Historic Park is a state-protected park in Sacramento, California which includes Sutter's Fort and the California State Indian Museum. Begun in 1839 and originally called "New Helvetia" by its builder, John Sutter, the fort was a 19th century agricultural and trade colony in...
, Sem-Yeto fled north, and the people continued to earn their living on the ranches of California.
Named after
Solano County is named after Chief (Sem-Yeto) Francisco Solano.Suisun Marsh
Suisun Marsh
Located in northern California the Suisun Marsh is the largest brackish marsh on west coast of the United States of America. The marsh land is part of the San Francisco Bay tidal estuary, and subject to tidal ebb and flood...
is named after the Suisunes tribe.
Sources
- Fink, Augusta. Monterey, The Presence of the Past. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1972. ISBN 0877010723.
- Milliken, Randall. A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769-1910 Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press Publication, 1995. ISBN 0-87919-132-5 (alk. paper)
- Lewis Pub. A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California, Chicago, IL: Lewis Publ. Co., 1891. (For post-mission era, intertribal battles)
- Silliman, Stephen. Lost Laborers in Colonial California, Native Americans and the Archaeology of Rancho Petaluma. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8165-2381-9.
- History of Suisunes "Tragic Demise of People of the West Wind"
- History of Solano County, California
- Sonoma State Historic Park