Wintu
Encyclopedia
The Wintu are Native Americans
who live in what is now Northern California
. They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as the Wintun
(or Wintuan). Others are the Nomlaki
and the Patwin
. The Wintu language is part of the Penutian language family.
Historically, the Wintu lived primarily on the western side of the northern part of the Sacramento Valley
, from the Sacramento River
to the Coast Range. The range of the Wintu also included the southern portions of the Upper Sacramento River
(south of the Salt Creek drainage), the southern portion of the McCloud River
, and the upper Trinity River
. They also lived in the vicinity of present-day Chico
, on the west side of the river extending to the Coast Ranges.
Many Wintun live on the Round Valley Reservation, and on the Colusa, Cortina, Grindstone Creek, Redding, and Rumsey rancherias.
, followed by an 1827 expedition led by Peter Skene Ogden
. Between 1830 and 1833, many Wintu died from malaria
. An epidemic
killed off around 75% of the indigenous population of the upper and central Sacramento Valley
.
In following years the weakened Wintu fell victim to competition for resources by incoming European-American settlers. Their sheep and cattle herds destroyed the Wintu food supply. Gold miners' processing activities caused pollution
of rivers. The Wintu were forced to work as laborers in gold mining operations. In 1846 John C. Frémont
and Kit Carson
killed 175 Wintu and Yana
.
Settlers tried to control Wintu land and relocate the people west of Clear Creek. In a "friendship feast" in 1850, whites served poisoned food to local Indians, from which 100 Nomsuu and 45 Wenemem Wintu died. More deaths and destruction of Wintu land followed in 1851 and 1852, in incidents such as the Bridge Gulch Massacre
.
; it is also called Wintu
.
The religious stories and legends of the Trinity River Wintu were told by Grant Towendolly to Marcelle Masson, who published them in A Bag of Bones (1966).
estimated the combined 1770 population of the Wintu, Nomlaki
, and Patwin
as 12,000. Sherburne F. Cook
initially put the population of the Wintu proper as 2,950, but later he nearly doubled his estimate to 5,300. Frank R. LaPena estimated a total of 14,250 in his work of the 1970s.
Kroeber estimated the population of the Wintu, Nomlaki, and Patwin in 1910 as about 1,000. Today the population has recovered somewhat and there are about 2500 Wintun. Many live on the Round Valley Reservation, and on the Colusa, Cortina, Grindstone Creek, Redding, and Rumsey rancherias.
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...
who live in what is now 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...
. They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as 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...
(or Wintuan). Others are the Nomlaki
Nomlaki
The Nomlaki are a Wintun people native to the area of the Sacramento Valley, extending westward to the Coast Range in Northern California. Currently one person speaks Nomlaki...
and the Patwin
Patwin
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....
. The Wintu language is part of the Penutian language family.
Historically, the Wintu lived primarily on the western side of the northern part of the Sacramento 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:...
, from the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
to the Coast Range. The range of the Wintu also included the southern portions of the Upper Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
(south of the Salt Creek drainage), the southern portion of the McCloud River
McCloud River
The McCloud River is a river that flows east of and parallel to the Sacramento River, long, in northern California in the United States. It drains a scenic mountainous area of the Cascade Range north of Redding...
, and the upper Trinity River
Trinity River (California)
The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley...
. They also lived in the vicinity of present-day Chico
Chico, California
Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
, on the west side of the river extending to the Coast Ranges.
Many Wintun live on the Round Valley Reservation, and on the Colusa, Cortina, Grindstone Creek, Redding, and Rumsey rancherias.
History
The first recorded encounter between Wintu and Euro-Americans dates from the 1826 expedition of Jedediah SmithJedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
, followed by an 1827 expedition led by Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...
. Between 1830 and 1833, many Wintu died from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. An epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
killed off around 75% of the indigenous population of the upper and central Sacramento 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:...
.
In following years the weakened Wintu fell victim to competition for resources by incoming European-American settlers. Their sheep and cattle herds destroyed the Wintu food supply. Gold miners' processing activities caused pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
of rivers. The Wintu were forced to work as laborers in gold mining operations. In 1846 John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
and Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
killed 175 Wintu and Yana
Yana people
The Yana people were a group of Native Americans indigenous to Northern California in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, on the western side of the range. The Yana-speaking people comprised four groups: the Northern Yana, the Central Yana, the Southern Yana, and the Yahi...
.
Settlers tried to control Wintu land and relocate the people west of Clear Creek. In a "friendship feast" in 1850, whites served poisoned food to local Indians, from which 100 Nomsuu and 45 Wenemem Wintu died. More deaths and destruction of Wintu land followed in 1851 and 1852, in incidents such as the Bridge Gulch Massacre
Bridge Gulch Massacre
The Bridge Gulch Massacre or Hayfork Massacre occurred on April 23, 1852, when more than 150 Wintu people were killed by about 70 American men led by William H. Dixon, the Trinity County sheriff...
.
Culture
The Wintu language is one of the Wintuan languagesWintuan languages
Wintuan is a family of languages spoken in the Sacramento Valley of central Northern California.All Wintuan languages are severely endangered.-Family division:...
; it is also called Wintu
Wintu language
Wintu is an endangered Wintuan language spoken by the Wintu people of Northern California.Wintu is the northernmost member of the Wintun family of languages....
.
The religious stories and legends of the Trinity River Wintu were told by Grant Towendolly to Marcelle Masson, who published them in A Bag of Bones (1966).
Population
Scholars have disagreed about the historic population of the tribes before European-American contact. Alfred L. KroeberAlfred 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...
estimated the combined 1770 population of the Wintu, Nomlaki
Nomlaki
The Nomlaki are a Wintun people native to the area of the Sacramento Valley, extending westward to the Coast Range in Northern California. Currently one person speaks Nomlaki...
, and Patwin
Patwin
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....
as 12,000. 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...
initially put the population of the Wintu proper as 2,950, but later he nearly doubled his estimate to 5,300. Frank R. LaPena estimated a total of 14,250 in his work of the 1970s.
Kroeber estimated the population of the Wintu, Nomlaki, and Patwin in 1910 as about 1,000. Today the population has recovered somewhat and there are about 2500 Wintun. Many live on the Round Valley Reservation, and on the Colusa, Cortina, Grindstone Creek, Redding, and Rumsey rancherias.
See also
- Winnemem WintuWinnemem WintuThe Winnemem Wintu are a band of the Native American Wintu tribe originally located along the lower McCloud River, above Shasta Dam near Redding, California.-History:...
- WintunWintunWintun 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...
- Wintu languageWintu languageWintu is an endangered Wintuan language spoken by the Wintu people of Northern California.Wintu is the northernmost member of the Wintun family of languages....
- NomlakiNomlakiThe Nomlaki are a Wintun people native to the area of the Sacramento Valley, extending westward to the Coast Range in Northern California. Currently one person speaks Nomlaki...
- PatwinPatwinThe 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....
- Wintuan languagesWintuan languagesWintuan is a family of languages spoken in the Sacramento Valley of central Northern California.All Wintuan languages are severely endangered.-Family division:...
- Wintu-Nomlaki traditional narrativesWintu-Nomlaki traditional narrativesWintu-Nomlaki traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the Wintu and Nomlaki people of the western Sacramento Valley in northern California....
External links
- "Wintu", Siskiyou State University
- "Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California in 1770", (map after Kroeber)," California PreHistory
- "Wintu language", Ethnologue