Indigenous Tribes to the Elk Grove Region
Encyclopedia
Indigenous Tribes to the Elk Grove Region were native peoples in Elk Grove
, California
, a city in Sacramento County, California
, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento
. Today, Elk Grove is known for its large population as well as its fast-paced residential expansion and economical development, but before Sacramento's discovery by Gabriel Moraga
and Elk Grove's settlement by John Sutter
there were four groups of indigenous people who coexisted in this region. Elk Grove has one of California's largest Native American populations: an estimated 4 percent are descendants of local and other American Indian tribes.
s before winter, as they provided dietary starch and fat for the cold times ahead. Basket-weaving skills shared between the groups were used to construct above-ground acorn granaries, and local oak groves were tended so as to maximize production.
Elk Grove and its outlining areas were rich in plant and animal life, and it was common for indigenous people to supplement their acorn diet with edible roots and fish from nearby rivers, such as the American River
, Sacramento River
and the Cosumnes River
.
religion practised to different degrees by the Miwok
, Nisenan
, Nomlaki
and Patwin
peoples before contact with the arriving European settlers. The religious belief system extended into Central California
and Northern California
from Sacramento Valley
west to the Pacific Ocean
.
Kuksu included elaborate acting and dancing ceremonies in traditional costume. The men of the tribe practised rituals to ensure good health, bountiful harvests, hunts and good weather. Ceremonies included an annual mourning ceremony, rites of passage
, and shamanic intervention with the spirit world. A male secret society met in underground dance rooms and danced in disguise at the public dances.
Although tribes each had a different language, it is believed they shared a common ancestral root. The Penutian stock
is believed to be the originating language from which all other dialects evolved and later branched into five other languages. Maidu, Miwok and Wintuan are included in these five branches.
Elk Grove, California
Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 153,015...
, 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...
, a city in Sacramento County, California
Sacramento County, California
Sacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Sacramento, which is also the state capital. As of 2010 the county had a population of 1,418,788....
, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. Today, Elk Grove is known for its large population as well as its fast-paced residential expansion and economical development, but before Sacramento's discovery by Gabriel Moraga
Gabriel Moraga
Gabriel 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...
and Elk Grove's settlement by John Sutter
John Sutter
Johann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
there were four groups of indigenous people who coexisted in this region. Elk Grove has one of California's largest Native American populations: an estimated 4 percent are descendants of local and other American Indian tribes.
Indigenous tribes
- Valley and Sierra MiwokValley and Sierra MiwokThe Plains and Sierra Miwok , were the largest group of Miwok Native American people...
- NisenanNisenanThe Nisenan, also known as the Southern Maidu and Valley Maidu, are one of many native groups of the Central Valley. The name Nisenan, derives from the ablative plural pronoun nisena·n, "from among us"...
or Southern Maidu - River 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....
Subsistence
Although diverse, many of these groups' lives shared similar aspects. They collected acornAcorn
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 before winter, as they provided dietary starch and fat for the cold times ahead. Basket-weaving skills shared between the groups were used to construct above-ground acorn granaries, and local oak groves were tended so as to maximize production.
Elk Grove and its outlining areas were rich in plant and animal life, and it was common for indigenous people to supplement their acorn diet with edible roots and fish from nearby rivers, such as the American River
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
, 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...
and the Cosumnes River
Cosumnes River
The Cosumnes River is a river in northern California in the United States. It rises on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and flows approximately into the Central Valley, emptying into the Mokelumne River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.-Name:...
.
Religion
Kuksu, also called the Kuksu Cult, was a shamanisticShamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
religion practised to different degrees by the Miwok
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...
, Nisenan
Nisenan
The Nisenan, also known as the Southern Maidu and Valley Maidu, are one of many native groups of the Central Valley. The name Nisenan, derives from the ablative plural pronoun nisena·n, "from among us"...
, 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....
peoples before contact with the arriving European settlers. The religious belief system extended into Central California
Central California
Central California, sometimes referenced as Mid-State, is an area of California south of the San Francisco Bay Area and north of Southern California...
and 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 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:...
west to 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...
.
Kuksu included elaborate acting and dancing ceremonies in traditional costume. The men of the tribe practised rituals to ensure good health, bountiful harvests, hunts and good weather. Ceremonies included an annual mourning ceremony, rites of passage
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
, and shamanic intervention with the spirit world. A male secret society met in underground dance rooms and danced in disguise at the public dances.
Languages
The languages of the tribes were diverse, but they were poorly documented and there is little knowledge of some languages. Today, there are few or no survivors who speak their native tongue.- The Nisenan (Southern Maidu) spoke ChicoChico languageChico is an extinct Maiduan language formerly spoken by Maidu peoples who lived in Northern California, between Sacramento and the Sierra foothills.-Bibliography:...
, now extinct, and NisenanNisenan languageNisenan is a nearly extinct Maiduan language spoken by the Nisenan people of central California in the foothills of the Sierras, in the whole of the American, Bear and Yuba river drainages.Ethnologue states that there is only one speaker left...
, of which only speaker is thought to remain. Nisenan is one of the Maiduan languagesMaiduan languagesMaiduan is a small endangered language family of northeastern California.-Family division:The Maiduan consists of 4 languages:# Maidu # Chico † # Konkow # Nisenan...
.
- The Valley Miwok spoke Planes Miwok, a language of the Miwokan branch of the Utian familyUtian languagesUtian 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...
of languages. All of the Utian languages are severely endangered.
- The Patwin spoke a self-titled language known as Patwin (also known as Hill Patwin), one of the 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:...
. One speaker of Patwin remained in 1997.
Although tribes each had a different language, it is believed they shared a common ancestral root. The Penutian stock
Penutian languages
Penutian is a proposed grouping of language families that includes many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in Washington, Oregon, and California. The existence of a Penutian stock or phylum has been the subject of debate among specialists. Even the...
is believed to be the originating language from which all other dialects evolved and later branched into five other languages. Maidu, Miwok and Wintuan are included in these five branches.