Maidu
Encyclopedia
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. In Maiduan languages
, Maidu means "person".
Population
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. (See Population of Native California
.) Alfred L. Kroeber
(1925:883) estimated the 1770 population of the Maidu (including the Konkow and Nisenan) as 9,000. Sherburne F. Cook
(1976:179) raised this figure slightly, to 9,500.
Kroeber reported the population of the Maidu in 1910 as 1,100. The 1930 census counted only 93. As of 1995, the Maidu population had recovered to an estimated 3,500.
Culture
The Maidu were hunters and gatherers.
The Maidu were exemplary basket makers
, weaving highly detailed and useful baskets in sizes ranging from thimble-sized to huge ones ten or more feet in diameter. The stitches on some of these baskets are so fine that you need a magnifying glass to see them. In addition to closely woven, watertight baskets for cooking, they made large storage baskets, bowls, shallow trays, traps, cradles, hats and seed beaters. To make these baskets they used dozens of different kinds of wild plant stems, barks, roots and leaves. Some of the more common were fern roots, red bark of the redbud, white willow twigs and tule roots, hazel twigs, yucca leaves, brown marsh grass roots and sedge roots. By combining these different kinds of plants, they were able to make geometric designs on their baskets in red, black, white, brown or tan.
trees to maximize production of acorns, which was their principal dietary staple
. The abundance of acorns made it possible for the Maidu to store large quantities for harder times, and they used their basket-making skills to construct above-ground acorn granaries
.
Besides acorns, which provided dietary starch
and fat
, the Maidu lived in an environment rich in plant and animal life, much of it edible, and they supplemented their acorn diet with edible roots (for which they were nicknamed "Digger Indians" by European immigrants), fish from the many streams and rivers, and other plant and animal species.
and the Patwin
among the Wintun
.
There were four principal divisions of the language: Northeastern Maidu, Yamonee Maidu (known simply as Maidu
); Southern Maidu or Nisenan
; Northwestern Maidu or Konkow
; and Valley Maidu or Chico
.
U.S. federally recognized tribes
Non-federally recognized tribes
Contemporary artists
Traditional narratives
Sources
External links
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 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 reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
and American
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...
Rivers. In Maiduan languages
Maiduan languages
Maiduan is a small endangered language family of northeastern California.-Family division:The Maiduan consists of 4 languages:# Maidu # Chico † # Konkow # Nisenan...
, Maidu means "person".
Local divisions
There are three subcategories of Maidu:- The 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 occupied the whole of the American, BearBear River (Mokelumne River tributary)The Bear River is a river in the Sierra Nevada in California. It is a tributary of the Mokelumne River. The river and its watershed are entirely in El Dorado National Forest. The river begins as two forks several miles south of Kirkwood. The forks travel roughly southwest and merge just before the...
and Yuba RiverYuba RiverThe Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sacramento Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is one of the Feather's most important branches, providing about a third of its flow. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into North, Middle and South...
drainages. They live in lands that were previously home to the MartisMartis peopleThe Martis were a group of Native Americans who lived in Northern California on both the eastern and western sides of the Sierra Nevada. The Martis complex lasted from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, during the Middle Archaic era. Evidence of Martis habitation has been found from Carson River and Reno, Nevada...
. - The Northeastern or Mountain Maidu, also known as Yamonee Maidu, lived on the upper North and Middle forks of the Feather River.
- The Konkow (Koyangk'auwi/Concow) or Northwestern Maidu lived below the high Sierra, in the South, Middle, North and West branches of the Feather River, on the Upper Butte and Chico Creeks, and in the Sacramento ValleySacramento ValleyThe 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:...
along the lower course of those streams.
Population
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. (See Population of Native California
Population of Native California
Estimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially, both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent scholars concluding that these estimates are low...
.) Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred 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...
(1925:883) estimated the 1770 population of the Maidu (including the Konkow and Nisenan) as 9,000. 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...
(1976:179) raised this figure slightly, to 9,500.
Kroeber reported the population of the Maidu in 1910 as 1,100. The 1930 census counted only 93. As of 1995, the Maidu population had recovered to an estimated 3,500.
Culture
The Maidu were hunters and gatherers.
The Maidu were exemplary basket makers
Basket weaving
Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape...
, weaving highly detailed and useful baskets in sizes ranging from thimble-sized to huge ones ten or more feet in diameter. The stitches on some of these baskets are so fine that you need a magnifying glass to see them. In addition to closely woven, watertight baskets for cooking, they made large storage baskets, bowls, shallow trays, traps, cradles, hats and seed beaters. To make these baskets they used dozens of different kinds of wild plant stems, barks, roots and leaves. Some of the more common were fern roots, red bark of the redbud, white willow twigs and tule roots, hazel twigs, yucca leaves, brown marsh grass roots and sedge roots. By combining these different kinds of plants, they were able to make geometric designs on their baskets in red, black, white, brown or tan.
Subsistence
Although the Maidu were hunters and gatherers and did not farm, like many other California tribes they practiced grooming of their gathering grounds, with fire as a primary tool for this purpose, and tended local groves of oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees to maximize production of acorns, which was their principal dietary staple
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
. The abundance of acorns made it possible for the Maidu to store large quantities for harder times, and they used their basket-making skills to construct above-ground acorn granaries
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...
.
Besides acorns, which provided dietary starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
and fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
, the Maidu lived in an environment rich in plant and animal life, much of it edible, and they supplemented their acorn diet with edible roots (for which they were nicknamed "Digger Indians" by European immigrants), fish from the many streams and rivers, and other plant and animal species.
Housing
Maidu housing, especially higher in the hills and the mountains, was largely semi-underground. These underground houses were sizable, circular structures twenty to forty feet in diameter, whose floors were as much as three feet below ground level. Once the floor of the house was dug, a pole and log framework was built, upon which a heavy layer of earth was placed. With a central fire in the house, this made for good warmth in the winter. For summer dwelling, a different structure was built from cut branches tied together and fastened to sapling posts, then covered with brush and dirt. The summer shelters were built with the principal opening facing east to catch the rising sun, and to escape the heat of the afternoon.Social organization
They lived in small villages or tribelets with no centralized political organization. Leaders were typically selected from the pool of men who headed the local Kuksu cult, but generally did not exercise day-to-day authority, being primarily responsible for settling internal disputes, and negotiating over matters arising between villages.Religion
The primary religious tradition of the Maidu revolved around the Kuksu cult, which was a central California religious cult system based on a male secret society and characterized by the Kuksu or "big head" dances. Besides the Maidu, this cult system was also followed by the PomoPomo 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...
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....
among 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...
.
Languages
The Maidu spoke a language held by some authorities to be of the Penutian linguistic stock. While all Maidu spoke a form of this language, the grammar, syntax and vocabulary differed sufficiently that Maidu separated by large distances or by geographic features that discouraged travel might actually speak nearly mutually unintelligible dialects of the tongue.There were four principal divisions of the language: Northeastern Maidu, Yamonee Maidu (known simply as Maidu
Maidu language
Maidu is a severely endangered Maiduan language spoken by Maidu peoples traditionally in the mountains east and south of Lassen Peak in the American River and Feather River river drainages...
); Southern Maidu or Nisenan
Nisenan language
Nisenan 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...
; Northwestern Maidu or Konkow
Konkow language
The Konkow language is a part of the Maiduan language group. The word koyoo means, "meadow", with the additional 'm' being the adjective form of the word...
; and Valley Maidu or Chico
Chico language
Chico is an extinct Maiduan language formerly spoken by Maidu peoples who lived in Northern California, between Sacramento and the Sierra foothills.-Bibliography:...
.
U.S. federally recognized tribes
- Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians
- Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians of CaliforniaEnterprise RancheriaEnterprise Rancheria is the landbase for the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe, located near Oroville, California....
- Greenville Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California
- Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico RancheriaMechoopdaThe Mechoopda is a Native American tribe located in northern California. The tribe speaks a language related to Maidu.The tribe was formerly centered in a village located about 3½ miles south of contemporary Chico, California. The Mechoopda became a federally recognized tribe in 1992....
- Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California
- Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract)
- 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:...
- United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria
Non-federally recognized tribes
- Honey Lake Maidu Tribe
- KonKow Valley Band of Maidu Indians
- Nevada City Rancheria
- Strawberry Valley Rancheria
- Tsi Akim Maidu Tribe of Taylorsville Rancheria
- United Maidu Nation
- Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe of the Colfax Rancheria
Contemporary artists
- Dalbert Castro – Nisenan
- Frank DayFrank Day (artist)Frank Day was a Native American artist from California.-Early life:Frank Day was born on February 24, 1902 in Berry Creek, California. His grandfather was Big Bill Day and his father was Twoboe. His father was a leader in the Bald Rock Konkow Maidu...
– Konkow
- Harry FonsecaHarry FonsecaHarry Eugene Fonseca was an American artist. He was born in Sacramento, California.Harry Fonseca was of Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, and Portuguese heritage. He studied art at California State University Sacramento with Native-American artist Frank LaPena but quit the program to pursue his own vision...
– Nisenan
- Judith Lowry – Mt. Maidu
- Frank Tuttle – Koncow Maidu
- Janice Gould – Konkow Maidu
Traditional narrativesFrank Day (artist)
Frank Day was a Native American artist from California.-Early life:Frank Day was born on February 24, 1902 in Berry Creek, California. His grandfather was Big Bill Day and his father was Twoboe. His father was a leader in the Bald Rock Konkow Maidu...
– Konkow
Harry Fonseca
Harry Eugene Fonseca was an American artist. He was born in Sacramento, California.Harry Fonseca was of Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, and Portuguese heritage. He studied art at California State University Sacramento with Native-American artist Frank LaPena but quit the program to pursue his own vision...
– Nisenan
Stories of the Trickster Coyote were particularly prominent.
Sources
- Cook, Sherburne F. 1976. The Conflict between the California Indian and White Civilization. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- Kroeber, A. L. 1925. Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.
- Heizer, Robert F. 1966. Languages, Territories, and Names of California Indian Tribes. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- Pritzker, Barry. 2000. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford University Press, New York.
External links