Talk:Plains and Sierra Miwok: Difference between revisions
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An anthropologist living in the area, Frank Latta, knew many of people and was in contact with them daily, unlike Merriam, Kroeber and Hizer who did not live in the area. Frank Latta documented that many of the writings of Merriam, Kroeber and Hizer were actually incorrect. The problem started when a journalist named Stephen Powers who was doing a series on all the Indians of California went to visit Indians living along the road that later turned into the 120 Hwy that leads to Sonora. He was only in the area for about a couple of days. Powers did not live in the area. Powers did not know by then many Miwoks and Yokuts had moved up from the Central Valley to work for white gold miners and settlers. The original Indians of Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy had already met their fate or they were pushed out. Meanwhile the Miwoks and Yokuts of the valley floor had for decades a working relationship with whites. Powers was not a trained anthropologist and was not a resident of the area year around. It was Stephen Powers who wrote the first 'stories' of the Yosemite Miwok. From than on many white anthropologists like Kroeber, Merriam and Hizer were trying to find Powers' Yosemite Miwoks. Later after Merriam's work was published he acknowledged to Frank Latta in "The Handbook of the Yokuts" that he was in fact incorrect. But Merriam had already wrote many Yokuts and Paiutes as Miwoks and that is the work you see today. In some of his photos he broadly wrote them all as Miwoks because of location, but that was incorrect, because by then many Indians who had moved to nearby white population centers were really not Miwoks but Yokuts and Mono Paiutes who had moved to find work. |
An anthropologist living in the area, Frank Latta, knew many of people and was in contact with them daily, unlike Merriam, Kroeber and Hizer who did not live in the area. Frank Latta documented that many of the writings of Merriam, Kroeber and Hizer were actually incorrect. The problem started when a journalist named Stephen Powers who was doing a series on all the Indians of California went to visit Indians living along the road that later turned into the 120 Hwy that leads to Sonora. He was only in the area for about a couple of days. Powers did not live in the area. Powers did not know by then many Miwoks and Yokuts had moved up from the Central Valley to work for white gold miners and settlers. The original Indians of Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy had already met their fate or they were pushed out. Meanwhile the Miwoks and Yokuts of the valley floor had for decades a working relationship with whites. Powers was not a trained anthropologist and was not a resident of the area year around. It was Stephen Powers who wrote the first 'stories' of the Yosemite Miwok. From than on many white anthropologists like Kroeber, Merriam and Hizer were trying to find Powers' Yosemite Miwoks. Later after Merriam's work was published he acknowledged to Frank Latta in "The Handbook of the Yokuts" that he was in fact incorrect. But Merriam had already wrote many Yokuts and Paiutes as Miwoks and that is the work you see today. In some of his photos he broadly wrote them all as Miwoks because of location, but that was incorrect, because by then many Indians who had moved to nearby white population centers were really not Miwoks but Yokuts and Mono Paiutes who had moved to find work. |
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Frank Latta correctly documented many of those that Merriam had broadly classified in the area as Miwoks were in fact Yokuts. Remember that Latta lived in a Yokut area and spent more time with them. While Kroeber, Hizer and Merriam's work was about all the California Indians, Frank Latta mostly concentrated on the Yokut people. That is why when you view the 1928-1929 California Indian Applications, filled out by the Indians themselves, signed with an affidavit and witnessed by two Indian informants who knew them for years wrote that they were Yokuts and Paiutes and not Miwoks. There were Miwoks, who mainly came from around the Sacramento area, but Merriam broadly described everyone as a Miwok. |
Frank Latta correctly documented many of those that Merriam had broadly classified in the area as Miwoks were in fact Yokuts. Remember that Latta lived in a Yokut area and spent more time with them. While Kroeber, Hizer and Merriam's work was about all the California Indians, Frank Latta mostly concentrated on the Yokut people. That is why when you view the 1928-1929 California Indian Applications, filled out by the Indians themselves, signed with an affidavit and witnessed by two Indian informants who knew them for years wrote that they were Yokuts and Paiutes and not Miwoks. There were Miwoks, who mainly came from around the Sacramento-Stockton area, but Merriam broadly described everyone as a Miwok. |
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Classifying everyone as a Miwok was C. Hart Merriam's attempt to change the title of California "Digger" to a better classification title. |
Classifying everyone as a Miwok was C. Hart Merriam's attempt to change the title of California "Digger" to a better classification title. |
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Revision as of 22:45, 23 September 2007
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Southern Sierra Miwuk controversy
There was no proof that the Southern Sierra Miwoks were the first Indian people in Yosemite. In the unrevised verision of Lafayette Bunnell's first encounter of Chief Tenaya he wrote "Tenaya was the founder of the Pah-Ute colony of Awahnee". He also wrote that Chief Tenaya spoke a "Piute Jargon". Major Savage spoke Yokut and other tribal languages, but took a Monoache Indian to speak to Chief Tenaya. Here is the text from the first book written by those who first encountered Chief Tenaya.[1]"Ten-ie-ya was recognized, by the Mono tribe, as one of their number, as he was born and lived among them until his ambition made him a leader and founder of the Pai-Ute colony in Ah-wah-ne. His history and warlike exploits formed a part of the traditionary lore of the Monos. They were proud of his successes and boasted of his descent from their tribe, although Ten-ie-ya himself claimed that his father was the chief of an independent people, whose ancestors were of a different race." Which meant that the Ahwahnechees were from a totally seperate tribe. Not related to the Maidus, Yokuts, Washoes, and Miwoks.
Chief Tenaya was born at Mono Lake from a Paiute woman and lived there til he was an adult before returning to Yosemite. He returned to Yosemite with a couple of hundred people, including his Paiute wife and children. He did not return to Yosemite with a couple of hundred Miwoks. They were Paiutes.
If you read the Southern Sierra Miwok dictionary linked to the main page you will find the name "Yosemite". In their dictionary "Yosemite" means "They are Killers". That would indicate that the Miwoks were not on friendly terms with the Awahnees.[2]
When Tenaya was taken to the Fresno Reservation he told Savage "Why are you bringing me amongst my enemies". Those people were the Yokuts and Miwoks.
When Tenaya escaped the Fresno Reservation he did not escape to the Central Miwok area, but instead went back into Paiute area. If he was Miwok he would have went to his peoples homeland instead of those that the Miwoks had several battles with, the Paiutes.
History has been modified to change the real Native peoples of Yosemite into Miwoks when they were Paiutes.[3]
Kroeber, Merriam and others based their anthropology work on Stephen Powers who was a journalist for the Overland Monthly. Powers visited the area decades after the Ahwahneechees had been decimated and the survivoring Ahwahneechees had been absorbed into the Mono Lake Paiute population in 1853. He was speaking to the Miwok workers of the white settlers and gold miners. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Yosemite Indian (talk • contribs) Aug 4 2007.
- That sounds reasonable and beleivable. Goldenrowley 03:39, 5 August
2007 (UTC)
Miwuk - Miwok name controversy
In the early 1920s many Native people living along the western Sierra Nevada from as far north as Lassen County and as far south as Fresno county were called "Diggers". To many Native Californians Digger was a very derogatory name. Around 1924 in Central California there was a ceremony called "The Burning of the Digger" where from then on the term Digger was never to used to classify themselves. During this same time C. Hart Merriam was pushing to change the title of Central Californians from Digger to the new name of Miwok. Merriam broadly put many tribes, even many Yokut tribes under the title of Miwok. Other Indians just automatically believed that Miwok was the new term for Digger.
If people were to look at the 1928-1929 California Indian Applications in northern Plumas and Lassen counties they would note that many Maidus were now classified as "Miwoks" even though they were in fact Maidus. Many of the those Indians in Northeastern California believed that the new term for themselves was Miwok as a replacement for the term Digger. That is why if you look at the 1928-1929 California Indian Applications you will see that an overwhelming amount of Maidus from Plumas and Lassen Counties were re-classified as Miwoks.
Later on elders of the Maidus of Plumas County went back and changed that. The Maidus went back to their original tribal name of Maidu instead of the incorrect Miwok.
The same thing did not happen in eastern Central California. They kept the erroneous Miwok title because there were benefits of calling oneself a Miwok, especially when white anthropologist like Kroeber and Hizer were telling them they were Miwoks. The benefits were better housing and jobs working for the park and forestry service during the Depression.
An anthropologist living in the area, Frank Latta, knew many of people and was in contact with them daily, unlike Merriam, Kroeber and Hizer who did not live in the area. Frank Latta documented that many of the writings of Merriam, Kroeber and Hizer were actually incorrect. The problem started when a journalist named Stephen Powers who was doing a series on all the Indians of California went to visit Indians living along the road that later turned into the 120 Hwy that leads to Sonora. He was only in the area for about a couple of days. Powers did not live in the area. Powers did not know by then many Miwoks and Yokuts had moved up from the Central Valley to work for white gold miners and settlers. The original Indians of Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy had already met their fate or they were pushed out. Meanwhile the Miwoks and Yokuts of the valley floor had for decades a working relationship with whites. Powers was not a trained anthropologist and was not a resident of the area year around. It was Stephen Powers who wrote the first 'stories' of the Yosemite Miwok. From than on many white anthropologists like Kroeber, Merriam and Hizer were trying to find Powers' Yosemite Miwoks. Later after Merriam's work was published he acknowledged to Frank Latta in "The Handbook of the Yokuts" that he was in fact incorrect. But Merriam had already wrote many Yokuts and Paiutes as Miwoks and that is the work you see today. In some of his photos he broadly wrote them all as Miwoks because of location, but that was incorrect, because by then many Indians who had moved to nearby white population centers were really not Miwoks but Yokuts and Mono Paiutes who had moved to find work.
Frank Latta correctly documented many of those that Merriam had broadly classified in the area as Miwoks were in fact Yokuts. Remember that Latta lived in a Yokut area and spent more time with them. While Kroeber, Hizer and Merriam's work was about all the California Indians, Frank Latta mostly concentrated on the Yokut people. That is why when you view the 1928-1929 California Indian Applications, filled out by the Indians themselves, signed with an affidavit and witnessed by two Indian informants who knew them for years wrote that they were Yokuts and Paiutes and not Miwoks. There were Miwoks, who mainly came from around the Sacramento-Stockton area, but Merriam broadly described everyone as a Miwok.
Classifying everyone as a Miwok was C. Hart Merriam's attempt to change the title of California "Digger" to a better classification title.
That is why there is a wrong classification of many of the Miwok, when they were really Yokuts.
Southern Sierra Miwuk language informants controversy
Using the 1928-1929 California Indian Applications and other government documents found at the National Archives it was discovered that the informants for Sylvia Broadbent Southern Sierra Miwok language were actually Casson and Chuckansi Yokuts and not Miwoks.[4] It was believed by other Indians that many Yokuts claimed they were Miwoks to get free housing and jobs at Yosemite National Park around those same years. The Park Service gave first choice of free housing and jobs to those claiming to be the original fabled "Yosemite Miwoks". Many American Indians changed their tribal affiliation to fit the bill. Some said they were decedent of Chief Tenaya. This was during a time when the Great Depression was just starting and it was advantageous to stretch the truth for a job and a free house.
"related groups" info removed from infobox
For dedicated editors of this page: The "Related Groups" info was removed from all {{Infobox Ethnic group}} infoboxes. Comments may be left on the Ethnic groups talk page. Ling.Nut 16:56, 19 May 2007 (UTC)