Tribal Groups by Root Language

Algonquin-Wakashan | Athapaskan | Hokan-Siouan | Penutian | Ritwan | Uto-Aztecan

ALGONQUIAN-WAKASHAN

Wiyot
Aboriginal Location: area surrounding Humboldt Bay
Language: Wiyot
Shelter: rectangular structures, made of cedar posts and poles and split cedar planks, and truncated roof
Note: The last native speaker died in 1962. Surviving members are trying to buy back Indian Island, once the cultural/spiritual center.
Website: www.wiyot.com

Yurok
Aboriginal Location: along the Pacific northwestern coast, and the lower Klamath River areas
Language: Algonquin
Shelter: redwood plank structures with gabled roof
Food: salmon, acorn, fish, shellfish, sea lion, elk, deer, small game, seeds
Note: Their name comes from the Karuk word yúruk, which means "down river". Their closest neighbors were the Karuk and Tolowa, with whom they shared many customs. Tribe members spoke all three languages and visited each other frequently.

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ATHAPASKAN

Hupa/Hoopa
Aboriginal Location: along the Trinity River in northwestern California
Language: Athapascan
Shelter: cedar houses built over a square earth pit
Food: salmon, trout, sturgeon, nuts, berries

Cahto (aka. Kato)
Aboriginal Location: along the upper south fork of the Eel River in northwestern California
Language: Wailakian
Shelter: four-posted square framework inside a 2-foot deep, circular pit

Tolowa
Aboriginal Location: Smith River and Elk Valley Rancherias in Del Norte County
Language: Tolawan (fewer than five speakers left)
Shelter: redwood plank structures, semi-subterranean, flat beachstone or wood floors, smokehole in the center of a peaked roof
Food: seals, sea litons, smelt, perch, cod, shellfish, salmon, eel, acorn, (deer and elk to a lesser degree)
Trade: smelt and tooth shells to the Karuk for soaproot and pine nut beads; basketry to the Rogue River Athapaskans; redwood dugouts from the Yurok

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HOKAN-SIOUAN

Achomawi/Achumawi
Aboriginal Location: northeastern California
Language: Palaihnihan
Shelter: in the summer, cone-shaped structures covered with tule in the summer; in the winter, wood-frame, semi-subterranean houses covered with grass, tule, bark, and dirt
Food: fish, waterfowl, eggs, tule sprouts, game, berries
Note: They are members of the Pit River Nation.

Chumash
Aboriginal Location: area along the coast between Paso Robles and Malibu, and the Northern Channel Islands
Language: Hokan
Shelter: large, circular, domed houses separating multiple family areas; a fire-pit stood in the center and a hole was left on the top of the dome for air circulation
Food: acorn, pine nuts, cherries, seeds, berries, deer, small game, fish, waterfowl
Website: Chumash Life, from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Karuk
Aboriginal Location: area along the Klamath River in northwestern California, from Happy Camp in Siskiyou County to Redcap Creek in Humboldt County
Language: Hokan
Shelter: rectangular structures, made of cedar posts and poles and split cedar planks
Food: salmon, deer, acorns, bear, elk, small gamel
Note: Karuk is native for "up-stream".

Kumeyaay/Kumei/Cumeyaay (aka. Diegueño, Tipai-Ipai)
Aboriginal Location: San Diego and Imperial Counties, to 60 miles south of the Mexican border
Language: Yuman branch of Hokan, divided by Ipai (northern dialect) and Tipai (southern dialect)
Shelter: Willow frames set into the ground were curved to the center, then overlaid by brush, tulles, or tree branches.
Food: acorn, yucca, fish, shellfish, watercress, nettle, celery, lettuce, small game
Website: www.kumeyaay.com

Mojave
Aboriginal Location: 200 mile area along the Colorado River from Hoover Dam to Blythe, and the region west of the river
Language: Yuman
Shelter: four-posted structures built over a circular excavation, thatched with brush and covered with mud
Note: They were once desert farmers dependent on the flood patterns of the Colorado River; they hunted, fished, and trapped.

Pomo
Aboriginal Location: Russian River Valley of northern California
Language: Pomoan
Shelter: cone-shaped structures covered with tule or bark
Food: acorn, fish, deer, elk, waterfowl, roots, berries, small game
Website: The Elem Indian Tribe of the Southeastern Pomo

Quechan
Aboriginal Location: Extends from both sides of the Colorado River, north of Yuma. According to tribal legend, they descended from the heights of Avikwame Mountain (Newberry Peak, near Needles, California).
Language: Yuman
Shelter: dome-shaped huts made of brush with an extended ramada to provide shade and food storage
Food: salmon, bass, deer, rabbit, birds, bean pods, wheat, beans, corn, squash, and a variety of melons cultivated according to the Colorado River's flood pattern

Washo
Aboriginal Location: area encompassing Lake Tahoe, from Honey Lake to Mono Lake
Language: Washo
Shelter: round or conical structures made of sixteen foot long willow or pine poles tied together in the center, covered with cedar bark, pine boughs, or manzanita; a second layer of brush and tree branches were added during the winter
Food: acorn, buckberry, gooseberry, sunflower seeds, currants, wild onions, rhubarb, turnips, trout, abalone, deer, grouse, quail, mountain sheep, rabbit

Yuman
(see Kumeyaay and Quechan)

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PENUTIAN

Costanoan/Ohlone
Aboriginal Location: area along the California central coast
Language: Penutian
Shelter: domed structures thatched with tule, grass, and fern
Food: acorn, seeds, nuts, berries, grapes, honey, fish, deer, bear, mountain lion, and small game

Maidu
Aboriginal Location: Eastern drainage area of the Sacramento river near Chico, and in large areas on the east and south side of Lassen Peak.
Language: Penutian
Shelter: unhewn timber-framed structure, cone-shaped, covered with grass, brush, tules, and earth
Food: acorn, wild plants, fish, game
Note: They were once nomadic, hunter-gatherers.

Miwok
Aboriginal Location: parts of San Francisco Bay Area to Monterey; there was a tribe of Ahwaneechee Miwoks who lived in the Yosemite area for nearly 4,000 years before a fatal illness caused them to flee the valley
Language: Penutian
Shelter: semi-subterranean, cone-shaped structures with pole frames, covered with bark, brush, grass, or tule; a fire-pit stood in the center and a hole was left on the top of the dome for air circulation
Food: acorn, pine nuts, buckeyes, berries, seeds, roots fish, deer, elk, bear, small game, waterfowl

Wintun
Aboriginal Location: from area south of Redding to the slopes of Mt. Shasta
Language: Wintun dialect of Penutian
Shelter: in the north, semi-subterranean, cone-shaped structures with a connecting timber framework, covered with bark; in the south, a central post with radiating rafters resting on the surrounding edges of an earth pit, covered by various material
Food: deer, small game, bear, salmon, trout, acorns, seeds, nuts, berries

Yokuts
Aboriginal Location: western side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the San Joaquin Valley foothills
Language: Penutian
Shelter: semi-subterranean, cone-shaped structures with a connecting pole framework, covered with tule, tarweed, and pine needles
Food: pinenuts, manzanita berries, acorns, salmon, deer, rabbit, geese
Note: They were once a nomadic hunter/gatherer tribe which used tools made of bedrock, spears, bows & arrows, and knives. They pierced their ears and nose for decoration and the women often wore tattoos.
Website: Buena Vista Museum of Natural History

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RITWAN

Wappo
Aboriginal Location: bordered by The Geysers in Northern California, down to the bay south of Napa, Geyserville on the west, and Santa Rosa on the east
Language: Wappo
Shelter: dome-shaped structures thatched with small branches and leaves; winter structures were made of branches and mud
Note: The culture was decimated in 1838 by a smallpox epidemic. A smaller band of Wappo, called Lilik, were absorbed into the Pomo culture through intermarriage.

Yuki
Aboriginal Location: Round Valley, along the South Fork of the Eel River, and at the coast along the Ten Mile River
Language: Yukian
Shelter: conical houses of bark slabs with poles for support, and a 1-foot excavation inside
Food: fish, deer, grasshoppers, bird eggs, worms, acorns, tubers, berries
Trade: with the Pomo, they traded furs, beads baskets and skins for tooth shells, clam disc beads, moccasins, sea shells, shell beads, dried abalone, mussels, seaweed, salt and magnesite beads; with the Wintun, they traded black bear skins for salt and obsidian
Note: They were once sedentary, hunter-gatherers.

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UTO-AZTECAN

Cahuilla
Aboriginal Location: the headwaters of San Luis Rey and Santa Margarita Rivers; San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Mountain; and northwestern portion of the Salton Sink
Language: Shoshonean
Shelter: rectangular floor structures with flat roofs made of mesquite posts and beams, and wormwood shoots, mesquite bark, leaves, and earth for the roof
Note: They once numbered as many as 10,000 in the 17th century.

Chemehuevi
Aboriginal Location: southeastern California on the Arizona border and the Colorado River, from Death Valley to the Maria Mountains
Language: Paiute
Shelter: dome-shaped structures made of sapling poles joined at the center, and thatched with brush
Food: corn, beans, pumpkin and melon; mountain sheep, deer, rabbit
Note: They were once nomadic; they fought and intermarried with their nearest neighbors, the Mohave.

Cupeño/ Kuupangaxwichem ("people who slept here")
Aboriginal Location: southern California - 50 miles inland and 50 miles north of the Mexican border, mountainous area at the headwaters of the San Luis Rey River
Food: acorn, pine nuts, berries, deer, fish, small game
Language: Southern Takic, closely related to the Cahuillan language
Note: Less than nine speakers of the original language are left, and they are all more than 50 years old.

Gabrielino/Tongva
Aboriginal Location: southern California, Los Angeles and Orange County areas
Language: Takic
Shelter: large, multi-family structures covered with tule
Food: acorn, pine nuts, berries, deer, fish, small game

Luiseño/Juaneño
Aboriginal Location: 50 miles along the California coast from south Los Angeles County to north San Diego County, and inland 30 miles
Language: Luiseño
Shelter: cone-shaped structures thatched with reeds, brush, or bark
Food: acorn, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, berries, deer, fish, waterfowl, small game
Note: Also known as the Luiseño Band of Mission Indians, they can be found today in La Jolla, Pala, Pechanga, Pauma, Rincon, Soboba, and Twentynine Palms tribes.

Paiute
Aboriginal Location: Northern and Owens Valley Paiute lived along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains from Oregon to Owens Valley; Southern Paiutes lived along southeastern California
Language: Northern Paiutes spoke a Shoshonean dialect; Southern Paiutes spoke Numic
Shelter: small, circular structures covered with tule rushes
Food: corn, squash, pumpkin, melon, beans, sunflowers, blueberries, elderberries, currants, wild strawberries, deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, small game

Serrano
Aboriginal Location: the Mojave Desert and the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California
Food: acorn, Manzanita berries, pine nuts, yucca, deer, rabbit
Language: Takic branch of Uto-Aztecan
Note: They were once sedentary hunter-gatherers. Serrano is Spanish for "mountaineer", but they called themselves Yuharetum, which means "people of the pines."

Shoshone
Aboriginal Location: Death Valley National Park contains approximately 80 percent of the Shoshone's known traditional, cultural, and sacred sites
Language: Shoshone
Shelter: semi-subterranean, cone-shaped structures with a connecting pole framework, covered with pine needles
Food: pine nuts, Mesquite beans, elk, buffalo, bighorn sheep
Note: They were once hunter-gatherers.

Tongva
(see Gabrielino/Tongva)

Western Mono/Monache
Aboriginal Location: south-central Sierra Nevada foothills
Language: Shoshone
Shelter: semi-subterranean, cone-shaped structures with a connecting pole framework, covered with pine needles
Food: acorn, pine nuts, deer, fish, manzanita berries, gooseberries, seeds, mushrooms
Webpage: Central Sierra Historical Society and Museum Website

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