California Native Americans

John Muir was an early proponent of a view we still hold today—that much of California was pristine, untouched wilderness before the arrival of Europeans. But as this book demonstrates, what Muir was really seeing when he admired the grand vistas of Yosemite and the gold and purple flowers carpeting the Central Valley were the fertile gardens of the Sierra Miwok and Valley Yokuts Indians, modified and made productive by centuries of harvesting, tilling, sowing, pruning, and burning.

Most California histories begin with the arrival of the Spanish missionaries in the late 18th century and conveniently skip to the Gold Rush of 1849. Noticeably absent from these stories are the perspectives and experiences of the people who lived on the land long before European settlers arrived. Historian William Bauer seeks to correct that oversight through an innovative approach that tells California history strictly through Native perspectives.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Euro-American citizenry of California carried out mass genocide against the Native population of their state, using the processes and mechanisms of democracy to secure land and resources for themselves and their private interests. The murder, rape, and enslavement of thousands of Native people were legitimized by notions of democracy - in this case mob rule.

California’s transformation into the most populous state in America and the home of some of the country’s richest citizens spread amongst Silicon Valley and Hollywood, was certainly no accident. California has always been one of the most diverse and multicultural states in the United States, way before it was a state at all, and even before the arrival of the Europeans.

Sacred Sites is a singular and memorable account of the evolution of the Southern California landscape, reflecting the riches of both Native knowledge and Western scientific thought. Founded on meticulous research, Suntree offers a rare and poetic vision combining Western and indigenous thinking to create an ever-deepening sense of a place and its people.

Before there was such a thing as "California," there were the People and the Land. We Are the Land is the first and most comprehensive text of its kind, centering the long history of California around the lives and legacies of the Indigenous people who shaped it. Beginning with the ethnogenesis of California Indians, this book recounts the centrality of the Native presence from before European colonization through statehood—paying particularly close attention to the persistence and activism of California Indians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

A historical fiction book set in California during the 16th to 19th centuries. Step into the vibrant and tumultuous world of early California in "California Gold," a sweeping historical fiction that captures the spirit of exploration, ambition, and survival against a backdrop of heart-wrenching beauty and conflict. As cultures clash and dreams are forged in the fires of gold fever, the story invites readers on an unforgettable journey through a land shaped by the hands of both settlers and native tribes. "California Gold" masterfully unfolds over centuries, beginning with the Spanish ...

Between 1846 and 1873, California's Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. Benjamin Madley is the first historian to uncover the full extent of the slaughter, the involvement of state and federal officials, the taxpayer dollars that supported the violence, indigenous resistance, who did the killing, and why the killings ended. This deeply researched book is a comprehensive and chilling history of an American genocide.

A historical non-fiction book set in California during its transformation from indigenous tribes to American statehood. Discover the rich tapestry of California's past in "Tribes and Priests Early California." This captivating exploration takes you from the ancient traditions of indigenous tribes through the tumultuous changes brought by Spanish colonization and the American gold rush. Experience the vibrant history that shaped California's unique identity, filled with ambition, cultural clashes, and the relentless pursuit of economic prosperity. The narrative intricately weaves together ...

Did you know that the California Gold Rush was the largest mass migration event in the history of the United States of America? More than 300,000 people settled in the previously sparsely populated California. And they all came in the period between 1849 and 1855. But sadly, the people living in California quickly fell into violence, racism, and misogyny.

Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will perform in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and loss.

This beautiful and devastating book - part tribal history, part lyric and intimate memoir - should be required for anyone seeking to learn about California Indian history, past and present. Deborah A. Miranda tells stories of her Ohlone Costanoan Esselen family as well as the experience of California Indians as a whole through oral histories, newspaper clippings, anthropological recordings, personal reflections, and poems. The result is a work of literary art that is wise, angry, and playful all at once, a compilation that will break your heart and teach you to see the world anew.

One of the most groundbreaking and highly acclaimed titles that Heyday has published, The Ohlone Way describes the culture of the Indian people who inhabited the Bay Area prior to the arrival of Europeans. Recently included in the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Top 100 Western Non-Fiction” list, The Ohlone Way has been described by critic Pat Holt as a “mini-classic”.

Collecting over twenty-five essays written by more than twenty California Indian authors, Know We Are Here surveys many of the ways California's Indigenous communities are resisting the legacies of genocide. Focusing on the particular histories, challenges, and dynamics of life in Native California—which are often very different from elsewhere in the United States—the book collects essays from writers across the state. It encompasses the perspectives of both elders and the rising generation, and the contributors include activists, academics, students, memoirists, and tribal leaders.

New paperback version with color pictures: www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ9NF2MN Have you visited one or more of the Old Spanish California Missions? Read about the author's journey through all of the twenty-one Missions in California along with his wife Mary, and their daughter Anaïs. In this book you will find interesting facts and characteristics particular to each mission. In California Missions, Visiting All 21, author Paul Rallion provides useful information that you can use to make your trip more informative and enjoyable. Third Edition: Updated color pictures (without the author), and more ...

Termed the Uncle Tom's Cabin of the southwestern Indians and the first protest novel of California, Ramona is the story of 3 cultures - Indian, Mexican, and Anglo - locked in combat. The upheaval and injustice are humanized through the romance of a beautiful half-Indian orphan who grow up as the ward of Señora Moreno in privileged surroundings, then falls in love with an Indian and joins him in a life of poverty and tragedy. The Ramona Pageant in Hemet, California, based on this romance, has played each year since 1923, reenacting the transition period between Mexican traditions and the new U.S. and state governments.

A beautiful, half-Indian girl raised by the Californios finds her fate intertwined with an American frontiersman haunted by his past in 1850 California. As California comes to statehood amidst the madness of the gold rush, Isabella Vasquez must wed a buckskin-clad American who wins her in a card game. Though their union is passionate, Isabella soon finds herself abandoned in a brothel, where she rises to fame as a singer known as the Bluebird. Yet because of her Indian blood, the Bluebird will always be bought and sold in the white man’s world. When more is demanded of the Bluebird than ...

Nick Neely chronicles his 650-mile trek on foot from San Diego to San Francisco, following the route of the first overland Spanish expedition into what was soon called Alta California. Led by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769, the expedition sketched a route that would become, in part, the famous El Camino Real. It laid the foundation for the Golden State we know today, a place that remains as mythical and captivating as any in the world.

A short story about a fictional encounter with a southern California native American youth who travels to Arizona and encounters the Mojave tribe. He is seeking the blue turquoise gemstones which are highly prized by his tribe. He wants to impress his intended bride with a gift of these beautiful stones. We follow his travels and experience his trials along the way. A good story for adults and young readers as well.

Boxed set of the complete Pauline Ocean series of psychic supernatural mysteries, including: THE BODY DEPARTED (Pauline’s Introduction) Two years ago, a man broke into James Blakely’s apartment and shot him in his sleep. Dead and confused, James discovers he has a choice: he can move on into the afterlife, or he can stay behind. Unfortunately, since James has done some very bad things, moving on into the afterlife can only mean one thing: the fires of Hell. Or so he thinks. Forgoing eternal damnation, James instead chooses to haunt his old apartment building. Now James’s days are ...