Athapascan Indians; Indians of North America -- California
The net result of the foregoing discussion is that the line surrounding
the Athabascan peoples of Northwestern California remains much the
same as Kroeber showed it in 1925, whereas the tribal boundaries are
considerably changed. In the north, the Chilula and Whilkut occupy
almost entirely different areas and the Hupa have been divided into two
subgroups. On the coast, the Bear River and Mattole are divided, but
this division had been shown by Goddard and Nomland previously. The
Sinkyone have been divided into two subgroups and the Wailaki into three.
A really major difference is the accretion of territory by the Nongatl.
This group is one about which least is known and this may be the reason
why the map shows their territory as so extensive. It is very likely
that data from a few good informants would show that the Nongatl
actually comprise several distinct groups. There is a hint of this in
Essene's account of Lassik war stories (1942, p. 91). He notes that
the Nai'aitci, centering near the town of Bridgeville, were distinct
from the Blocksburg people. Both of these groups are placed within the
Nongatl area. No doubt more detailed information than we possess would
show that the area which we have labeled Nongatl was actually occupied
by two, three, or even more distinct groups.
GROUPS
KATO
The Kato are the southernmost of the California Athabascans (see pl. 11,
_e_ for a view of Kato territory). They are surrounded on three sides
by Yukian peoples and consequently resemble culturally the peoples of
Central California rather than those of Northwestern California. The
name Kato appears to be of Pomo origin and it was first thought that
the Kato language was a dialect of Pomo (Powers, 1877, p. 147). It was
not until 1903 that Goddard showed their Athabascan affinity (Goddard,
1903_b_).
Information on the ethnogeography of the Kato is derived from several
sources. Merriam's notes contain some information, which seems to have
come from a man named Bill Ray, who was living near Laytonville on
August 16, 1922. This man had been Goddard's informant in 1906, when Ray
was already between sixty and sixty-five years old (Goddard, 1909, p.
68, pl. 9) and he served also as Kroeber's informant in 1923 (Kroeber,
1925_b_).
The Merriam notes contain, in addition to several village names, a few
place and tribal names which I present herewith.
Kato: to-chil´-pe ke´-ah-hahng
Jackson V. people (inc. Branscom): sin´-k[=o]k ke´-ah-hahng
Wailaki: we´-tah^ch
Yuki of Round V.: chinch´
Coast Yuki: bahng´-ke´-ah-hahng
Southern Sinkyone: ketch´-ing ke´-ah-hahng
Tribe on the N side of Rattlesnake Cr. and E of South Fork Eel
division of Wailaki (?): tek´ ke´-ah-hahng
Long V.: kin-t[)e]^{hl}-pe
Laytonville: ten-tah^{ch}-tung
Cahto Pond (now drained): to-chil´-pa
Long V. Cr.: shah´-nah
South Fork Eel R.: nahs-ling´-che
Rattlesnake Cr.: tal-tl[=o]l´-kwit
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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