The Aboriginal Population of the North Coast of CaliforniaCook, Sherburne Friend
History
The Aboriginal Population of the North Coast of California
Cook, Sherburne Friend
Indians of North America -- California; Indians of North America -- Statistics
It is clear from the opinions expressed by Kroeber and Stewart that the
Southern Pomo exhibited the same general type of social organization as
the Central Pomo, namely, a splitting into subtribes with each of the
latter inhabiting a single, large main village. Several of these have
been reasonably well identified, some by modern ethnographers and some
by the early missionaries and civil contemporaries. There are 15, the
existence of which is sufficiently well assured. They are as follows:
1. Amalako Dry Creek Stewart
2. Amako Cloverdale Stewart, Merriam
3. Makahmo Cloverdale Stewart, Merriam, Kroeber
4. Amatio Healdsburg Stewart, Merriam
5. Kale Healdsburg Stewart, Merriam
6. Mukakotcalg Healdsburg Stewart, Merriam
7. Wotokkaton Healdsburg Merriam, Kroeber
8. Tsoliikawai Healdsburg Stewart, Merriam
9. Batiklechawi Sebastopol Merriam, Kroeber
10. Masikawani Sebastopol Stewart, Merriam
11. Hukabetawi Santa Rosa Merriam, Kroeber
12. Kabetsiuwa Santa Rosa Stewart, Merriam
13. Gualomi Santa Rosa Mission records, Merriam
14. Chichiyomi Santa Rosa Mission records, Merriam
15. Levantoyome Santa Rosa Mission records, Merriam
If each of these fifteen villages had a population of only 300 Indians,
a low value considering the huge congregations in the Ukiah-Hopland
region, the total for the Southern Pomo could be set at 4,500.
There is a little contributory evidence to be obtained from the mission
records. These documents, which are to be found in the Bancroft Library
of the University of California, include baptism records for the
missions of San Rafael and Solano, those which drew upon the Pomo for
converts. Up to 1834 there had been baptized 268 persons from
Levantoyome, 90 from Gualomi, and 44 from Chichiyome. Conversions in
peripheral areas like that of the Southern Pomo were always far from
complete, particularly at the end of the mission period. Many of the
natives were killed in the incessant skirmishes and massacres of the
time, many were enslaved directly by rancheros, many died of disease,
but by far the greatest number simply fled the approach of the white
man. It is quite reasonable to suppose that not more than one-third of
the natives were ever actually brought into the missions for
conversion. This would mean an average of 402 persons for the three
subtribes or villages just mentioned, Levantoyome, Gualomi, and
Chichiyome. Extended to the entire 15 known principal villages, the
total would be 6,030.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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