Difference between revisions of "Achomawi" - New World Encyclopedia

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==Population==
 
==Population==
 
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[[Image:Achomawi man.jpg|thumb|200 px|Achomawi man photographed by Edward S. Curtis.]]
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. ''(See [[Population of Native California]].)'' [[Alfred L. Kroeber]] (1925:883) estimated the combined 1770 population of the Achomawi and Atsugewi as 3,000. A more detailed analysis by Fred B. Kniffen (1928) arrived at the same figure. T. R. Garth (1978:237) estimated the Atsugewi population at a maximum of 850, which would leave at least 2,150 for the Achomawi.
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Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. [[Alfred L. Kroeber]] (1925:883) estimated the combined 1770 population of the Achomawi and Atsugewi as 3,000. A more detailed analysis by Fred B. Kniffen (1928) arrived at the same figure. T. R. Garth (1978:237) estimated the Atsugewi population at a maximum of 850, which would leave at least 2,150 for the Achomawi.
  
 
Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Achomawi and Astugewi in 1910 as 1,100. [[Edward S. Curtis]], a photographer and author in the 1920s, gave a 1910 population of Achomawi at 984.
 
Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Achomawi and Astugewi in 1910 as 1,100. [[Edward S. Curtis]], a photographer and author in the 1920s, gave a 1910 population of Achomawi at 984.

Revision as of 00:25, 11 November 2008


Achomawi
Ahjumawi Indian woman.jpg
Achomawi woman (circa 1920)
Total population
Regions with significant populations
Flag of United States United States 1,800 - Pit River Indians
Languages
Palaihnihan
Religions

The Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi and Ahjumawi) were one of several bands of the Pit River tribe of Native Americans who lived in northern California, USA. They lived in the Fall River valley, Tule Lake and Pit River area near Montgomery Creek in Shasta County to Goose Lake on the Oregon state line. They were closely related to the Atsugewi. The Achomawi spoke a Palaihnihan language.

Territory

The Pit River before it enters the canyons east of Canby, California

The Pit River or Pitt River is a major river watershed draining Northeastern California into the State's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range.

The longest tributary of the Sacramento River, it contributes as much as eighty percent of their combined water volume into Lake Shasta; the junction of their Lake Shasta arms is four miles northeast of Shasta Dam. The Pit River is approximately 315 miles long (measuring from its longest source as is standard USGS practice.) This 58 mile South Fork Pit River - West Valley Creek - Cedar Creek source originates just southeast of Buck Mountain in the Warner Mountains in the extreme southeastern corner of the Modoc National Forest nine miles west of the Nevada border.

The Pit River drains a sparsely-populated volcanic highlands area, passing through the south end of the Cascade Range in a spectacular canyon northeast of Redding. The river is so named because of the pits the Achumawi dug to trap game that came to water at the river. Historically, Achomawi territory was in the Pit River drainage area (with the exception of Hat Creek and Dixie Valley, which were Atsugewi). This region, from Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak to the Warner Range, has a tremendous ecological diversity yielding a huge variety of foods, medicines, and raw materials. Total area was probably one hundred and seventy-five miles in length as the river flows, and began near Round mountain in the south to Goose Lake area to the north (Curtis 1924).

Strictly speaking, Achomawi is the name of only that part of the group living in the basin of the Fall River (Kroeber 1925).

Other groups in the Pit River area :

  • Madeshi, lowest on the river,
  • Ilmawi, along the river's south side
  • Chumawi, in Round Valley
  • Atuami, in Big Valley
  • Hantiwi, in lower Hot Springs Valley
  • Astakiwi, upper Hot Springs Valley
  • Hamawi, on the south fork of the Pit River

Population

Achomawi man photographed by Edward S. Curtis.

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. Alfred L. Kroeber (1925:883) estimated the combined 1770 population of the Achomawi and Atsugewi as 3,000. A more detailed analysis by Fred B. Kniffen (1928) arrived at the same figure. T. R. Garth (1978:237) estimated the Atsugewi population at a maximum of 850, which would leave at least 2,150 for the Achomawi.

Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Achomawi and Astugewi in 1910 as 1,100. Edward S. Curtis, a photographer and author in the 1920s, gave a 1910 population of Achomawi at 984.

Language

The Achumawi language (also Achomawi or Pit River language) is the native language spoken by the Pit River people of present-day California. The term Achumawi is an anglicization of the name of the Fall River band, ajúmmááwí, from ajúmmá "river." Originally there were nine bands, with dialect differences among them but primarily between upriver and downriver dialects, demarcated by the Big Valley mountains east of the Fall River valley.

Together, Achumawi and Atsugewi are said to comprise the Palaihnihan language family. The basis of this assertion is weakened by poor quality of data. Olmsted's dictionary depends almost entirely upon de Angulo, and carelessly includes Pomo vocabulary from a manuscript in which he (de Angulo) set out to demonstrate that Achumawi and Pomo are not related. Bright has also pointed out problems with Olmsted's methods of reconstruction. The phenomenon of non-reciprocal intelligibility is a matter of bilingualism more prevalent in one community (Atsuge) than in the other.

Today, the Achumawi language is severely endangered. Out of an estimated 1500 Achumawi people remaining in northeastern California, perhaps ten spoke the language as of 1991, with only 8 as of 2000. However, out of these 8, 4 had a limited English proficiency.


Culture

Achomawi summer hut

Like other Northern Californians, the Achomawi lived by hunting, gathering and fishing.Their main foods are grasshoppers, plants, small animals and fish.

Fishing

One method of catching fish was the building of fish traps near the shore composed of lava stone walls, with an outer wall and inner walls that concentrate the issuing spring water to attract the sucker and trout The openings are then closed using a keystone, canoe prow or log. The inner walls trap the fish in the shallow gravel area directly in front of the spring's mouth where they are taken by spear or basket. The shallow gravel enclosure was also the spawning grounds for the sucker fish, which the Achomawi were careful to maintain for a successful spawn by opening the walls to release the fish. The fish were cleaned, and then sun-dried or smoked on wooden frames for either later consumption or trade with other groups. The harvest was done in the evening using torches for light to show the fish, which could number in the hundreds (Foster 2008).

Several fish traps can be seen along the shores of Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park. Fish hooks and fish spears were made from deer bone, the fish spear being a two pronged bone that had a socket for the fitting of a wooden shaft.
Nets were another method employed to snare trout, pike and sucker and the Achomawi made five different types , three of which were bag-shaped dipnets , a seine and a gill net. Of the three dipnets, the Lipake was the smallest, a round bag with an oval hoop sewn at the mouth that was used to scoop the sucker fish into while diving underwater (Curtis 1924).

Hunting

Hunting techniques differed from other California Native Americans. A deep pit would be dug along a deer trail, covered with brush, the trail restored including adding deer tracks using a hoof, and all dirt and human evidence taken away. The settlers' cattle would also fall in these pits, so much so that the settlers convinced the people to stop this practice. The pits were most numerous near the river because the deer came down to drink and so the river is named for these trapping pits (Powers 1976).

Gathering

Acorns, pine nuts, seeds of wild oats and other grasses, manzanita berries and other berries were prepared for either consumption, winter storage or for trade. The plant commonly called camas (Camassia Quamash) was (and still is) an important food source of many Native American groups and was widely traded. Used as a sweetener and food enhancer, the bulbs were pit-cooked for more than a day traditionally (Stevens Darris 2006).

Basketry

Achomawi basket-maker in 1923

Achomawi basketry was of the twined type. Cooking vessels had broad openings, slightly rounded bottom and sides with willow rods for upright structure. Other types of baskets were the burdenbasket, cradle, serving-tray and the open- mesh beater basket for harvesting seeds. Achomawi made use of bear grass (also called elk grass, Indian basket grass and bear lily, it is a member of the lily family, latin name: Zerophyllum. The leaves are grasslike, 1 to 3 feet (0.91 m) long and very durable) for an overlay of wheat-colored strands with black stems of maidenhair fern for background color (Curtis 1024).

Traditional beliefs

Achomawi traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories.

Achomawi oral literature reflects the group's position at the junction of cultural influences from central California, the Great Basin, the Plateau, and the Northwest Coast regions of aboriginal North America.

Contemporary Achomawi

Known as the Pit River Indians or "Tribe," they are comprised of eleven (11) autonomous bands: Ajumawi, Atsugewi, Atwamsini, Illmawi, Astarawi, Hammawi, Hewisedawi, Itsatawi, Aporige, Kosealekte, and Madesi, that since time immemorial have resided in the area known as the 100-mile square, located in parts of Shasta, Siskiyou, Modoc, and Lassen Counties in the State of California.

There is a Housing Authority that through Government grants has developed community housing projects, such as housing for low income families and elders. The Tribe operates a Day Care center, and environmental program. The Pit River Tribe currently operates Pit River Casino, a Class III gaming facility located on 79 acres in Burney, California. Today there are around 1,800 tribal members living on the Alturas, Big Bend, Big Valley, Likely, Lookout, Montgomery Creek, Redding, Roaring Creek, and Susanville rancherias, as well as on the Pit River, Round Valley and X-L Ranch reservations.

On August, 1964, a Constitution was formally adopted by the Pit River Tribe. The Preamble states:

... for the purpose of securing our Rights and Powers inherent in our Sovereign status as reinforced by the laws of the United States, developing and protecting Pit River (Ajumawi - Atsugewi) ancestral lands and all other resources, preserving peace and order in our community, promoting the general welfare of our people and our descendants, protecting the rights of the Tribe and of our members, and preserving our land base, culture and identity (Pit River Tribe 1964).


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Garth, T. R. 1978. "Atsugewi." In California, edited by Robert F. Heizer, pp. 236-243. Handbook of North American Indians, William C. Sturtevant, general editor, vol. 8. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  • Kniffen, Fred B. 1928. "Achomawi Geography." University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 23:297-332.
  • Kroeber, A. L. 1925. Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.
  • Mithun, Marianne. 1999. The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052129875X
  • Olmstead, David L. 1964. A history of Palaihnihan phonology. University of California Publications in Linguistics 35. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  • Margolin, Malcolm. 1993. The Way We Lived: California Indian Stories, Songs, and Reminiscences. Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books.
  • Nevin, Bruce Edwin. 1998. Aspects of Pit River Phonology Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  • Dixon, Roland B. 1908. Achomawi and Atsugewi Tales. Journal of American Folk-Lore XXI(81): 159-177. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  • Dixon, Roland B. (ed.). 1909. Achomawi Myths. Journal of American Folk-Lore XXII(85): 283-287. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  • Curtis, Edward S. [1924] 2007. The Achomawi. The North American Indian, Vol. 13. Northwestern University Digital Library Collections. Retrieved November 10, 2008. Classic Books. ISBN 978-0742698130
  • Foster, John W. 2008. Ahjumawi Fish Traps. California State Parks. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  • Powers, Stephen. 1876. Tribes of California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0520031725
  • Stevens, Michelle, and Dale C. Darris. 2006. Common Camas Plant Guide. Washington DC: United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  • Pit River Tribe. [1964] 2005. Constitution of the Pit River Tribe. National Indian Law Library, Native American Rights Fund. Retrieved November 11, 2008.

External links

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