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40-683: The war began in 1850 when miners entered the area of the Sierra Nevada foothills, which was traditionally occupied by the Ahwahnechee , a band of the Southern Sierra Miwok people. The miners began to take over the Ahwahnechee's land and resources, leading to tensions between the two groups. The Ahwahnechee, led by their chief Tenaya , fought back against the miners resulting in a series of skirmishes that escalated into

80-471: A flatbread. National Park Service naturalist, Will Neely created a list of the plants commonly used by the Ahwahnechee. Black oak , sugar pine , western juniper , canyon live oak , interior live oak , foothill pine , buckeye , pinyon pine nuts provided acorns and seeds for food. Other plants provided smaller seeds. Mariposa tulip , golden brodiaea , common camas , squaw root , and Bolander's yampah provided edible bulbs and roots. Greens eaten by

120-533: A full-scale war. The California state government, under Governor John McDougall , raised the Mariposa Battalion led by Sheriff James D. Savage to subdue the indigenous people. The war ended in 1851 with the capture of Tenaya and the surrender of his band. The Ahwahnechee were subsequently removed from the Sierra Nevada foothills and forced to live on reservations. The war resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of Ahwahnechee and several miners, and

160-706: A great cluster of butterflies ( "mariposas" in Spanish and Portuguese): Each year on the first weekend in May, Mariposa residents mark the annual arrival of migrating monarch butterflies with a "Butterfly Days" festival and parade. During the California Gold Rush , the Mariposa River was a rich gold-bearing creek and the site of several mining camps, including Logtown , Mariposa and Mariposita. Mariposa County contains three major drainage basins :

200-651: A new campaign against the Chowchilla was launched. Although units from the Mariposa Battalion destroyed the tribe's food stores, most Native Americans were able to elude the militias. However, with the death of their chief, the remaining Chowchilla surrendered and were transported onto a reservation. After the Ahwahneechees refused to come to Camp Barbour , the Californian government launched

240-481: A range of animals, particularly deer. Some Ahwahnechee tribal names for areas around Yosemite Valley include the following: Nine Ahwahnechee villages in Yosemite Valley housed 450 Indigenous residents when Euro-American settlers first arrived. These villages were Awani, Hokokwito, Kumaini, Lesamaiti, Macheto, Notomidula, Sakaya, and Wahak. The principal village, and by extension the whole Yosemite Valley,

280-464: A sturdy and durable shelter. An o-chum had two openings: an entrance at front and smokehole at its pinnacle A small fire was built in the colder months for warmth. A family of about six could live in an o-chum. Pelts of small animals made bedding. Hides of bear or deer were used as mattresses. The blanket was - like the bedding - made from the skins of the smaller animals, cut into strips, and woven together for extra warmth. Another sort of building that

320-499: A third campaign against them. The Mariposa Battalion encircled the Ahwahneechees at Lake Tenaija (named after Tenaya) on May 22. With little prospect of winning, the tribe acquiesced and surrendered Yosemite valley and the surrounding areas to the Californian government. The Battalion, acting as guards, marched the natives to the Fresno River Farm Reservation. After the Ahwahneechees were on the reservation,

360-526: The California wildrose , meadow goldenrod , mule ears , pearly everlasting , and the California laurel . The tribe used soap plant and meadow rue to make soap. They used fibers from Mountain dogbane , showy milkweed , wild grape , and soap plant for cordage. Baskets were woven from splints of American dogwood , big-leaf maple , buckbrush , deer brush , willow , and California hazelnut Additional bracken fern would add black colors to

400-871: The Mariposa River , is a creek that has its source in Mariposa County, California . It flows through the town of Mariposa then southwest through the Sierra foothills, into and across the San Joaquin Valley in Merced County , and empties the sloughs of the San Joaquin River south of the city of Merced . Mariposa Creek was named by the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga on September 27, 1806, when his expedition discovered

440-724: The Merced River , Chowchilla River / Fresno River , and a localized cluster of streams of the east valley known as the Lower Mariposa group of streams. These three basins and their component watersheds are part of the much larger San Joaquin River system that drains the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. At the lower end of the watershed, Mariposa Creek is dammed by the Mariposa Creek Dam (88 feet (27 m) high). The Mariposa Public Utilities District (MPUD) operates

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480-709: The Ahwahnechee included broad-leaved lupine , common monkey flower , nude buckwheat , California thistle , miner's lettuce , sorrel , clover , umbrella plant , crimson columbine , and alum root . Strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, thimbleberry , wild grape , gooseberry , currant, blue elderberry , western choke cherry , Sierra plum , and greenleaf manzanita provided berries and fruits. The Ahwahnechee brewed drinks from whiteleaf manzanita and western juniper . Commonly used medicine plants included Yerba santa , yarrow , giant hyssop , Brewer's angelica , sagebrush , showy milkweed , mountain dogbane , balsamroot , California barberry , fleabane , mint, knotweed ,

520-583: The Ahwahnechee. Savage had moved into the Ahwahnechee land and effectively disrupted the lives of every Ahwahnechee. The Ahwahnechee raided his supplies, and killed two of his men. This, in turn, sparked the Mariposa Indian War of 1850 to 1851. In 1851, during the Mariposa War , California State Militia troops of the Mariposa Battalion burned Ahwahnechee villages and took their food stores. The state militia with Savage as their major and

560-508: The Awani often used was a sweat house. These structures were somewhat similar to the o-chum, only with a rounded roof, as opposed to a pointed roof, and covered with mud. Young hunters used sweat houses before they went on a trip, to rid their bodies of the human smell that could betray their presence to the prey. Sweats also provided the men with a way to relax and cleanse themselves for religious and health purposes. The Awani historically hunted

600-532: The Chowchilla returned fire with rifles and pistols of their own. Surprised and unprepared, Savage's forces staggered and dispersed, resulting in a victory for the Native Americans who killed several and wounded militia members in what would become known as the first battle of the Mariposa War. Sheriff James Burney made an appeal to John McDougal , the second Governor of California , which led to

640-622: The Indian Commissioners from Washington were called out to either convince or force the Native people to sign treaties. Six tribes made agreements with the government to accept reservation land further down into the foothills. One of the tribes that refused to meet was the Ahwahnechees. When the soldiers, led by Savage, moved towards their camp to force them out, their chief, Teneiya, finally appeared alone and attempted to conceal

680-468: The Valley to protect the oak trees. Acorns were a central staple of their diet, Black oak acorns providing almost 60% of it. The acorns were laid on a slab of rock in the sun to dry. Then they were ground up in small holes atop big granite slabs known as grinding rocks, like a mortar and pestle. Once they had been sufficiently ground down to a fine powder, the acorn flour was put into a shallow depression at

720-506: The army and volunteer militia . White settlers also thought it was time to get rid of Native Americans due to the fact they thought took up too much labor in the mines. Mariposa County Sheriff James Burney and Savage led a militia of seventy four men in a retaliatory attack against a Chowchilla camp on the Fresno River near present-day Oakhurst on January 11, 1851. The militia attacked with rifles at daylight but were surprised when

760-470: The basket and redbud would provide red. The tribe made bows from incense-cedar , and Pacific dogwood . They built homes from Incense-cedar. The Awani people historically camped at the bottom of the valley, in small houses known as o-chum . These small homes were built with pine for the framing and supports, using the wood in a tipi -like structure with a diameter of about 12 feet. To insulate their homes, they covered pine poles with cedar bark to create

800-467: The creation of the Mariposa Battalion . The California State Militia that was a group of men who volunteered to form the Mariposa Battalion, sanctioned by the state of California, to rid the area of the perceived threat of Indians. They entered Yosemite Valley, systematically burned villages and food supplies and forced men, women, and children away from their homes. There were no native American homes left. Under "Major" James D. Savage, at least one-fifth of

840-431: The diseases brought from the new settlers, and about 9,000 from 16,000 were murdered. In three years, the non-Native American population rose from 14,000 in 1848 to 200,000 in 1852. Immigrants had come from Mexico , South America , Europe , Australia , and China . Miners digging for gold forced Native Americans off their historic lands. Others were pressed into service in the mines; others had their villages raided by

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880-646: The displacement of the indigenous people from their ancestral lands. The Mariposa War was a part of the broader historical context of the California genocide and the American Indian Wars . Many European American settlers considered Native Americans to be an "Indian Problem" which they needed to remove. The United States government, California state government, and White settlers enforced deliberate policies of displacement, forced removals, and massacres that drove Native Americans from their traditional lands and onto reservations . The California Gold Rush

920-399: The edge of the river. This depression was lined with leaves to keep the acorn powder from being lost in the sand. The flour was then rinsed to remove toxins, making it palatable. Once rinsed and edible, the flour was placed into willow cooking baskets with fresh water. Rocks were heated in a fire and placed in the basket to cook the mixture, which was then consumed either as a mush or baked into

960-565: The following federally recognized tribes : An unrecognized tribe , the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation is actively petitioning the U.S. Department of the Interior for federal recognition . The Bureau of Indian Affairs submitted a preliminary finding against federal recognition for the group in 2018. The Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe are also unrecognized. Mariposa Creek Mariposa Creek , originally called

1000-399: The foothills where they stayed long enough to regain their strength and petitioned for their freedom to return to their mountain home. This was granted and they returned to their secluded valley of "Ahwahnee". In 1852, a Mariposa expedition of US federal troops heard a report that Ahwahnechee Indians killed two European-American miners at Bridalveil Meadows. Soldiers were again dispatched and

1040-455: The location and number of his people. Major Savage told Teneiya that he would travel to the valley to find his people. Chief Teneiya said that he would go back and return with his tribe. When the chief appeared again Savage noticed that there were very few of the Native people present. He asked the chief where the rest of his people were, and Teneiya denied having any more people than were there at

1080-572: The militia returned to the Mariposa Creek post. On July 1, 1852, the Mariposa Battalion was mustered out. Ahwahnechee The Ahwahnechee , Awani , or Awalache were an Indigenous people of California who historically lived in the Yosemite Valley . They were a band of Miwok people , specifically Southern Sierra Miwok . The Awani people's heritage can be found all over Yosemite National Park . The name Awani

1120-411: The moment. Savage was convinced that if he found the rest of the tribe he could persuade them to come with him back to the negotiations. The Major took some men with him to the north through the mountains and came upon the valley. This was the first entry into Yosemite Valley by any white men. Camping that night the men debated what to call the valley they had just discovered. They agreed upon the name that

1160-443: The mountains to the east, and intermarried with those people. European-American contact began after 1833. In 1850 a settler named James D. Savage set up a mining camp down below the valley, and spent most of his time mining for gold and trading with the few other white men in the area. He took several Indian wives and developed influential relations with the nearby Native people. Later that year, Savage's camp and post were attacked by

1200-457: The old chief and his band once and for all. Only a few warriors, among them two of Chief Teneiya's sons, were found. The chief was eventually brought in to find that his sons had been shot for trying to escape. Within a few days the chief also tried to escape by jumping into the river. With the recapture of Chief Teneiya the rest of the band was easily found and brought to the Fresno reservation in

1240-482: The reservation on the San Joaquin River . Following the transport, Kuykendall returned to the battalion's camp and headquarters on Mariposa Creek in early April. Meanwhile, in their first campaign, the companies B and C of Boling and Dill had pursued Native Americans into the mountains where the units often forced to march through rain, sleet and deep snow drifts. on March 27, the companies discovered an Ahwahneechees Yosemite Valley refuge but few natives. On April 13,

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1280-750: The talks, a military campaign was launched against them the same day. The military action began when Company A — led by Captain Kuykendall — proceeded south to the Kings River and upper Kaweah Rivers and to the Tulare Valley. After arriving at the Kings River, scouts located a large Chowchilla village nearby. Company A charged into the Chowchilla camp, killing Native Americans. Some survivors were pursued, ridden down and taken prisoner. However, as Kuykendall's men had abandoned their horses for

1320-477: The troops executed five Ahwahnechee men. Later, the tribe fled over the mountains to shelter with a neighboring people, the Mono tribe. They stayed the year and then returned to their native valley taking with them horses stolen from the hospitable Monos who soon followed seeking revenge, killing Chief Teneiya and all but eight of the young braves and taking all the women and children captive. Chief Teneiya (d. 1853)

1360-474: The village charge, many of the Chowchilla were able to escape on foot. After the village attack, Kuykendall ordered his command to move onto the headwaters of the Kahweah River where they were unable to locate any more Chowchilla. A few days later, a group of Chowchilla entered their camp to sue for peace. The offer of peace was accepted and arrangements were made to transport the surviving Chowchilla to

1400-601: The volunteers were Texans and had served previously under Colonel Jack Hays during the Mexican-American War . Its commands were: Besides the military, officials from the Federal Indian commission sought a peaceful solution. On March 19, 1851, the Commissioners signed a treaty at Camp Fremont aside Mariposa Creek with six tribes. However, as the Ahwahneechees and Chowchillas were absent from

1440-442: The white men had already called the tribe, Yosemite. The date was March 25, 1851. Once they reached the village of Teneiya's people a search was made but no more Indians were found there or in the valley at all. The soldiers returned to the meeting place but Chief Teneiya and the part of the tribe that was already in their custody escaped and returned to the mountains. That May, a second expedition of militia traveled north to capture

1480-709: Was Awani. The Ahwahnee Hotel and Ahwahneechee Village, a recreated 19th-century tribal village in Yosemite Valley, are both named for the tribe, as are the Ahwahnee Heritage Days, Ahwahnee, California , and Ahwahnee Estates, California . Contemporary groups connected to the Ahwahneechee include the American Indian Council of Mariposa County, Inc. (or Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation), the Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a, and

1520-494: Was a leader in Yosemite Valley. His father was Ahwahnechee. He led his band away from Yosemite to settle with Paiutes in eastern California. Tenaya has descendants living today. The U.S. federal government evicted Yosemite Native people from the park in 1851, 1906, 1929, and 1969. Jay Johnson of the Mariposa Indian Council identifies as an Ahwahnechee descendent. The Ahwahneechee burned undergrowth in

1560-691: Was also the name of their primary village. The anglicizations of their name from the 19th century have included Ahwahnechee (by Hittell in 1868), Awalache (by Johnston in 1851), Awallache (by McKee in 1851), and Awanee (by Powers in 1874). They spoke the Southern Sierra Miwok language . The Awani lived in Yosemite Valley for centuries. It is believed that they may have lived in the area for as long as 7,000 years. According to NPS historians , they were primarily Southern Miwok, with related Miwok tribes living North and South and West. They routinely traded with both Paiute and Mono tribes across

1600-593: Was the conflict that caused the California genocide. By the end of May 1849, more than 40,000 gold seekers had used the California Trail to enter northern and central California which had been up until then populated by Native Americans and Californios (the descendants of early Spanish settlers ). In two decades 80 percent of Californias Native American population was wiped out. Many California natives died from their land being seized by white settlers or

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