Up here in the Mount Shasta territory,
there have lived several Native Americans - one of them is the Wintu tribe. The Wintu people and their ancestors have lived in this area for thousands of years. This is homeland of the Wintu tribe.
I know a little something about these people, as my mother-in-law was part Wintu. She was born and raised in this area, and she used to talk to me about them from time to time, which I found interesting. She was also Scottish, Irish, and Welch, but part Wintu as well.
In history, the Wintu are described as a peaceful people.
There were 34,000 Wintu living in the homeland, but by 1910 there were only 710 people left.
California map showing Wintu homeland in the shaded black.
Two significant foods that the Wintu ate were acorns and fish, mainly salmon. The acorns were ground into flour and then made into soups and breads.
They were known for weaving baskets. Here is a Wintu basket in the 1890's.
Wintu arrow
Native American Wintu tribe Bone Abalone Necklace.
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Most of you know what a dream catcher is. This is a gift I received recently. I love the yellow and orange beads, they look Springy.
I hope to share sometime a little of my own Native American heritage, the fierce Apache.
I have had this bracelet since I was in my 20's. I've never given it away, I think because it has my initials engraved in the leather. It looks a bit Native American, don't you think?
I'll leave you with one of my favorite stories.
Old Story Teller: And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, "We do not like to see you so sad. Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it." The Man said, "I want to have good sight." The vulture replied, "You shall have mine." The Man said, "I want to be strong." The jaguar said, "You shall be strong like me." Then the Man said, "I long to know the secrets of the earth." The serpent replied, "I will show them to you." And so it went with all the animals. And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left. Then the owl said to the other animals, "Now the Man knows much, he'll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid." The deer said, "The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop." But the owl replied, "No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill. It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say, 'I am no more and I have nothing left to give.'"
~Sheri
7 comments:
I LOVE this post....I too have native blood in my family. The story is so very true...we keep asking and asking until there is no more. I find it so interesting how the native people lived totally off of the land. Such a rich history for them and it is so sad that almost all has been taken away from them. They had a spirit about them that allowed them to live in ways that none of us could do. thank Sheri for this post.
That is interesting that you featured the Wintu and I mentioned them in my post as well with absolutely no collaboration. I appreciate how under our city limits sign there is another sign that says Wintu Country. It’s important that we know this beautiful area is Wintu land. The Rancheria and Winriver are very good to our town - and are always willing to come along city leaders.
The water “issues” in this part of the state are also a native issue because of the salmon. There’s a lot more to our water conservation than just filling up reservoirs. Up north, several dams have been taken down due to hurting the salmon population which in part, hurts the Wintu. It’s complicated. I loved reading about our local history and culture. Thanks Sheri.
Hi Sheri, this was a very powerful post Sheri, I do like the story you shared at the end of your post.
We have Native tribe lands not far from where I live in Wisconsin. My grandpa was friends with a native man, he lived on a hill, that all the locals called Indian Hill. My grandparents home started on fire one day, and their baby girl was in the house. The native American could see the fire from the hill, he came running to help my grandparents save the baby and fight the fire.
The hill is still called Indian Hill by all the locals.
Carla
Oh my gosh, this story is so sad, disturbing, and TRUE for so many!! It is written so beautifully; I just love it. Acorn flour! This is a new one to me! The necklace, basket, and even the arrow are beautiful! as is your bracelet. I look forward to knowing about the Apache. What we did to the Native Americans was terrible!! We say that God is with our country, yet all we do is conquer for ourselves.
P.S. Love your cute little rabbit beside the roses!
Me gusta especialemente, el paisaje de la primera fotografía.
Dollar General does indeed have such cute miniature things! In fact, I just got back from there, where I got a tiny glass jar with a cork top.
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