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Pomo
Pomo (po-mo) is a word believed to be derived from Poma, the village name given by anthropologists at the beginning of the century. There are seventy known tribes within the Pomo group.
Land:
The Pomo originated in California and were divided into three regions, the coast, the valley, and the lake regions of northern, central and southern California. Their territory extended throughout Mendicino, Sonoma and Lake counties and include the Russian River Valley. The northern Pomo are named the Bokeya, the central are the Yokiya, and the southern Pomo are the Kashia.
The Pomo now only own a mere fifty acres of tribal land. The decline was caused by a few factors. The treaties signed were never accepted by the state of California, thus when the gold rush hit they sold a lot of the Pomo Indians land to anyone willing to buy. Second, there was terrible misrepresentation of the Pomo Indians in court by the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs). This caused a loss of 80, 000 acres of land, including the island tribal ceremonial grounds.
Within the last five years or so, the Dry Creek River Band has been pushing for ways to repossess lost land through the legislative process in Congress. Claims for areas around Lake Sonoma and Warm Springs Dam have been a top priority, in which tribal leaders have made requests to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild their communities in historic, ancestral land. Many locals have objected, and local government officials claim that taxpayers have invested too much in the areas resources to surrender land to local tribes (Mason, TPD).
Language:
It is believed that there were originally seven different languages but only three are still spoken including Hokan.
Traditions:
Because the Pomo Indians lived in a variety of environments, there was a large variety of food available to them. The communities living inland made journeys to the coast for sea food, and the coastal communities made journeys inland to gather foods not found in their local environment. The Pomo Indians ate nuts from acorns, chestnuts, buckeyes, pepperwood, and conifer trees. They also ate wild grapes and berries. “Almost all species of mammals, birds, fishes, etc. were utilized, chiefly as sources of food.” (Material Aspects of Pomo Culture. page. 96). Among these were land birds like quail, pigeons, doves, woodpeckers, and blue jays. The clear lake communities had access to ducks, geese, swan, cormorants, cranes, egrets, herons, bitterns, and snipe. There were also certain animals that were considered taboo to hunt or eat.
They used a variety of tools to hunt game. They used snare, nets, spears, clubs, Bola (used in taking geese), sling and clay balls, and the bow and arrow. They used a V-shaped fence for corralling deer, and they would smoke out, or drown out ground squirrel out of their burrow.
The Pomo Indians did have property lines and personal areas. The entire community usually owned land, but family units may have owned individual trees. Good fishing spots were another community-owned area. If other communities wanted to fish these areas, all they had to do was ask. “If a boundary had to be marked, they simply tied a girdle of leaves around the trees along the line, at intervals of about a mile.” (Material Aspects of Pomo Culture. page. 50). Boundaries where agreed upon by community leaders in elaborate ceremonies.
History:
In the early 1800's, the Pomo had become close allies with the Russian fur traders and constantly traded items between the two camps. The Russian fur traders believed having Indians on their side was to their advantage. The Pomo were forced into Spanish missionaries or onto Indian reservations. During the 1830's & 1840's, they were subjected to numerous raids by the Mexican camps who attempted to secure slaves. There was also dramatic increases in the number of people who contracted smallpox and other deadly diseases. In 1857, the U.S. government set up a reservation for the Pomo Indians at Fort Bragg, California. Ten years later it was deserted and the Pomo were sent to live on other reservations throughout California.
Additional Reading
Pomo Language
Pomo Indians
Hokan
Indian Tribes of California
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Lummi language
Mayan
Snohomish county
Bad Spirit
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