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Yokuts
Yokuts is pronounced "yo-kʊts" (ʊ as in "oo" from book). Yokuts in English means “people” or “person”. To the Yokuts, the name refers to “relatives.”
Language:
Each subtribe has its own dialect, but they all belong to the California Penutian language family. They are characterized into three groups by geography and culture, they are the Northern Valley Yokuts (Chukchansi), the Southern Valley Yokuts (Yawelmani, Yowlumni, Tachi), and the Foothill Yokuts (Choinimni).
Land:
The Southern Valley Yokuts live in the southern or upper end in the San Joaquin Valley. Presence of Yokuts living in the Southern Valley date back to at least 8,000 years. Tulare Lake is a part of the Southern Valley and that is divided into between three tribes. They are the Tachi, Chunut, and Wowol.
The Chukchansi Indians of Picayune Rancheria was terminated by the U.S. government. Their recognition was later re-established. currently In 1996, In 2000, Proposition 5 was passed by voters in California to help Indian tribes rebuild their communities on lost land (Nielsen, OSS).
Traditions:
There are two types of houses that the Yokuts live in. They are the single-family dwellings and and the communal residences. Single family dwellings are built near sloughs and marshes. They consist of tule mats over a wooden frame. These dwellings are not dug out because water would seep in. The communal residences are long and steep-roofed. They are built so that as many as ten families can live in it with a fireplace and a door of their own. They would also build mat-covered buildings to keep dried food in, but these are also owned by the entire community.
Families are made up of a husband, wife, and their children. This is the most basic family unit of the Southern Valley Yokuts. They use totem symbols to indicate “patrilineal totemic lineage”. Totemic symbols are normally an animal which is not to be eaten and is praised and looked up to. The mother’s totem is never passed to her children, but she still prays to the one her father passed on to her and her siblings. Most often the paternal moiety is passed on, but if there was a large family the husband sometimes “gave” his wife one or two children who accepted the responsibilities of the mother.
Additional Reading
Yokuts
Penutian Languages
Native American Tribes of California
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