Achomawi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Achomawi

Image of an Achumawi woman taken c. 1920
Regions with significant populations
California
Languages
English, formerly Achumawi
San Diego State Univ.

The Achomawi (also called Achumawi, Ajumawi, or Ahjumawi) are a group of Native American people. They are nine of the eleven bands that make up the Pit River Tribe. These people traditionally lived in what is now northeastern California in the United States.

The name "Achomawi" means "river people." It specifically refers to the group that lived in the Fall River Valley and along the Pit River. The nine Achomawi bands lived on both sides of the Pit River. Two related bands, called Atsugewi, lived south of the Pit River.

Who Are the Achomawi People?

The Achomawi people lived in an area stretching from Big Bend to Goose Lake. This land was also home to the related Atsugewi people. Today, many descendants of both groups live on the Pit River Reservation.

Historians have estimated the number of Achomawi people before Europeans arrived. Some believe there were about 3,000 Achomawi and 300 Atsugewi in 1770. By 1910, estimates suggested about 985 Achomawi and 240 Atsugewi. As of 2000, the Achomawi population was estimated to be around 1,500 people.

Achomawi Language and Culture

The Achomawi language and the Atsugewi language are part of a language family called Palaihnihan. These languages might also be connected to a larger group called Hokan languages.

Traditional Homes and Villages

Each of the nine Achomawi groups had its own territory along the Pit River. Within these areas, each group had several villages. These villages were usually made up of extended families. They had about 20 to 60 people living in them.

The Achomawi lived in different types of homes depending on the season and their location. In summer, they often lived in cone-shaped homes. These were covered with tule mats. They also used brush or mat windbreaks for shade.

In winter, they built larger, more permanent homes. These winter houses were partly underground. They had wooden frames covered with a mix of bark, grass, and tule.

Family Life and Customs

When a couple married, the bridegroom would first live with the bride's family for a short time. He would hunt and work for them. Later, the bride would move to live with his family. This is called a patrilocal pattern.

The Achomawi society was patrilineal. This means that family lines and inheritance passed down through the father's side. The role of traditional chief was passed from father to the eldest son.

The Achomawi buried their dead in a curled-up position, facing east. Sometimes, they placed the body in woven baskets for burial. If someone died away from their community, their body was cremated. Their ashes were then brought back to be buried with their people. The belongings of the dead and gifts from relatives were buried or burned with the body.

When women became widows, they would cut their hair short. They would rub pitch (a sticky tree sap) into their hair and on their face. They also wore a necklace with lumps of pitch. These items were worn for about three years. After a widow's hair grew longer, she could marry her dead husband's brother.

For fun, women played a double ball game. The Achomawi also built and used sweat lodges.

Clothing and Body Art

Achomawi men wore buckskin coats and shirts. They would put a deerskin over their heads, sew the sides to make armholes, and then belt it. Moccasins made of twined tule and stuffed with grass were common footwear. Deerskin moccasins were worn in dry weather. Men also sometimes wore an apron-like kilt or breechcloth.

Women wore short gowns or tops similar to the men's. They also wore a deerskin skirt or a fringed apron. Buckskin moccasins and a basket cap were standard for women. Both men's and women's clothing might be decorated with porcupine quill embroidery.

Both men and women had tattoos. Women often had three lines tattooed under their mouth and sometimes lines on their cheeks. Men had septum piercings and wore dentalium shells or other jewelry.

How the Achomawi Found Food

The Achomawi got their food by fishing, hunting, and gathering plants. They caught deer, wildfowl (like ducks), bass, pike, trout, and catfish. They also gathered wild plants, herbs, eggs, insects, and larvae. They avoided eating domestic dogs. They used very little salt, believing too much caused eye problems.

Fishing for Food

Fishing was a very important way for the Achomawi to get food. The Sacramento sucker fish was especially important. Salmon was harder to find for groups living further east, but those along the lower Pit River had plenty. Salmon was sun-dried, roasted, or smoked. Then it was stored in large bark-covered baskets.

Fishermen used nets, baskets, and spears. They also built fish traps to catch Sacramento suckers. Ten stone fish traps can still be seen at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park. These traps were large stone walls built into the lake. They had a central opening that allowed fish to swim in. Once inside, the fish were trapped and caught with spears or nets.

Other fishing tools included fish hooks made of deer bone. Fishing spears had a long wooden shaft with a double-pointed bone head. A line was tied to the spear point to help the fisherman control it. Hemp was used to make cords for fishing nets. Rawhide was used for fishing weirs (dams).

The Achomawi made five types of fishing nets. Three were dip nets, one was a gill net, and one was a seine. Dip nets were shaped like bags. Some were used from canoes or while wading to catch suckers, trout, and pike. Other dip nets were used specifically for suckers, with fishermen wading and women and children pushing fish towards them.

The gill net was long, about 40 to 60 feet. It was weighted with stones to sink it. One end was tied to a tree, and the other to a buoy. When a fish was caught, the buoy would move. The seine net was used in calm water. It stretched across the stream from one side to the other. Stones weighted the bottom, and buoys floated the top.

They also caught minnows for drying. These were caught with traps made of willow rods and pine root fibers. The Achomawi also built two types of weirs (small dams) in streams. These weirs would guide fish into traps.

Hunting for Food

Deer were not always common in the Achomawi's dry land. So, they had a special way of hunting them. They would dig deep pits along deer trails and cover them with brush. They would even add deer tracks to make the trap look natural. This practice was so effective that settlers' cattle also fell into these pits. The settlers eventually convinced the Achomawi to stop this. The Pit River is named for these hunting pits. Deer hunting always began with a special ritual.

Waterfowl, like ducks, were caught with nooses stretched across streams. Rabbits were driven into nets.

Gathering Plants

The Achomawi gathered many different plant foods throughout the year. Acorns were a very important food for them, as they were for many California Native groups. Since oak trees were scarce in their own territory, they often got acorns from neighboring groups.

Tule plants were used to make twine, mats, and shoes. Tule sprouts were also eaten raw or cooked in early spring. Fruit trees provided food, including Oregon grape, Oregon plum, Pacific yew, and Whiteleaf manzanita. Other plants gathered included camas, various seed-bearing grasses, Indian potatoes, and lilies. These bulbs and seeds were stored for winter or traded.

Achomawi Beliefs and Spirituality

Young boys would seek special helper spirits called tinihowi. Both boys and girls had puberty ceremonies. The community also held a victory dance. Elder men would fast to help fish populations grow. Women and children would eat away from the river to encourage more fish. Sacred places like mountain peaks and springs were seen as spiritual.

Achomawi shamans were like doctors for the community. They focused on "pains," which were believed to be physical and spiritual problems caused by other shamans. After curing a pain, the shaman would "swallow" it. Both men and women could be shamans. Shamans were said to have a special item called a kaku or qaqu. This was a bundle of feathers believed to grow from the earth. It was used to find pains in the body.

Quartz crystals were also highly valued. People would dive into a waterfall to find them. In the pool, a spirit (like a mermaid) would lead the diver to a cave where the crystals grew. A giant moth cocoon, which symbolized the "heart of the world," was also sought after.

Puberty Rites for Girls

A girl's puberty ritual began with her father or a relative piercing her ears. She would then be picked up, dropped, and hit with an old basket before running away. During this time, her father would pray to the mountains for her. She would return in the evening with wood, symbolizing women's roles. She would build a fire and dance around it all night with relatives. Music was played with a deer hoof rattle. For five days and nights, she would repeat this. On the fifth night, she would be sprinkled with fir leaves and bathed, completing the ritual.

Puberty Rites for Boys

Boys' puberty rites were similar but included shamanistic elements. Their ears were pierced, and they were hit with a bowstring. Then they would run away to fast and bathe in a lake or spring. While they were gone, their father would pray for them. The boy would return, lighting fires on his way home. He would eat outside the home and then run away again. He would stay away for several nights, lighting fires, piling stones, and drinking water through a reed so his teeth didn't touch the water. If he saw an animal on the first night or dreamed of one, that animal would become his personal protector. If a boy had such a vision, he might become a shaman.

War Traditions and Weapons

The Achomawi generally disliked warfare. They believed that fighting or killing an enemy brought a special kind of "contamination." A person had to go through a strict purification process to remove it.

Their main weapon was the sinew-backed bow. These bows were flatter than those used by other California tribes. For protection, they wore body armor made from tough elk or bear hide. They also wore a waistcoat made of thin sticks wrapped together.

Achomawi Arts and Crafts

Basket-making Skills

The Achomawi were skilled at making baskets, like many other California tribes. Their baskets were made of willow and colored with vegetable dyes. They used a twining method for their basketry. Their baskets were often softer and larger than those made by the Hupa and Yurok tribes. The designs usually didn't focus on just one horizontal band.

The shapes of their baskets were similar to those made by the Modoc people. They had slightly rounded bottoms and sides, wide openings, and were not very deep. The size and shape of a basket depended on what it was used for. Some baskets were made for women to wear as caps. Others were used for cooking with hot stones, holding semi-liquid food, or carrying water.

Willow rods were used for the vertical parts (warp) of the basket. Pine root was used for the horizontal weaving (weft). For caps, only tule fiber was used. The Achomawi also made burden baskets for carrying things. They also made a mesh beater to harvest seeds into these baskets.

Many baskets were covered with a light white layer of xerophyllum tenax (beargrass). It is thought that baskets with this covering were mostly for trade and sale, not for everyday use. The beargrass protected the basket's artwork and materials, especially when used for boiling or holding water.

Canoes for Travel

The Achomawi made simple dugout canoes from pine or cedar. These canoes were longer and thinner than those made by the Yurok or Modoc. They were used for transportation and hunting.

History of the Achomawi

Early Interactions with Neighbors

The Achomawi generally had good relationships with the nearby Atsugewi speakers. However, the Illmawi band of Achomawi and the Atsuge people of Hat Creek sometimes had conflicts. These problems arose partly because the Atsuge would travel through Illmawi land to collect obsidian from Glass Mountain.

The Achomawi traded with neighboring groups. They exchanged furs, baskets, steatite (soapstone), rabbit-skin blankets, food, and acorns. In return, they received items like epos root, clam beads, obsidian, and other goods. Through these trades, goods from the Wintun, Modoc, and possibly the Paiute tribes were moved by the Achomawi. Eventually, they also traded for horses with the Modoc. The Achomawi used beads as money, especially dentalia shells.

There isn't much written about the interactions between the Achomawi and Atsugewi with the Klamath and Modoc tribes to the north. However, it's likely they had many interactions before the northern tribes got horses. The Klamath and Modoc got horses around the 1820s. After this, Achomawi villages became targets for slave raids by Modoc and Klamath horsemen. People captured in these raids were sometimes sold into slavery at a large slave market in The Dalles, Oregon.

The Madesi band, who lived around modern Big Bend, had very friendly relationships with the Wintun. However, the nearby Shasta and Yana were sometimes "powerful enemies" who would attack Madesi settlements.

Contact with Europeans

In 1828, fur trappers and traders visited Achomawi land. But it wasn't until the 1840s and the California gold rush that many outsiders began to arrive. These newcomers took land and disrupted the Achomawi way of life. The Rogue River Wars in 1855-56 also brought a strong U.S. military presence to the area.

Later History (1800s and 1900s)

In 1871, some Achomawi people took part in the first Ghost Dance movement. They also joined other religious movements after moving to a reservation. In 1921, a smallpox epidemic caused many deaths among the Achomawi.

Achomawi People Today

Most Achomawi people are part of the Pit River Tribe, which is recognized by the U.S. government. The tribe includes several independent bands: nine Achomawi and two (or possibly three) Atsugewi bands. These groups have lived in an area of about 100-mile (160 km) square for a very long time. This area is in parts of Shasta, Siskiyou, Modoc, and Lassen counties in California.

The Pit River Tribe has a Housing Authority that builds community housing for low-income families and elders. The Tribe also runs a Day Care center and an environmental program. They operate the Pit River Casino, a gaming facility in Burney, California.

Today, there are about 1,800 tribal members enrolled in modern Achumawi federally recognized tribes. These include:

• Pit River Tribe (which includes the Achomawi bands: Ajumawi, Astarawi, Atwamsini, Hammawi, Hewisedawi, Ilmawi, Itsatawi, Kosalektawi, and Madesi, and the Atsugewi bands: Atsuge and Aporige)
  • Alturas Indian Rancheria (Achomawi name: q̓ússiálláq̓tawí / q̓óssi álláq̓tawí - "Alturas Achomawi")
  • Big Bend Rancheria (Achomawi name: matéési - "Madesi" or "Big Bend Achomawi")
  • Likely Rancheria (Achomawi name: h̓ámmááw̓i - "Hammawi" or "Likely Achomawi")
  • Lookout Rancheria
  • Montgomery Creek Rancheria (Achomawi name: íípʰuníw̓ca or íípʰuunídial/íípʰuurí - "Madesi" or "Montgomery Creek Achomawi")

Some rancherias are shared with other Native American communities:

• Redding Rancheria (Wintu, Achomawi bands, and Yana)
• Roaring Creek Rancheria (Achomawi and Atsugewi bands)
• Susanville Indian Rancheria (Washoe, Achomawi, Mountain Maidu, Northern Paiute, and Atsugewi)
• XL Ranch (Achomawi and Atsugewi bands, and some Northern Paiute)
• Big Valley Rancheria (Achomawi name: atw̓áámi / atw̓ámsini - "Atwamsini" or "Big Valley Achomawi"; also includes the Xa-Ben-Na-Po Band of Eastern (Clear Lake) Pomo)
• Round Valley Indian Tribes (Yuki, Konkow Maidu, Mitoám Kai (Little Lake) Pomo and other Pomo bands, Nomlaki (Central Wintu), Cahto, Wailaki, and Achomawi)
• Lytton Band of Pomo Indians (Achomawi, Nomlaki, and Gualála (Ahkhawalalee) Pomo)
• Picayune Rancheria (Chukchansi Yokuts, Pomo, and about 60 other tribes)

Images for kids

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  Achomawi man (circa 1923)

See also

In Spanish: Achomawi para niños