Bay Miwok facts for kids
Mount Diablo, is in the homeland of the
Bay Miwok, and figures in their legends and myths. |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1770: 1,700 1850: not known 1880: not known |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| California: Contra Costa County | |
| Languages | |
| Utian: Bay Miwok (Saclan) | |
| Religion | |
| Shamanism: Kuksu: Miwok mythology |
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| Related ethnic groups | |
| Miwok |
The Bay Miwok are a group of Native American people. They are part of the larger Miwok family. They lived in what is now Contra Costa County in Northern California.
In the early 1800s, many Bay Miwok people joined the Spanish mission system. Their population greatly reduced during this time. They also lost their language as they mixed with other native groups and learned Spanish.
For a long time, experts did not fully recognize the Bay Miwok as a distinct group. Some thought they spoke a different language. But in 1955, a linguist named Madison Beeler found that a vocabulary list from 1821 was indeed a Miwok language. This language was then called "Bay Miwok." Its original territory was mapped out in the 1960s.
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Bay Miwok Way of Life
The Bay Miwok people were hunters and gatherers. This means they found their food from nature, like hunting animals and collecting plants. They lived in small groups and did not have one main leader for everyone.
They spoke a language called Bay Miwok, also known as Saclan. The Bay Miwok were also very good at making baskets.
Beliefs and Stories
The Bay Miwok people had a worldview based on Shamanism. This involves spiritual leaders who connect with the spirit world. Since they lived in the middle of other Miwok-speaking groups, they likely shared many traditions.
One important tradition was the Kuksu religion. This included special dancing ceremonies with unique costumes. There was also a men's society that met in underground dance rooms. They had ceremonies for young people becoming adults. Shamans would help people by connecting with spirits.
The Bay Miwok, like other Miwok groups, believed that animal spirits were their ancestors. They saw Coyote as their creator god. Many Miwok people, including the Bay Miwok, believed the world began at Mount Diablo after a great flood.
Bay Miwok Groups and Lands
Experts have learned about seven Bay Miwok-speaking groups. They figured this out by studying old records from the San Francisco and San Jose missions. These records helped identify the names and general areas where these groups lived.
Here are some of the Bay Miwok groups and their general locations:
- Chupcan: Lived around the area of today's Concord.
- Volvon: Lived near Mount Diablo, around Clayton and east along Marsh Creek to Brentwood.
- Julpun: Lived along the lower part of Marsh Creek, east of Antioch.
- Ompin: Lived around today's Pittsburg and north into rural south Solano County.
- Saclan: Lived around today's Lafayette and Walnut Creek.
- Tatcan: Lived around today's Danville, on San Ramon Creek.
- Jalquin: Lived in the southern part of today's Oakland, in San Leandro, and along San Leandro Creek.
Bay Miwok History
The first written records of Miwok people date back to 1579. Spanish mission records from 1794 also mention the Bay Miwok tribes.
Spanish priests set up Catholic missions in the Bay Area in the 1770s. They reached Bay Miwok lands in 1794. From that year on, many Bay Miwok people moved to the missions. Most went to Mission San Francisco de Asís in San Francisco. Others went to Mission San José in Fremont.
By 1806, most Bay Miwok groups were at the missions. The Ompin and Julpun groups moved to Mission San José between 1810 and 1812.
Here are when the first people from each tribe were baptized and moved to the missions:
- Saclans: 143 were baptized at San Francisco Mission in 1794-1795.
- Yrgins: 152 were baptized at San Jose Mission in 1799-1805.
- Jalquins: 77 were baptized at San Francisco Mission in 1801-1803.
- Tatcans: 127 were baptized at San Francisco Mission in 1804.
- Volvons: 44 were baptized at San Jose Mission in 1805. Another 54 were baptized at Mission San Francisco in 1805-1806.
- Chupcans: 146 were baptized at San Francisco Mission in 1810.
- Julpuns: 103 were baptized at San Jose Mission in 1811.
- Ompins: 99 were baptized at San Jose Mission in 1811.
In 1821, a missionary linguist named Felipe Arroyo de la Cuesta visited Mission San Francisco. He wrote down the only known Bay Miwok vocabulary list that still exists today.
Population Changes
Before Europeans arrived, experts estimate that about 1,700 Bay Miwok people lived in the area.
A total of 859 Bay Miwok speakers were baptized at the missions. Most of these baptisms happened between 1794 and 1812. By the end of 1823, only 52 Bay Miwok people were still alive at Mission San Francisco. By 1840, only 20 Bay Miwok people were alive at Mission San Jose. Later, in the late 1800s, the survivors from both missions married people from other language groups.
Bay Miwok Today
Today, some descendants of the Bay Miwok from the Mission San Francisco and Mission San Jose are part of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. This tribe is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mission records have helped prove the family connections of these native people.
The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe states that they include all known surviving Native American families from the San Francisco Bay region. These families trace their history through the Missions Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Jose. They also descend from members of the historic Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County.
Notable Bay Miwok People
- Potroy (1795): He led a revolt and escape from Mission San Francisco in 1795. He was arrested in 1797 and punished by Spanish soldiers.
- Liberato Culpecse (1801): Born into the Jalquin group, he was baptized at Mission San Francisco in 1801. He is an important ancestor of today's Muwekma Tribal community.
