The Patwin (also Patween and Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500. Today, Patwin people are enrolled in three

federally recognized tribes This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

: * Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community of the Colusa Rancheria * Kletsel Dehe Band of Wintun Indians * Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

Territory

The Patwin were bordered by the Yuki in the northwest; the Nomlaki (Wintun) in the north; the Konkow (Maidu) in the northeast; the

Nisenan The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. According to a ...

(Maidu) and Plains Miwok in the east; the

Bay Miwok The Bay Miwok are a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people in Northern California who live in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan missi ...

to the south; the Coast Miwok in the southwest; and the

Wappo The Wappo (endonym: ''Micewal'') are an Indigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are in Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River valley. They are distantly related to the Yu ...

, Lake Miwok, and

Pomo The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...

in the west. The "Southern Patwins" have historically lived between what is now Suisun, Vacaville, and Putah Creek. By 1800, the Spanish and other European settlers forced them into small tribal units: Ululatos (Vacaville), Labaytos (Putah Creek), Malacas (Lagoon Valley), Tolenas (Upper Suisun Valley), and Suisunes (Suisun Marsh and Plain).

Language

The Patwin language is a Southern Wintuan language. As of 2021, one Patwin person was a documented first-language speaker of Patwin. The Patwin language also has two main dialects. The two dialects differentiate based off location. The first Patwin dialect known as River Patwin, which is mainly used along the Sacramento River located in Colusa County. The second dialect is Hill Patwin, which is the language commonly used in the hills and plains to the west of the Sacramento River. The Patwin language is also in a family of other known Indigenous languages such as Nomlaki and also as mentioned before Wintu. All together these three languages belong to the Penutian language family. However these languages are also have close relations to other Indigenous languages such as; Maiduan, Miwokan, Ohlone, and the Yokuts. As stated earlier, one Patwin person was documented as first-language speaker. However, many tribal members and activist are pursuing the reclamation of the Yocha Dehe Wintu Nation. Bertha Wright Mitchell also known as Auntie Bertha, by many is responsible for keeping the language and culture of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation together. Teaching Patwin to the younger generation was the key component that Auntie Bertha gave to the community, keeping the language and culture thriving and from steering away of the notion that the Patwin language was becoming extinct after being listed as a at-risk language in 1997.

Population

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. Alfred L. Kroeber put the 1770 population of the Wintun, including the Patwin, Nomlaki, and Wintu proper, at 12,000. Sherburne F. Cook (1976a:180-181) estimated the combined population of the Patwin and Nomlaki at 11,300, of which 3,300 represented the southern Patwin. He subsequently raised his figure for the southern Patwin to 5,000. The migration of American settlers during the Gold Rush, which began in 1848, profoundly affected the indigenous populations of California, particularly the Patwin people. Thousands of migrants, predominantly men, flocked to California in search of wealth. This influx led to the displacement of Native communities, exposing them to diseases, violent raids, and the degradation of their environment due to resource extraction. Prior to the Gold Rush, the Patwin resided in settled villages throughout the western Sacramento Valley, engaging in traditional practices of hunting, gathering, and fishing. The arrival of Western migrants severely disrupted this way of life as settler expansion encroached on their lands. Areas crucial for acorn gathering and access to water were taken or destroyed to make way for mining, ranching, and agricultural development. Historian Sherburne F. Cooke documents a significant population decline among the Patwin during this period, primarily attributed to disease outbreaks such as smallpox and measles. The indirect effects of colonization and displacement further exacerbated this decline. The Patwin were also compelled to perform unpaid labor in various settings, from domestic residences to mining operations, a practice that has been described as a form of “the other slavery.” By the late 1850s, the Patwin population had dwindled to a mere fraction of its pre-contact numbers, mirroring the widespread decline experienced by Indigenous tribes in California throughout the Gold Rush era. Kroeber estimated the population of the combined Wintun groups in 1910 as 1,000. By the 1920s, no Patwin remained along Putah Creek and few were left in the area. Today, Wintun descendants of the three groups (i.e. the Patwin, Nomlaki, and Wintu proper) total about 2,500 people.

Villages

* Aguasto * Bo´-do * Chemocu * Churup * Dok´–dok * Gapa * Ho´lokomi * Imil * Katsil * Kisi * Koh´pah de´-he * Koru * Kusêmpu * Liwai * Lopa * Moso * Napato * Nawidihu * No´pah * P’ālo * Putato * Si'-ko-pe * Soneto * Sukui * Suskol * Tebti * Til-til * Tokti * Tolenas * Tulukai * Ululato * Yo´doi * Yulyul

Archaeology

Patwin Indian remains were discovered at the Mondavi Center construction site beginning in 1999, and consequently, the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, built a Native American Contemplative Garden within the

Arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

, a project honoring the Patwin.

Notable Patwin people

* Mabel McKay (1907–1994), basket weaver and healer * Sem-Yeto (), 19th-century leader and diplomat, also known as "Chief Solano"

Notes

References

* Cook, Sherburne F. 1976a. ''The Conflict between the California Indian and White Civilization''. University of California Press, Berkeley. * Golla, Victor. 2011. ''California Indian Languages''. University of California Press, Berkeley. * Kroeber, A. L. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.

External links

"Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California in 1770"
(map after Kroeber), California Prehistory
"Patwin Language"
Survey of California and Other Indian Languages, University of Berkeley *For a map of regional Native American territories, see map o
Sacramento Valley Bioregion
b

an

"The Patweèns"
(1874), Stephen Powers' ''

Overland Monthly The ''Overland Monthly'' was a monthly literary magazine, literary and cultural magazine, based in California, United States. It was founded in 1868 and published between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th centu ...

'' article on the Patwin
Interview with historian Clyde Low
on Sem-Yeto and the Patwin Indian presence in Suisun Valley, part of a 2003 documentary produced by the City of Fairfield
NPR story featuring an interview with Patwin elder Bill Wright (2008)
{{authority control Wintun Indigenous peoples of California Mission Indians History of Napa County, California History of Solano County, California History of Yolo County, California Sacramento Valley Vaca Mountains