The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation ( ) is a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

Wintun people The Wintun are members of several related Native American peoples of Northern California, including the Wintu (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern).Pritzker, 152Patwin people or southern Wintun, in

Yolo County, California Yolo County (; Wintuan languages, Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a County (United States), county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Yolo County was one of the original counties of Californi ...

. They were formerly known as the Rumsey Indian Rancheria of Wintun Indians of California.

Government

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is headquartered in

Brooks, California Brooks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Yolo County, California, located in the Capay Valley in the northwest of the county. Brooks' ZIP Code is 95606 and its area code 530. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is head ...

. A democratically elected, five-person tribal council govern the tribe and operate tribal services and business ventures, such as Yocha Dehe Wintun Academy, Yocha Dehe Fire Department, Yocha Dehe Community Fund, Yocha Dehe Farm and Ranch, Cultural Resources Department, Health and Wellness Department, Environmental Department, Tribal Gaming Agency, and

Cache Creek Casino Resort Cache Creek Casino Resort is a resort and casino located in Brooks, in Northern California's Capay Valley. Opened as a bingo hall in July 1985, it was renovated in 2002 and completed in 2004 as a destination resort. The connected hotel contains ...

."Tribal Council."
''Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.'' 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012. The current tribal administration is as follows: * Chairman: Anthony Roberts * Secretary: Mia Durham * Treasurer: Leland Kinter * Council Member: Yvonne Perkins * Council Member: Seth Lowell

Reservation

3265R Rumsey Indian Rancheria Locator Map

The tribe's reservation is the Rumsey Rancheria, a federally recognized

ranchería The Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to Indigenous peoples of the Americas, native villages or bunkhouses. Anglo-Americans adopted the term with both these meaning ...

in the Coast Range. Established in 1907, the rancheria is 185 acres large.

Culture

The Yocha Dehe Wintun are Patwin people, whose traditional territories are near the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...

valley. The

Patwin language Patwin (Patween) is a critically endangered Wintuan language of Northern California. As of 2021, there was one documented first language speaker of Patwin. As of 2010, Patwin language classes were taught at the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (forme ...

is a

Penutian language Penutian is a proposed grouping of language families that includes many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. The existence of a Penutian s ...

. Traditional subsistence included fishing

king salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinnat salmon, spr ...

, harvesting acorns, hunting, and gathering vegetables.

Economic development

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation owns and operates the

, which included a hotel, spa, and golf course, as well as several restaurants: C2 Steak and Seafood, Chang Shou, The Sports Page, Harvest Buffet, Canyon Cafe, The Deli, Asian Kitchen, Sweets Etc., and Loco Express, all located in Brooks. The tribe's agricultural interests include wine grapes and

arbequina olives Arbequina is a cultivar of olives. The fruit is highly aromatic, small, symmetrical and dark brown, with a rounded apex and a broad peduncular cavity. In Europe, it is mostly grown in Catalonia, Spain, but is also grown in Aragon and Andalusia, a ...

. They package and market many of their products, including olive oils, vinegar and wine under the brand Seka Hills. They have two retail stores and tasting rooms in

Yolo County Yolo County (; Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood ...

, one in Brooks and one in Clarksburg in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Education

The ranchería is served by the Esparto Unified School District.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

External links

Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
official website
The Rumsey Band of the Wintun Indians: A Return to Self Sufficiency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Native American tribes in California Federally recognized tribes in the United States Wintun Patwin Yolo County, California