The Wiyot Tribe is a

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

Wiyot people The Wiyot ( Wiyot: Wíyot, Chetco-Tolowa: Wee-’at xee-she or Wee-yan’ Xee-she’, Euchre Creek Tututni: Wii-yat-dv-ne - "Mad River People“, Yurok: Weyet) are an indigenous people of California living near Humboldt Bay, California and a sm ...

. They are the aboriginal people of

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between Sa ...

, Mad River and lower Eel River. ''Four Directions Institute.'' Retrieved 29 Sept 2013."The Wiyot Tribe."
''Humboldt State University.'' Retrieved 29 Sept 2013. Other

are enrolled in the

Blue Lake Rancheria The Blue Lake Rancheria of the Wiyot, Yurok, and Hupa Indians is located northwest of the city of Blue Lake in Humboldt County, California on approximately .

Rohnerville Rancheria Rohnerville may refer to: * Rohnerville, California * Rohnerville Airport * Rohnerville Rancheria {{geodis ...

and

Trinidad Rancheria Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmo ...

Reservation

The Wiyot Tribe's land base includes two Reservations Table Bluff Reservation and the Old Table Bluff Reservation are located 16 miles southwest of

Eureka, California Eureka ( Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humbol ...

. The new Table Bluff Reservation is

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

is 88-acres large. The Old Table Bluff Reservation was established in 1908, when a church donated 20 acres of land to the Wiyot Tribe. The land was allotted to individuals. The

Reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

was formally recognized by the government in 1981 and 102 acres was purchased for the tribe. The Reservation is located on Table Bluff in Humboldt County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. It lies at an elevation of . The land is also known as the "Old Reservation" for the Wiyot. As of the 2010 Census the population was 103.

Government

The Wiyot Tribe is headquartered in

Loleta, California Loleta ( Wiyot: ''Guduwalhat'') is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. Loleta is located south of Fields Landing, and south of Eureka at an elevation of . The population was 783 at the 2010 census. Residents live in a cen ...

. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, seven-member tribal council. The current tribal administration is as follows: * Tribal Chair: Ted Hernandez * Vice Chairperson: Brian Mead * Secretary: Leona Wilkinson * Treasurer: Linda Lange * Councilperson: Kirsten Boyce * Councilperson: Hazel James.

Language

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

is commonly spoken by the tribe. The

Wiyot language Wiyot (also Wishosk) or Soulatluk (lit. "your jaw") is an Algic languageCampbell (1997:152) spoken by the Wiyot people of Humboldt Bay, California. The language's last native speaker, Della Prince, died in 1962. Wiyot, along with its geogra ...

belongs to the California branch of Algic languages. The language is written in the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greece, Greek city of Cumae, in southe ...

, and a dictionary and grammar has been published for Wiyot. The last fluent speaker of Wiyot died in 1962.

History

Prior to European contact, Wiyot people numbered approximately 2,000. They first encountered Europeans in 1802. Non-native settlers overran Wiyote lands during the California Gold Rush that started in 1849. Wiyots were killed in the

Rogue River Indian War The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue River Valley are ...

in 1852. On 26 February 1860, as the Wiyote people were celebrating their world renewal ceremony, European-American people ambushed Wiyot elders, women, and children in the (

Wiyot Massacre The Wiyot massacre refers to the incidents on February 26, 1860, at Tuluwat (on what is also known as Indian Island), near Eureka in Humboldt County, California. In coordinated attacks beginning at about 6 am, White settlers murdered 80 to 250 ...

, now known as the

Indian Island Massacre The Wiyot massacre refers to the incidents on February 26, 1860, at Tuluwat (on what is also known as Indian Island), near Eureka in Humboldt County, California. In coordinated attacks beginning at about 6 am, White settlers murdered 80 to 250 ...

) on what is now Indian Island (previously Gunther Island). The young men were off collecting supplies for the next day's ceremony leaving the village defenseless, allowing for a group of men from Eureka (who had been planning the massacre) to row across the bay carrying silent weapons (to avoid alarming the nearby city). When the men came back, their families were piled up leaving only one survivor, a hidden infant. Two other villages were massacred that night. Post massacre numbers were estimated to be around 200.

Notes

References

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

External links

Wiyot Tribe
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiyot Tribe Wiyot tribe Native American tribes in California Federally recognized tribes in the United States 1908 establishments in California