The Table Mountain Rancheria 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 ...

of Native American people from the Chukchansi band of

Yokuts The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. Yokuts ...

and the Monache tribe. It is also the tribe's

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 ...

, located in

Fresno County, California Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most popu ...

Reservation

Founded in 1916, the Table Mountain Rancheria is large and in Fresno County, near Friant, California. The reservation population is approximately eleven people, with 34 tribal members living in the general area.

Government

The tribe's headquarters is in Friant, and their tribal chairperson is Michelle Heredia-Cordova.

Cultural Resources

The Cultural Resources Department was formed in 1997 as a division of the Table Mountain Rancheria Tribal Government in part to help develop a Cultural Center and Museum, and record and preserve oral history, language and stories. The Museum Collections at Table Mountain Rancheria began when Tribal Elders from the area would occasionally bring up baskets to Tribal Council to sell. Over the last century and a half, much of the priceless Tribal heritage has found its way into private collections as well. The Tribe has made every effort to bring these pieces of our shared heritage home. Since 1996, this collection of Native American art has grown to include baskets from over 20 different Tribes or Tribal groups in California. Work is under way to complete traditional village exhibits on our Native Plant Trail, developed in partnership with the Tribal Youth Council. Table Mountain hopes to open the doors to a new Cultural Center and Museum in the near future.

Language

Haw lesh ma’ and Munahoo are standard greetings from two distinctly different Native American languages at Table Mountain Rancheria. The old language, Gashowu, is a dialect of the Yokuts language, similar to Tachi and Chukchansi. The Mono language is also spoken here.

Economic development

The tribe owns and operates Table Mountain Casino and Resort and Eagle Springs Golf Course, both in Friant. Table Mountain Casino Resort includes a casino, twelve story hotel, Eagle's Landing Steakhouse, Sukai Teppanyaki restaurant (above the hotel tower), Blue Oak Grille, Native Gathering Grounds coffee shop, and a few fast service restaurants all in a single building."Table Mountain."
''500 Nations.'' (retrieved 27 May 2010) On July 21, 2022, the new Table Mountain Casino and Resort opened to the public. The old casino building is planned to be used as employee offices

Notes

References

* Eargle Jr., Dolan H. ''California Indian Country: The Land and the People.'' San Francisco: Tree Company Press, 1992. . * Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. . {{authority control Yokuts Mono people Populated places in Fresno County, California Native American tribes in California Federally recognized tribes in the United States