The Wappo (

endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

: ''Micewal'') are an Indigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are in

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

, the south shore of Clear Lake,

Alexander Valley The Alexander Valley (Wappo language, Wappo: Unutsawaholmanoma, "Toyon Bush Berry Place") is a Californian (wine), Californian American Viticultural Area (AVA) just north of Healdsburg, California, Healdsburg in Sonoma County (wine), Sonoma County ...

, and Russian River valley. They are distantly related to the

Yuki people The Yuki (also known as Yukiah) are an Indigenous people of California who were traditionally divided into three groups: ''Ukomno'om'' ("Valley People", or Yuki proper), ''Huchnom'' ("Outside the Valley"), and ''Ukohtontilka'' or ''Ukosontilka'' ...

, from which they seem to have diverged at least 500 years ago. Their language,

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 ...

, has been influenced by the neighboring

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 ...

, who use the term ''A'shochamai'' or ''A'shotenchawi'' (transcribed as ''Ashochimi'' by some authors), meaning "northerners", to refer to the Wappo.

Culture

Prior to European colonization, the Wappo lived by

hunting and gathering A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially wi ...

, and lived in small groups without centralized political authority, in homes built from branches, leaves and mud. Their woven baskets were so well-crafted that they were able to hold water.

History

When Mexicans arrived to colonize California, Wappo villages existed near the present-day towns of Yountville,

St. Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

and Calistoga. Those on the south shore of Clear Lake were completely absorbed and dispersed to the

Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California () formed a List of Spanish missions in California, series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by ...

. The mission accounted for at least 550 Wappo baptisms.Cook, p. 174 The name Wappo is an Americanization of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

term ''guapo'', which means, among other things, "brave." They were known as brave for their stubborn resistance to Mexican domination, particularly their resistance to all military attempts from General Vallejo and his enlisted allies. In 1836 the warring parties signed a peace treaty.1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning by William Bright. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1998.

Population

Alfred L. Kroeber put the 1770 population of the Wappo at 1,000. Sherburne F. Cook (1976:174) raised this estimate to 1,650. By the early 1850s, the surviving Wappo were reported to number between 188 and 800. However population dropped by 1880 to 50, and the 1910 Census returned only 73.Cook, pp. 239, 351

Language

The Wappo language is an extinct member of the Yukian language family. A Wappo grammar has been written.

References

Sources

*Cook, Sherburne F. ''The Conflict Between the California Indian and White Civilization''. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1976. . *Kroeber, Alfred L. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.

External links

Robert Louis Stevenson State Park
* * {{authority control Indigenous peoples of California Mission Indians Native American tribes in Lake County, California History of Napa County, California History of Sonoma County, California St. Helena, California