native landscape, precontact

This map was included in one of the articles I read about the Coast Miwok. The title of the map is, literally, Zone of Franciscan Mission Disruption, so it’s maybe not 100% precontact, but I liked that it included tribe names instead of language groups. In many of the California Indian maps, the languages provide the context for separating one group from another; and, because they’re maps, it looks like there’s a clear delineation between groups when in reality it must have been a little more fluid, at least historically. One of the things that I like about this map is that it doesn’t include language groups, it lets you see the various tribelets as semi-autonomous groups. What’s interesting is that this is one of the only pieces I’ve found that refers to anything smaller than a language–for example, in most of the books or articles or websites I’ve found, the people who lived in the areas on the map would have been called Coast Miwok, Southern Pomo, Wintun, etc. But Oleyomi and Licatiut would have been the villages/tribelets in the Cotati area and knowing what they may have called themselves gives them back a little more of their humanity. More, at any rate, than just describing them by their language.

 

Image from Millikin, 2009

http://npshistory.com/publications/goga/coast-miwok-ethnohistory.pdf

3 thoughts on “native landscape, precontact

  1. Emily!
    Hoping this link still works. The volunteers at the Cotati Museum are working to improve our exhibits and teaching materials relative to the Coast Miwok. We admire the work you did in 2018 and wonder if you could share some of your research and/or contacts. Thanks very much.
    Marie McNaughton, Docent Coordinator. 707-529-0734

    1. Hi Marie! Thank you so much, it was a fascinating project. All of the resources we used are listed in the references and resources page. Please let me know if you have any other questions–it’s been a while, but I’m happy to talk about it!

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