Most of the Northern California tribes were structured on the smaller family and extended family unit, with the wealthy and respected older men settling disputes. Living in semi-subterranean pit with lining and walls of rough-hewn cedar planks, most of the tribes were of the hunter/gatherer tradition, with fishing, hunting and wild plant foods sustaining their needs. In effect, there were not tribal chiefs, and one families head man could not hold sway in another family. Wealth was desired, and was often measured in shell money, house location, rights to prized fishing and hunting areas, basketry, artifacts and in rare possessions such as large 15”+_ obsidian blades and fancy ceremonial clothing. Wealth also allowed for greater prestige, as only the wealthy could afford to hold expensive large feasts. Religious practices such as dances and various taboos were very important in dictating daily and seasonal activities. Basketry was utilized throughout the region, and although the tribes used similar materials and forms, we can take note of a few differences which can lead to a better attribution of tribal affiliation.
A common thread with all the tribes is that the contact with the European and American led to disease, war and displacement. Populations often were reduced 50-75% within the first 50 years after contact, and a consolidation of the remaining Native People onto reservations was a determining factor in the continuation and evolution of traditions such as basketry.
persons. To their immediate west were the Chilula (about 600 persons at this time), and southwest, the Whilkut (estimated at up to 500 people).
During the 1860s and 1870s, the US Government continued to re-locate various NW Native peoples to the Hoopa Reservation so that members from many different tribes lived closely. Joining the Hupa, were members of Chilula, Whilkut, Tolowa, Yurok and Karuk tribes. It is important to remember that these tribes structure was at the extended family level and so whereas certain families moved to the Hoopa reservation, and many, and sometimes the majority such as the Yurok and Karuk, were not.
their traditional home villages a few years later. All these groups had similar cultural practices and made similar twined baskets the distinctiveness of the baskets became blurred so that a basket's tribal identity is difficult to establish. The Whilkut did have a distinctive technique of weaving though, in that their twined basked often had both half-twist and full-twist overlay within the same baskets, whereas the Hupa and Chilula only practiced half-twist overlay.
The Yurok (a Karuk word meaning “downriver people”) were coastal people and first came into contact with fur traders in 1827.
Pre 1850, it is estimated that there were more than 3000 Yurok. As they were located near the coast, they were in contact with Anglos earlier than interior tribes. Gold was found bringing the Whites (1849…. i.e. the “49ers”), who brought their diseases and guns which decimated the population quickly. In 1855 the Lower Klamath Indian Reservation was created which encompassed most of the remaining Yurok and their traditional villages although some moved to the Hoopa Reservation in the mid-to-late 1860s.
Today, the Yurok Reservation is on the lower Klamath River stretching almost 44 miles, is about 85 square miles, and currently has a population around 5000 persons making it California’s largest tribe.
reduced their pre contact population of 2,700 down to 1,000 by 1880.