Miwok Medicine W.R.

Mi chuk sis! May you have a prosperous, peaceful, and incredible New Year! At the suggestion of a friend I’d like to share some commentary on a book I just completed, Peroff’s, Menominee Drums (1982). This book is about the tribal termination and restoration of the Menominee tribe in the Wisconsin area. I first learned about the book on the Miwok • Me-wuk • Miwuk • Mi'wa Language Forum from a post by Misko Giizhig, https://www.facebook.com/kyle.peters.587/about_overview . It was suggested that it might apply to our present Miwok situation and in some sense it does because in my view it provides a very good framework for my Miwok tribe and others to tell their story of “termination and restoration” which is a phrase in the subtitle. These are important stories and history. Unfortunately, in my opinion there are some downsides to the book. Prof. Peroff’s doctorate comes through loud and clear in that dry academic style through 80% to 90% of the book which speaks to the U.S. Federal

Chaw'se Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Source:  https://sites.google.com/site/californiaindianshistory/miwok-indians   What are a couple actions can you take to begin to understand how you can help your Miwok Tribe not matter how you spell it; Miwok, Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk? A couple of first steps would be to understand some Native American history and who we are as a people. Native American History Snapshot You may know that in California prior to the European’s arrival and the later Gold Rush of 1848, some 300,000 natives lived in small villages what is now known as California (A.E., n.d). After the Gold Rush in   1873 only 30,000 natives remained out of about 150,000 who existed just prior to the Gold Rush (Blakemore, 2020). Yet you and we as a people remain, we haven’t vanished (Gershon, 2020). California Miwok: 3,500 Natives (approx.) But what of the California Miwok who are we? One way to start answering this question is to consider a legal point of view