The Miwok Myth and the Unrecognized Miwok Tribes
Are the Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) a native tribe? The word itself Míwûk which is the plural of míwû simply meaning “person”. This was just a convenient word selected long ago by the Europeans and perhaps those natives themselves to identify with as a group.
A certain Mr. Edward S. Curtis (1924) wrote that, “the Miwok were neither a tribe nor a group of tribes. They were an aggregation of villages, speaking a common language, contracting intermarriages, and, where too much difficult country did not intervene, joining in the celebration of ceremonies; but in other respects having practically no relations with one another.” In describing the Miwok Curtis also wrote that, “[it] seems warranted that the Miwok were not industrious and skilful hunters”.
Imagine a historian visiting Egypt years prior to Napoleon's visit to Egypt (Molinero). The historian could have concluded, “nothing to see here” and went on his way. Curtis missed our long history prior to European arrival, I would think it was a period of peace and plenty. What is odd is to think that the “Miwoks” had no name for themselves? Could this possibly be true? The Miwok creation story, “How the people got five fingers and other stories” mentions a “Valley People” and the “five tribes” and I am certain there is far more serious academic research that could be (perhaps has been) conducted on this point (NAML, 2019). A people without a name and Indians that weren’t “industrious” or “skillful” according to Curtis. In the Yosemite there is the Ahwahneechee Tribe, one of four Native groups in the Miwuk family (Bullinger, 2018). Even now in Yosemite there are the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation who are and have been seeking U.S. Federal recognition. We have names, we never vanished, and even if we chose our tribes to not have names, doesn’t that seem interesting? The implications are profound.
To my knowledge there are seven Miwok “tribes” unrecognized by the U.S. Federal Government, some links and information I could find for each are below. The only myth here is Curtis’s old biased assessment.
Non-federally Recognized Miwok Tribes
Calaveras Band of Mi-Wuk Indians
Facebook: (could not find)
Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe of the Colfax Rancheria
Website: https://colfaxrancheria.com/
Miwok of Buena Vista Rancheria
Facebook: (could not find)
Miwok Tribe of the El Dorado Rancheria
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/813007252528168 (private)
Website: www.eldoradorancheria.org
Nashville-Eldorado Miwok Tribe
Facebook: (could not find)
Website: (could not find) for info., click this link:
River Valley Miwok Indians, formally known as Historical Families of Wilton Rancheria
Facebook: (could not find)
Website: see this link
Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SSMiwukNation
Source: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/tribesnonrec.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Miwok&oldid=1127149047, https://accessgenealogy.com/native/list-of-federally-non-recognized-tribes.htm
As to whether these groups have legitimate claims and as to how they might be accepted as Miwok Tribes or integrated into other tribes is a complex and naturally difficult matter.
References
Bullinger, J. (2018). Yosemite Finally Reckons with Its Discriminatory Past. Outside. https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/yosemite-national-park-native-american-village-miwuk/
Curtis, E. S. (1924). The North American Indian: Volume Fourteen: The Kato, Wailaki, Yuki, Pomo, Wintun, Maidu, Miwok, and Yokuts. https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/curtis/the_miwok.html
Molinero, M. A. (2021). Napoleon's military defeat in Egypt yielded a victory for history. National Geogrphic. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2021/01/napoleons-military-defeat-in-egypt-yielded-a-victory-for-history
Native American Myths and Legends (NAML). (2019). Arcturus Publishing Limited.
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