Companion media for Nevada County history and nature teachers.
Category: Contemporary Creek
This category encompasses articles about contemporary issues that surround the Deer Creek Watershed. From Nisenan community development progress to fires, dead tree hazards, and native plants to bear-proofing property, limiting the amount of fish one eats because of mercury contamination and understanding the factors that affect water quality.
“Ed Colwell owned the Anthony House [current location of Lake Wildwood] before Boise Cascade bought it… He had peacocks and big white geese, which he would rent out for such things [as] pulling weeds from spinach beds. He raised turkeys and some cows. Mostly, however, he raised horses. He had 300 brook mares and one Palomino stud…He sold the Palomino colts. This was during the Roy Rogers era; …Everybody wanted a Palomino,” says Alice Magonigle in the article Long-Time Rancher Looks Back by Marianne McKnight, 1999 – Penn Valley Chamber of Commerce.
1967 ranch land purchased by Boise Cascade
1968 Lake Wildwood Association incorporation
1969 early summer – construction began on the dam, road construction, golf course, marina, and buildings
In his recently published book, Johnson describes the indigenous lifestyle (before white men came to California) in a way that makes the heart long to experience the close family ties and feel the intimate connection with the land.
He includes information about the religious and spiritual shamans, both males and females, highly valued for their special herbal knowledge. Native plant enthusiasts will appreciate the flora resources chapter.
Their homes, called “hu,” were round and semi-subterranean. The structures maintained even temperatures and were designed to allow for smoke release from the fireplace. Floors were covered with fine grasses and deer rugs. Hammocks were used for sleeping. The entrance was small, a crawl space. This was for heat conservation and protection from intruders.
With all the fires burning in California in recent years, I can’t help but think about how contemporary home replacement designs should follow these principles.
History of Us includes photos of tools that were crafted for hunting, fishing, and food storage as well as ceremonial regalia.
Nisenan territorial map (pink lines) with present-day California Counties. Black shape indicates an approximation of land included in a treaty that was never ratified.
The Nisenan territory was vast. It included the Histum Yani (middle mountains of the Valley) or Esto Yamani that we call the Sutter Buttes all the way up to Soda Springs. Tribelete chiefs and headmen governed villages located up and down Deer Creek where natural resources were managed. Villages had communication and trading systems. At convention-style gatherings, art and culture were exchanged and inter-tribal treaties were made. This was where young people often found spouses.
Although every aspect of Nisenan life, past and present, is captivating, my favorite section of Johnson’s book is belief and tradition stories. Coyote trickery, the creation story, and the Huitals, one-legged people who live in caves, had my imagination working overtime.
Deer Creek Falls
As one would expect, reading about the brutality that the Nisenan People experienced during the Gold Rush is upsetting. It should be. Johnson’s detailed research and chronology of horrific news articles is commendable.
The latter part of the book details termination of the Rancheria’s tribal designation in 1964, citing legal documents, communication threads, and court cases. It lays out evidence the tribe is using to re-establish its federal recognition. This technical section was not as easy to follow as the first 75% of the book.
I can imagine the highs and lows that the author must have experienced while working on this remarkable labor of love.
History of Us is a valuable gift for future Nisenan generations and a powerful tool.
I hope the book provides, the right information to the right people who can assist the tribe in reaching their goals.
Click on the image to watch the Sierra Streams Institute video on YouTube.
Quiet Meant Safe
“In past, you didn’t talk about being Indian. If you did, you could get beat up – badly. This is why we’ve been quiet.”
Maidu is a Language, Not a People
“When we discovered that Deer Creek was going to be dedicated to somebody else, not the local Indians, we needed to start communicating. In the late 1800’s they wanted to identify Indian races in California. They came up with names based on linguistic groupings. Concaw and Nisenan Indians were called Maidu. Maidu is a name of a language, not a name of a people. It’s like the word ‘Latin.’ Do you know a people or a country called Latin? We want people to know that we are the Nisenan Nation and we’re still here.”
Today’s Nisenan Nation
“It’s safe, now to say you are an Indian. This community has treated the Native Americans very well. Even during the Gold Rush times, there were people trying to protect the Indians. The Craig family gave us the land where our Rancheria was to live on for eternity – not to be disturbed or moved again. Women of the Golden West provided housing. If it wasn’t for these people, it’s possible that none of us would be here. Even though there were tragedies and atrocities, there were still some good people who felt that if we were left alone, we would be peaceful, happy, and content. We try.” – says Johnson.
Understanding Historic Trauma
The videos below are the best sources (at the time of research) that most clearly describe and explain historic trauma.
University of Minnesota – What is historic Trauma?
Native American Residential Boarding School Experience
Healing the Past
Syracuse University – Intergenerational Trauma in Native Americans – “Healing The Past” – Dr. Jessic Corey
(Author is reading a research paper, fast. The information and photography are very good. Hit pause and rewind, to absorb it all.)
News From Native California – a quarterly magazine devoted to the vibrant cultures, art languages, history, social justice movements, and stories of California’s diverse Indian peoples.
Coincidence or synchronicity may never be known but on a stormy January day, Lisa Redfern happened to be reading a book that came highly recommended from a friend, The Diary of a Forty-Niner. It’s an engaging account of a young gold miner who worked on Rock Creek [North Bloomfield area] between 1850-1852. At the time of the reading, part of the book’s allure, aside from many mentions of well-known Nevada County landmarks, was the unknown element if the book was fact or fiction.
JANUARY 12, 1851 “It’s been raining all the week and the creeks are running bank-full. Over on Deer Creek it drove all the miners out and filled their claims with rock and gravel.” – The Diary of a Forty-Niner by Chauncey L. Canfield
On JANUARY 10, 2017, Lisa hiked down to Deer Creek to capture the images in the video below.
Once Redfern finished reading the book, research commenced. The story behind it, involving the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, is as interesting as the contents of the book!
