Mattole Tribe
The Mattole Indians, an Athapascan tribe, primarily inhabited areas along the Bear and Mattole Rivers in California. Known for their vigorous resistance to white encroachment, they faced severe consequences, leading to near extermination. Some were relocated to a reservation near Creek Mendocino and later to Hupa Valley Reservation, although a few remain in their ancestral lands. The Mattole differ culturally and linguistically from neighboring Athapascan tribes, particularly in their funeral practices and men’s forehead tattoos, while sharing similarities with the Hupa.