History of the Buena Vista Tribe
The Me-Wuk Indians of the Buena Vista Rancheria are an integral part of California’s Native American history. They lived in and around what is now Amador County for thousands of years.
Miwok
Miwok Tribe
Miwok Indians (‘man”) One of the two divisions of the Moquelumnan family in central California, the other being the Olamentke. With a small exception in the west the Miwok occupied territory bounded on the north by Cosumnes River, on the east by the ridge of the Sierra Nevada, on the south by Fresno creek, and on the west by San Joaquin River. The exception on the west is a narrow strip of land on the east bank of the San Joaquin, occupied by Yokuts Indians, beginning at the Tuolumne and extending northward to a point not far from the place … Read more
Awani Tribe
Awani Indian Tribe History
Miwok Indians
The Miwok Indians, whose name means “people,” were historically divided into three geographically distinct groups: the Sierra Miwok along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, the Coast Miwok near the San Francisco Bay area, and the Lake Miwok around Clear Lake. Originally classified as an independent language family, the Miwok language has since been categorized as part of the Penutian linguistic family. The Miwok were further divided into multiple dialectic and tribal groups, each occupying specific territories. Notable for their numerous villages and intricate social structure, the Miwok population was estimated at around 11,000 in 1770 but had significantly declined by the 20th century, with only 491 individuals recorded in the 1930 census.