135-524: Tomales Bay State Park is a California state park in Marin County , California. It consists of approximately 2,000 acres (8 km²) divided between two areas, one on the west side of Tomales Bay and the other on the east side. The main area, on the west, is part of the Point Reyes peninsula, and adjacent to Point Reyes National Seashore , which is operated by the U.S. National Park Service . The park
270-530: A hunter-gatherer lifestyle, moving around their area through the seasons as different types of food were available. The Native people of California, according to sociologist Kari Norgaard , were "hunting and fishing for their food, weaving baskets using traditional techniques" and "carrying out important ceremonies to keep the world intact". It was also recorded that the Indigenous people in California and across
405-468: A Caliph) on their way to Guerrero, Mexico where they played a future role in the wars of independence . Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain , putting ashore in Monterey . Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, Rodríguez's idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into
540-575: A commodity until the 1849 California Gold Rush . From the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail , California Trail , Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts in and surrounding California. The early government of the newly independent Mexico
675-661: A crucial factor contributing to genocide". Karl Jacoby, in his review of An American Genocide , argues that the book removes "any doubt that genocide against Native people took place in the most populous and prosperous state in the US" and that it establishes "conclusively the reality of genocide in the Golden State". He also notes that Madley "illuminates the ways that federal and state policies facilitated popular violence against Indians". William Bauer Jr. argues that Benjamin Madley "has settled
810-595: A deficit reduction program. California California is a state in the Western United States , lying on the American Pacific Coast . It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With nearly 39 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km ), it
945-560: A free state, the "loitering or orphaned Indians", were de facto enslaved by their new Anglo-American masters under the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians . One of these de facto slave auctions was approved by the Los Angeles City Council and occurred for nearly twenty years. There were many massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed by settlers for their land. Between 1850 and 1860,
1080-525: A genocide took place against Native peoples in at least one location and one time period in American history" and that he shows how "the genocide started out as the work of vigilante groups but soon gained state funding and federal support". Jacobs points out, for example, that "in 1854, Congress agreed to pay off California's war debt, and by the end of 1856, the federal government had given California more than $ 800,000 to distribute to bond holders who had financed
1215-624: A modest home which in the 1960s cost $ 25,000 would cost half a million dollars or more in urban areas by 2005. More people commuted longer hours to afford a home in more rural areas while earning larger salaries in the urban areas. Speculators bought houses, expecting to make a huge profit in months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as people assumed prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as prices began to crash. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared, as financial institutions and investors were badly hurt. In
1350-508: A national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: Historians who argue the term "genocide" is appropriate point out that the Indian population of California fell quickly and argue that extreme violence was integral to this process. Benjamin Madley, a UCLA historian, is one of the most prominent historians espousing this view, writing that "[i]t was genocide, sanctioned and facilitated by California officials" who, according to him, "established
1485-427: A number of years. People of this group, descendants, and archaeologists participate in conducting collaborative, ethnographic research to bring light to previous practices like burial practices and vegetation patterns. While many groups were targeted in the genocide the circumstances of individual groups can be illustrative of the on the ground happenings of the killings. The Yuki people experienced catastrophe by
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#17331066094041620-410: A part of Mexico. In 1846, the total settler population of the western part of the old Alta California had been estimated to be no more than 8,000, plus about 100,000 Native Americans, down from about 300,000 before Hispanic settlement in 1769. In 1848, only one week before the official American annexation of the area, gold was discovered in California, this being an event which was to forever alter both
1755-547: A program of genocide that was popularly called 'extermination'". Militias were called out by the governors of California for "expeditions against the Indians" on a number of occasions. Supporters of the use of the term "genocide" stress the involvement and complicity of federal and state authorities in perpetrating atrocities against the indigenous Californians, and point to their statements and policies as evidence of direct genocidal intent . For example, historian Richard White , in
1890-586: A ravine. Circa 1867, 33 Yahis were killed after being tracked to a cave north of Mill Creek . Circa 1871, four cowboys trapped and killed about 30 Yahis in Kingsley cave. The last known survivor of the Yahi was named Ishi by American anthropologists. Ishi had spent most of his life hiding with his tribe members in the Sierra wilderness, emerging at the age of about 49, after the deaths of his mother and remaining relatives. He
2025-571: A reference to the Feast of the Three Kings . The name was later anglicized to Point Reyes. Most of Point Reyes remained undeveloped because of its remote location; the main part of the peninsula hosts a number of agricultural uses, particularly dairy operations. Some of the beach areas on Tomales Bay began to be purchased by private parties, and in order to secure public access to the Bay, conservation groups and
2160-712: A remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful Black women who wore gold armor and lived like Amazons , as well as griffins and other strange beasts. Abbreviations of the state's name include CA, Cal., Calif., Califas , and US-CA . California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America . Historians generally agree that there were at least 300,000 people living in California prior to European colonization. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups , inhabiting environments ranging from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests. Living in these diverse geographic areas,
2295-442: A review of Madley's An American Genocide , argues that "no reader of his book can seriously contend that what happened in California doesn't meet the current definition of "genocide"," citing the "relentless attacks by federal troops, state militia, vigilantes, and mercenaries [that] made the enslavement of Indians possible and starvation and disease inevitable". White continues, "in California, what Americans have often called "war"
2430-727: A series of genocidal massacres of the indigenous peoples of California by United States soldiers and settlers during the 19th century. It began following the American conquest of California in the Mexican–American War and the subsequent influx of U.S. settlers to the region as a result of the California gold rush . Between 1846 and 1873, it is estimated that U.S. colonizers killed between 9,492 and 16,094 indigenous Californians; up to several thousand were also starved or worked to death. Forced labor , kidnapping , rape , child separation and forced displacement were widespread during
2565-721: A short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento . Once the state's Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution, it applied to the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood . On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 , California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday . During the American Civil War (1861–1865), California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of
2700-596: A state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey. Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital. The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850–1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852–1853), and nearby Benicia (1853–1854); these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854 with only
2835-536: A state-sponsored killing machine". Historian Brendan C. Lindsay, argued that "rather than a government orchestrating a population to bring about the genocide of a group, [in California] the population orchestrated a government to destroy a group", while William T. Hagen wrote that "[genocide] is a term of awful significance, but one which has application to the story of California's Native Americans". James J. Rawls argued that Californian whites "advocated and carried out
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#17331066094042970-575: A subsequent review of Benjamin Madley's An American Genocide , he says that some scholars may find Madley's use of the UN Genocide Convention as an "overly broad and elastic definition", that the evidence of genocide "varies considerably from place to place and is far stronger in some cases", and that Madley's case against the federal government is "not nearly so strong" as that against "frontier miners, farmers, and ranchers". Magliari also argues that "epidemics, not violence, still remained by far
3105-632: A substantial portion of California Indians using a variety of means ranging from dispossession to systematic killing". Under the former definition, Ostler argues that "genocide does not seem applicable," whereas under the latter definition, "genocide seems apt." In 1948, Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defined genocide as ... any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy , in whole or in part ,
3240-610: Is a swimming area with a moored platform at Heart's Desire. The other beaches are accessible only by trail or boat. The east area of the park is mostly unimproved, and the only facilities are a picnic area and rest rooms at Millerton Point. Indian Beach has an interpretive program on the Miwok people, including two reconstructed Miwok dwellings. Tomales Bay State Park was one of 48 California state parks proposed for closure in January 2008 by California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of
3375-454: Is approximately 40 miles (64 km) north of San Francisco . The area was the habitat of the Coast Miwok people for several thousand years before the arrival of Europeans. British explorer Sir Francis Drake landed in the area in 1579. About 25 years later, Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno landed in the area and named it "La Punta de Los Tres Reyes" ("Point of the Three Kings"),
3510-477: Is considered genocide, then genocide has no more meaning". Historian William Henry Hutchinson, wrote that "the record of history disproves these charges [of genocide]", while historian Tom Henry Watkins stated that "it is a poor use of the term" since the killings were not systematic or planned. In a critical review of Brendan Lindsay's Murder State: California’s Native American Genocide, 1846–1873, Michael F. Magliari notes that " [Sherburne] Cook never described
3645-575: Is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest by area, and most populated subnational entity in North America . Prior to European colonization , California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America . European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire . The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence , but
3780-436: Is the largest of any U.S. state, with a $ 4.0 trillion gross state product as of 2024 . It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. California's agricultural industry has the highest output of any U.S. state, and is led by its dairy , almonds , and grapes . With the busiest port in the country ( Los Angeles ), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to
3915-399: Is unknowable. The following estimates were made by government agents and newspapers at the time: These estimates suggest well over 1,000 Yuki deaths at the hands of white settlers. (See Cook, Sherburne; "The California Indian and White Civilization" Part III, pg 7, for an argument in favor of the approximate reliability of figures of Indians killed at this time.) The Yahi were the first of
4050-500: The Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles, he convinced each side that they had no reason to be fighting each other. As a result of Marsh's actions, they abandoned the fight, Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. This paved the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States. In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during
4185-631: The Bear Flag Revolt . Afterward, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma. The Republic's only president was William B. Ide , who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders. The California Republic
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4320-695: The California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop an efficient system of public education. Meanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state's variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 9% of US armaments produced during World War II , ranking third behind New York and Michigan . California easily ranked first in production of military ships at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and
4455-454: The Chumash people , with a population around 10,000. The region was highly diverse, with numerous distinct languages spoken. While there was great diversity in the area, archeological findings show little evidence of intertribal conflicts. The various tribal groups appear to have adapted to particular areas and territories. According to journalist Nathan Gilles, because of traditions practiced by
4590-554: The Graham Affair , which was resolved in part with the intercession of Royal Navy officials. One of the largest ranchers in California was John Marsh . After failing to obtain justice against squatters on his land from the Mexican courts, he determined that California should become part of the United States. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, the soil, and other reasons to settle there, as well as
4725-541: The Indigenous people of California had not yet developed a natural immunity. Under its new American administration, California's first governor Peter Hardeman Burnett instituted policies that have been described as a state-sanctioned policy of elimination of California's indigenous people. Burnett announced in 1851 in his Second Annual Message to the Legislature: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between
4860-602: The Presidio of San Diego , the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay. After the Portolà expedition, Spanish missionaries led by Father-President Serra set out to establish 21 Spanish missions of California along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road") and along
4995-800: The Rogue River Indian war . Many Tolowa people were incarcerated at Battery Point in 1855 to withhold them from joining an uprising led by their chief. In 1860, after the Chetco/Rogue River War, 600 Tolowa were forcibly relocated to Indian reservations in Oregon, including what is now known as the Siletz Reservation in the Central Coastal Range . Later, some were moved to the Hoopa Valley Reservation in California. Adding to
5130-693: The Route 66 . From 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California's population as 6% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 90% non-Hispanic white. To meet the population's needs, engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts ; the Oroville and Shasta Dams ; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built. The state government adopted
5265-467: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) that ended the war, the westernmost portion of the annexed Mexican territory of Alta California soon became the American state of California, and the remainder of the old territory was then subdivided into the new American Territories of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah . The even more lightly populated and arid lower region of old Baja California remained as
5400-643: The Yana people to suffer from the Californian Gold Rush , for their lands were the closest to the gold fields. Prior to the Gold Rush that began with the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in January 1848, the U.S military had been involved in the destruction of California Natives which included the Yana people. The processes included removals of people from ancestral land, massacres, confinement to small reservations, and
5535-653: The coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza , the Viceroy of New Spain , to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities; they entered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and reached at least as far north as San Miguel Island . Privateer and explorer Francis Drake explored and claimed an undefined portion of
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5670-420: The "violence, discrimination and exploitation sanctioned by state government throughout its history". In a 2019 executive order, Newsom announced the formation of a "Truth and Healing Council" to better understand the genocide and inform future generations of what occurred. Prior to Spanish arrival , California was home to an Indigenous population thought to have been as high as 300,000. The largest group were
5805-581: The 1850s, white people in the United States depended on individuals of Native American descent to cultivate vast areas of land in return for minimal or non-existent monetary compensation. During the period of the Gold Rush , numerous rancho owners were able to reap significant benefits by driving their livestock into the Central Valley and Sierra foothills, thereby capitalizing on the relatively prosperous years of gold mining. Due to Economic expansion because of
5940-581: The 1850s. The artifacts included subsistence remains, middens, and flaked stone tools. The following is a rough timeline of some of the key events and policies that contributed to the genocide. It is by no means comprehensive. Following the American Conquest of California from Mexico, the influx of settlers due to the California Gold Rush in 1849, and the statehood of California in 1850, state and federal authorities incited, aided, and financed
6075-513: The 18th century. The Portolá expedition of 1769–70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios , and pueblos . The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá , who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by Junípero Serra , who came by sea from Baja California . In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and
6210-482: The 1992 Rodney King riots. California was the hub of the Black Panther Party , known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice. Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 70s. During the 20th century, two great disasters happened: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain
6345-527: The 2000s, historians have characterized the period immediately following the conquest of California as one in which U.S. miners, farmers, and ranchers on the American frontier engaged in the systematic genocide of indigenous Californians. In 2019, the governor of California Gavin Newsom described the events as "genocide," adding, "...that's the way it needs to be described in the history books." He also apologized for
6480-403: The 21st century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred. From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history. The 2018 wildfire season was the state's deadliest and most destructive. One of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States occurred in California on January 26, 2020. A state of emergency was declared in
6615-513: The California coast in 1579, landing north of the future city of San Francisco . The first Asians to set foot on what would be the United States occurred in 1587, when Filipino sailors arrived in Spanish ships at Morro Bay . Coincidentally the descendants of the Muslim Caliph Hasan ibn Ali in formerly Islamic Manila and had converted, then mixed Christianity with Islam, upon Spanish conquest, transited through California (Named after
6750-522: The California coast, 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portolá expedition. Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions, including San Francisco ( Mission San Francisco de Asís ), San Diego ( Mission San Diego de Alcalá ), Ventura ( Mission San Buenaventura ), or Santa Barbara ( Mission Santa Barbara ), among others. Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into
6885-425: The California genocide, during which the U.S. Army and vigilante militias carried out killings as well as the relocation of thousands of indigenous peoples in California. The massacre reduced the Yahi, who were already suffering from starvation, to a population of less than 100. On August 6, 1865, seventeen settlers raided a Yahi village at dawn. In 1866, more Yahis were massacred when they were caught by surprise in
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#17331066094047020-480: The California government in 2022. These groups were also diverse in their political organization, with bands, tribes, villages, and, on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms , such as the Chumash , Pomo and Salinan . Trade, intermarriage, craft specialists, and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups. Although nations would sometimes war, most armed conflicts were between groups of men for vengeance . Acquiring territory
7155-443: The California state government paid around 1.5 million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government) to hire militias with the stated purpose of protecting settlers, however these militias perpetrated numerous massacres of indigenous people. Indigenous people were also forcibly moved to reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from
7290-477: The Indians of Owens River ; that I have killed several, taken eleven prisoners, and destroyed a great many rancherias and a large quantity of seeds, worms, &c., that the Indians had gathered for food. A notable early eyewitness testimony and account: "The Indians of California" (1864) is from John Ross Browne , Customs official and Inspector of Indian Affairs on the Pacific Coast. He systematically described
7425-550: The Native people of Northern California, they were able to "manage the threat of wildfires and cultivate traditional plants". For example, traditional use of fire by Californian and Pacific Northwest tribes, allowed them to "cultivate plants and fungi" that "adapted to regular burning. The list runs from fiber sources, such as bear-grass and willow , to foodstuffs, such as berries, mushrooms, and acorns from oak trees that once made up sprawling orchards". Many practices were used to manage
7560-482: The Pacific. (The Spanish also built 30 missions and 11 visitas in Baja California .) Military outposts were constructed alongside the missions to house the soldiers sent to protect the missionaries. Spanish and Mexican rule were devastating for native populations. "As the missions grew, California's native population of Indians began a catastrophic decline." Gregory Orfalea estimates that pre-contact population
7695-609: The San Francisco Bay Area. Due to the hiring opportunities California offered during the conflict, the population multiplied from the immigration it received due to the work in its war factories, military bases, and training facilities. After World War II, California's economy expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries, whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War . Stanford University began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay instead of leaving
7830-500: The San Francisco Bay area found that natives would move to different places in order to avoid genocide. The movement can be traced by the dating of the burial mounds since multiple native tribes found these burial mound spaces as places of religious and cultural freedom. The Amah Mutsun are a group of Indigenous peoples who were reported to be unable to pass on their traditions during this time, their practices remained untold for
7965-490: The U.S. Army. In the 20th century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to California. The state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act , excluding Asian immigrants from owning land. During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps; in 2020, California apologized. Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of transcontinental highways like
8100-529: The US. Notable contributions to popular culture , ranging from entertainment , sports , music , and fashion , have their origins in California. California is the home of Hollywood , the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, profoundly influencing global entertainment. The San Francisco Bay and the Greater Los Angeles areas are seen as the centers of the global technology and U.S. film industries, respectively. The Spaniards gave
8235-454: The Union . However, due to the existence of a large contingent of pro-South sympathizers within the state, the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort. Still, several smaller military units within the Union army, such as the "California 100 Company" , were unofficially associated with the state of California due to a majority of their members being from California. At
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#17331066094048370-454: The best land in the state, were secularized by 1834 and became the property of the Mexican government. The governor granted many square leagues of land to others with political influence. These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Hispanics native of California) who traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants. Beef did not become
8505-464: The best route to follow, which became known as "Marsh's route". His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first wagon trains rolling to California. After ushering in the period of organized emigration to California, Marsh became involved in a military battle between the much-hated Mexican general, Manuel Micheltorena and the California governor he had replaced, Juan Bautista Alvarado. At
8640-469: The board of directors of the former "University of California Hastings College of Law" voted to change the name of the institution because of namesake S. C. Hastings 's involvement in the killing and dispossessing of Yuki people in the 1850s. The name change was approved via an act of the California Legislature (California Assembly Bill 1936, 2021–2022 regular session) and was signed into law by
8775-459: The command of Gaspar de Portolá , did not reach this area until 1769. The mission was intended to spread the Catholic faith among the region's Native peoples and establish and expand the reach of the Spanish Empire . The Spanish built San Diego de Alcalá , the first of 21 missions standing in modern-day California, at what developed as present-day San Diego in the southern part of the state along
8910-536: The conquest include the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho in Southern California, as well as the Battle of Olómpali and the Battle of Santa Clara in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing de facto American control in California. Following
9045-414: The context of a battle or otherwise"). Madley also estimates that fewer than 1,400 non-Indians were killed by Indians during this period. The Native American activist and former Sonoma State University Professor Ed Castillo was asked by The State of California's Native American Heritage Commission to write the state's official history of the genocide; he wrote that "well-armed death squads combined with
9180-512: The context of legal competition for evidence, the inciters, falsifiers, and deniers of genocide and state crimes against Native American Indians. Genocide tribunals would surely enhance the moot court programs in law schools and provide more serious consideration of human rights and international criminal cases by substantive testimony, motivated historical depositions, documentary evidence, contentious narratives, and ethical accountability. Vizenor believes that, in accordance with international law ,
9315-638: The continent had, and continue to, use "fire to enhance specific plant species, optimize hunting conditions, maintain open travel routes, and generally support the flourishing of the species upon which they depend, according to scholars like the United States Forest Service ecologist and Karuk descendent Frank Lake". California was one of the last regions in the Americas to be colonized by Europeans. Catholic Spanish missionaries, led by Franciscan administrator Junípero Serra and military forces under
9450-432: The continued use of settler violence to aid colonization." Other scholars and historians dispute the accuracy of the term "genocide" to describe what occurred in California, as well as the blame which has been placed directly on the federal government and the state government of California , pointing to the fact that disease was the primary factor in the depopulation of California Indians and arguing that mass violence
9585-431: The cultural center of the Tolowa peoples. The natives from the surrounding areas would gather there for their celebrations and discussions. The survivors of the massacre were forced to move to the village north of Smith's River called Howonquet. The slaughtering of the Tolowa people continued for some years. They were seemingly always caught at their Needash celebrations. These massacres caused some unrest which led in part to
9720-535: The deadliest in U.S. history. Although air pollution has been reduced, health problems associated with pollution continue. Brown haze known as " smog " has been substantially abated after federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust. An energy crisis in 2001 led to rolling blackouts , soaring power rates, and the importation of electricity from neighboring states. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company came under heavy criticism. Housing prices in urban areas continued to increase;
9855-407: The debate mostly rests on disagreements regarding the definition of the term. He writes that by a strict ("intentionalist" ) definition, genocide "requir[es] a federal or state government intention to kill all California Indians and an outcome in which the majority of deaths were from direct killing", while by a less strict ("structuralist" ) definition, it "requir[es] only settler intention to destroy
9990-471: The early 21st century for universities to be authorized to assemble tribunals to investigate these events. He notes that United States federal law contains no statute of limitations on war crimes and crimes against humanity , including genocide . He says: Genocide tribunals would provide venues of judicial reason and equity that reveal continental ethnic cleansing, mass murder, torture, and religious persecution, past and present, and would justly expose, in
10125-579: The environment around them, by directly taking care of the land. Anderson and Keeley write, "The outcomes that Indigenous people were aiming for when burning chaparral , such as increased water flow, enhanced wildlife habitat, and the maintenance of many kinds of flowering plants and animals, are congruent and dovetail with the values that public land agencies, non-profit organizations, and private landowners wish to preserve and enhance through wildland management". Through these returned practices, they are able to commit and practice their culture, while also helping
10260-574: The events of 1847–1853. The United States took possession of California from Mexico in January 1847, with the Gold Rush arriving swiftly in 1848. Hundreds of thousands came in the search of wealth, placing pressure on Indigenous Californians. More than 1,000 Yuki are estimated to have been killed in the Round Valley Settler Massacres of 1856–1859 and 400 in the Mendocino War ; many others were enslaved and only 300 survived. The intent of
10395-521: The experience of indigenous Californian women during this period, Women's studies scholar Gail Ukockis argues that "government officials were quite explicit about their genocidal intent," citing the 1851 State of the State address given by the 1st Governor of California, Peter Burnett , in which he said: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected." Jeffrey Ostler, too, endorsed
10530-400: The fraud, corruption, land theft, slavery, rape, and massacre perpetrated on a substantial portion of the aboriginal population. This was confirmed by a contemporary, Superintendent Dorcas J. Spencer. In 1943, a study by demographer Sherburne Cook , estimated that there were 4,556 killings of California Indians between 1847 and 1865. Contemporary historian Benjamin Madley has documented
10665-477: The genocidal killing in the state." In his book The Rediscovery of America , historian Ned Blackhawk argues that "historians have located genocide across Native American history" and cites California as a specific example. Blackhawk writes that in California, "settlers used informal and state-sanctioned violence to shatter Native worlds and legitimate their own" and also notes that "in February 1852, for example,
10800-572: The genocide, and were encouraged, tolerated, and even carried out by American officials and military commanders. The 1925 book Handbook of the Indians of California estimated that California's indigenous population decreased roughly 150,000 in 1848 to 30,000 in 1870 and 16,000 by 1900. This decline was caused by a mixture of disease, low birth rates, starvation and the genocide. Between 10,000 and 27,000 were also subject to forced labor by U.S. settlers, with California officials repeatedly passing legislation to dispossessing indigenous people. Since
10935-413: The genocide. Newsom referring to the proposed California Truth and Healing Council said, "California must reckon with our dark history. California Native American peoples suffered violence, discrimination and exploitation sanctioned by state government throughout its history .... It's called genocide. That's what it was, a genocide. No other way to describe it. And that's the way it needs to be described in
11070-609: The genocide. Newsom said, "That's what it was, a genocide. No other way to describe it. And that's the way it needs to be described in the history books." Among these killings the Yontoket Massacre left 150 to 500 Tolowa people recorded dead. Because their homes had burned down, the place received the name "Burnt Ranch". The Tolowa themselves date the first massacre at 1853, stating that between 450 and 600 people were killed. The second dated massacre at 1854 stating that about 150 people were killed. The Yontoket massacre decimated
11205-520: The government to adequately sustain the populations living on them. As a result, settler colonialism was a calamity for indigenous people. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo , have described the actions of the California government as a genocide , as well as the 40th governor of California Gavin Newsom . Benjamin Madley estimates that from 1846 to 1873, between 9,492 and 16,092 indigenous people were killed, including between 1,680 and 3,741 killed by
11340-555: The governor on 23 September 2022. The name change took effect on 1 January 2023. The institution is now known as the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco . There is vigorous debate over the scale of Native American losses after the discovery of gold in California and whether to characterize them as genocide. The application of the term "genocide", in particular, has been controversial. According to historian Jeffrey Ostler,
11475-510: The highest bidder at a public auction if the Indian could not provide sufficient bond or bail. This legalized a form of slavery in California. White settlers took 10,000 to 27,000 California Native Americans as forced laborers, including 4,000 to 7,000 children. I have the honor to report to the general commanding the Department of the Pacific that I have been in this valley fifteen days, carrying out my instructions to chastise these Indians, or
11610-438: The history books. We can never undo the wrongs inflicted on the peoples who have lived on this land that we now call California since time immemorial, but we can work together to build bridges, tell the truth about our past and begin to heal deep wounds." After hearing testimony, a Truth and Healing Council will clarify the historical record on the relationship between the state and California Native Americans. In November 2021,
11745-578: The increased need for mining, even Indigenous groups in remote locations, such as those in the Coso Range , were incorporated into the economy. According to M. Kat Anderson, an ecologist and lecturer at University of California, Davis , and Jon Keeley, a fire ecologist and research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey , after decades of being disconnected from the land and their culture, due to Spanish and U.S. settler violence, Native peoples are slowly starting to be able to practice traditions that enhance
11880-410: The indigenous peoples developed complex forms of ecosystem management, including forest gardening to ensure the regular availability of food and medicinal plants . This was a form of sustainable agriculture . To mitigate destructive large wildfires from ravaging the natural environment, indigenous peoples developed a practice of controlled burning . This practice was recognized for its benefits by
12015-508: The inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power or wisdom of man to avert." During the California genocide, reports of the decimation of Native Americans in California were made to the rest of the United States and internationally. The California Act for the Government and Protection of Indians was enacted in 1850 (amended 1860, repealed 1863). This law provided for "apprenticing" or indenturing Indian children to white settlers, and also punished "vagrant" Indians by "hiring" them out to
12150-556: The interior and north of California. The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga , a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California's prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River . After the expedition, Gabriel's son, José Joaquín Moraga , would found
12285-413: The issue on whether or not genocide occurred in California". He writes also that "federal and state governments, those bodies that could or should have protected California Indians from the devastating violence, condoned and perpetrated genocides" and that "civilian leaders in California passed legislation that enabled genocide". Margaret Jacobs writes that Madley has made it "nearly impossible to deny that
12420-657: The land without tremendous destruction in other ways including " tillage , pruning , seed broadcasting, transplanting, weeding, irrigation, and fertilizing". These groups worked to stimulate the growth and diversity of floral resources across landscapes. Traditional practices allowed for the "extraordinarily successful management of natural resources available to Native Californian tribes". Because of traditional practices of Native Californian tribes, they were able to support habitats and climates that would then support an abundance of wildlife, including rabbits, deer, varieties of fish, fruit, roots, and acorns. The natives largely followed
12555-524: The largest dam removal and river restoration project in US history was announced for the Klamath River , as a win for California tribes. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km ), California is the third-largest state in the United States in area, after Alaska and Texas . California is one of the most geographically diverse states in the union and is often geographically bisected into two regions, Southern California , comprising
12690-470: The massacres was to exterminate the Yuki and gain control of the land they inhabited. U.S. Army soldiers deployed to the valley stopped further killings and in 1862 the California legislature revoked a law which permitted the kidnapping and enslavement of Native Americans in the state. A few specific attacks of which there is witness testimony are: Due to the overwhelming number of killings, an exact death toll
12825-788: The middle of the state lies the California Central Valley , bounded by the Sierra Nevada in the east, the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Cascade Range to the north and by the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. The Central Valley is California's productive agricultural heartland. Divided in two by the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta , the northern portion, the Sacramento Valley serves as
12960-421: The name Las Californias to the peninsula of Baja California (in modern-day Mexico). As Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland, the region known as California , or Las Californias , grew. Eventually it included lands north of the peninsula, Alta California , part of which became the present-day U.S. state of California. A 2017 state legislative document states, "Numerous theories exist as to
13095-546: The nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions , with 19 million and 10 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most ; California's capital is Sacramento . The state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in
13230-519: The northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. Two-thirds of the nation's earthquake risk lies in California. The Central Valley , a fertile agricultural area, dominates the state's center. The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains . Droughts and wildfires are an ongoing issue. California's economy
13365-887: The number of dead from the Yontoket Massacre and the Battery Point Attack are many more in the following years. These massacres included the Chetko Massacre with 24 dead, the Smith creek massacre with 7 dead, the Howonquet Massacre with 70 dead, the Achulet massacre with 65 dead (not including those whose bodies were left in the lake) and the Stundossun Massacre with 300 dead. In total, 902 Tolowa Native Americans were killed in 7 years. There are no records that any of
13500-473: The numbers of Californian Indians killed between 1846 and 1873; he estimates that during this period at least 9,492 to 16,092 Californian Indians were killed by non-Indians, including between 1,680 and 3,741 killed by the U.S. Army . Most of the deaths took place in what he defined as more than 370 massacres (defined as the "intentional killing of five or more disarmed combatants or largely unarmed noncombatants, including women, children, and prisoners, whether in
13635-401: The origin and meaning of the word 'California, ' " and that all anyone knows is the name was added to a map by 1541 "presumably by a Spanish navigator." The name most likely derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of Queen Calafia , as recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo . Queen Calafia's kingdom was said to be
13770-547: The other people in the area that will benefit from the ecological differences. California Landmark 427, built in 2005 represents the Bloody Island Massacre of the Pomo people that took place on May 15, 1850. The monument is used as a center point of an annual festival beginning in 1999 held by Pomo descendants. Candles and tobacco are burned in honor of their ancestors. Native American scholar Gerald Vizenor has argued in
13905-462: The perpetrators were ever held accountable. This means over 90% of the entire Tolowa population was killed in deliberate massacres. At the outset, the Euro-American population of Los Angeles County identified a practical application for the utilization of Native labor within an economy that was experiencing a shortage of laborers due to the mass migration of individuals to the gold fields. During
14040-414: The population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000. The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845. Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845. The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey, under consul Thomas O. Larkin . In 1849,
14175-710: The pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California. During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast . Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia's Alaskan colonies with food supplies. The settlement did not meet much success, failing to attract settlers or establish long term trade viability, and
14310-416: The races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. While we cannot anticipate the result with but painful regret, the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power and wisdom of man to avert." As in other American states, indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their lands by American settlers , like miners, ranchers, and farmers. Although California had entered the American union as
14445-483: The separation of families. In California, miners, ranchers, farmers, and businessmen engaged in acts outlined in the Genocide Convention . They suffered great population losses from the loss of their traditional food supplies and fought with the settlers over territory. They lacked firearms , and armed white settlers intentionally committed genocide against them in multiple raids. These raids took place as part of
14580-569: The sole proprietorship of Serra's mission system". According to journalist Ed Castillo , Serra spread the Christian faith among the Native population in a destructive way that caused their population to decline rapidly while he was in power. Castillo writes that "The Franciscans took it upon themselves to brutalize the Indians, and to rejoice in their death...They simply wanted the souls of these Indians, so they baptized them, and when they died, from disease or beatings... they were going to heaven, which
14715-484: The spread of pathogens and increased communities' vulnerability through malnutrition, exposure, social stress, and destruction of sources of medicine and capacities for palliative care". He continues, "since the United States' colonization of California was intended to dispossess Indigenous peoples and since that intention had the predictable consequence of making communities vulnerable to multiple diseases which led to massive population loss, disease in this case qualifies as
14850-593: The state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work. Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah, perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti-Chinese riots in the state, and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act . Under earlier Spanish and Mexican rule, California's original native population had precipitously declined, above all, from Eurasian diseases to which
14985-448: The state legislature appropriated $ 500,000 to fund anti-Indian state militias". Regarding the role of the federal government, he writes that they had "earlier attempted an alternate scenario to the genocide at hand. In 1851 and 1852, officials negotiated eighteen treaties across the state; however, bowing to California representatives, the Senate rejected these treaties, essentially authorizing
15120-476: The state of California also purchased property, and the state park was opened on November 8, 1952. When most of the rest of Point Reyes was incorporated into Point Reyes National Seashore, Tomales Bay State Park remained in the state park system. The west area of the park contains four beach areas: Indian Beach, Heart's Desire Beach, Pebble Beach, and Shell Beach. Only Heart's Desire is reachable by road, and has two parking areas, picnic grounds, and rest rooms. There
15255-410: The state on March 4, 2020, and remained in effect until Governor Gavin Newsom ended it in February 2023. A mandatory statewide stay-at-home order was issued on March 19, 2020, which was ended in January 2021. Cultural and language revitalization efforts among indigenous Californians have progressed among tribes as of 2022. Some land returns to indigenous stewardship have occurred. In 2022,
15390-515: The state's demographics and its finances. Soon afterward, a massive influx of immigration into the area resulted, as prospectors and miners arrived by the thousands. The population burgeoned with United States citizens, Europeans, Middle Easterns, Chinese and other immigrants during the great California gold rush . By the time of California's application for statehood in 1850, the settler population of California had multiplied to 100,000. By 1854, more than 300,000 settlers had come. Between 1847 and 1870,
15525-614: The state, and develop a high-tech region, now known as Silicon Valley . As a result of this, California is a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the US center of agricultural production. Just before the Dot Com Bust , California had the fifth-largest economy in the world. In the mid and late twentieth century, race-related incidents occurred. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to riots, such as
15660-504: The ten southernmost counties, and Northern California , comprising the 48 northernmost counties. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and northeast, Arizona to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south (with which it makes up part of The Californias region of North America , alongside Baja California Sur ). In
15795-596: The terrible events of 1846–1873 as a genocide, and neither had any of his leading successors in California Indian history ". While acknowledging that actions against some tribes native to California were genocidal, he opts for the term ethnocidal for actions against other tribes, considering the former term's application to all cases "highly problematic". (He rejects the UN Genocide Convention 's "sweeping definition" of genocide, whereas Lindsay embraces it.) In
15930-407: The time of California's admission into the Union, travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time-consuming and dangerous feat. Nineteen years later, and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln, the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week's time. Much of the state
16065-557: The transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent Mexican rule. In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave the Mexican Empire (which included California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico, which shortly after independence became a republic. The missions , which controlled most of
16200-452: The universities of South Dakota , Minnesota , and California Berkeley ought to establish tribunals to hear evidence and adjudicate crimes against humanity alleged to have taken place in their individual states. Attorney Lindsay Glauner has also argued for such tribunals. In a speech before representatives of Native American peoples in June, 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom apologized for
16335-610: The usage of the term, writing that it "rests on a substantial body of scholarship". Ostler argues that there is a "general consensus" that genocide took place in at least "some times and places in the state's early history". Responding to critics of the "genocide" charge that have argued that epidemics were the primary cause of Native mortality, Ostler writes that "depopulation from disease more often resulted from conditions created by colonialism—in California, loss of land, destruction of resources and food stores, lack of clean water, captive taking, sexual violence, and massacre—that encouraged
16470-609: The violence against the Native Americans. The California Natives were also sometimes contemptuously referred to as "Diggers", for their practice of digging up roots to eat. On January 6, 1851, at his State of the State address to the California Senate, 1st Governor Peter Burnett said: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. While we cannot anticipate this result but with painful regret,
16605-520: The watershed of the Sacramento River , while the southern portion, the San Joaquin Valley is the watershed for the San Joaquin River . Both valleys derive their names from the rivers that flow through them. With dredging, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers have remained deep enough for several inland cities to be seaports . California genocide The California genocide was
16740-426: The widespread random killing of Indians by individual miners resulted in the death of 100,000 Indians in [1848 and 1849]." Another contemporary historian, Gary Clayton Anderson , estimated that no more than 2,000 Native Americans were killed in California. Jeffrey Ostler has critiqued Anderson's estimate, calling it "unsubstantiated" and "at least five times too low". Research made in 2015 on native burial mounds in
16875-524: Was a cause of celebration". According to Castillo, the Native American population were forced to abandon their "sustainable and complex civilization" as well as "their beliefs, their faith, and their way of life". However, artifacts found at an archaeological site on San Clemente Island suggested that a group of Indigenous people were practicing traditional ways after the arrival of Europeans and Americans in other parts of California, and until potentially
17010-541: Was abandoned by 1841. During the War of Mexican Independence , Alta California was largely unaffected and uninvolved in the revolution, though many Californios supported independence from Spain , which many believed had neglected California and limited its development. Spain's trade monopoly on California had limited local trade prospects. Following Mexican independence, California ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants. Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá presided over
17145-424: Was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War . The California gold rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including depopulation of Indigenous tribes. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state in 1850 , as a free state , following the Compromise of 1850 . The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are
17280-536: Was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat, other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere. In the nineteenth century, a large number of migrants from China traveled to
17415-607: Was highly unstable, and in a reflection of this, from 1831 onwards, California also experienced a series of armed disputes, both internal and with the central Mexican government. During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842. The military action which first brought Alvarado to power had momentarily declared California to be an independent state, and had been aided by Anglo-American residents of California, including Isaac Graham . In 1840, one hundred of those residents who did not have passports were arrested, leading to
17550-714: Was not usually the purpose of these small-scale battles. Men and women generally had different roles in society. Women were often responsible for weaving, harvesting, processing, and preparing food, while men for hunting and other forms of physical labor. Most societies also had roles for people whom the Spanish referred to as joyas , who they saw as "men who dressed as women". Joyas were responsible for death , burial , and mourning rituals , and they performed women's social roles. Indigenous societies had terms such as two-spirit to refer to them. The Chumash referred to them as 'aqi. The early Spanish settlers detested and sought to eliminate them. The first Europeans to explore
17685-449: Was nothing of the sort. For every American who died, 100 Indians perished. They died horribly—men, women, and children. The men who killed them were brutal. Nor did the killings result from a moment of rage; they were systematic." White stresses the complicity of the US federal government, noting that "the funding that the US government provided for California's militia expeditions made attacking Indians possible and profitable". Writing about
17820-452: Was reduced by 33% during the Spanish and Mexican regimes. Most of the decline stemmed from imported diseases, low birth rates, and the disruption of traditional ways of life, but violence was common, and some historians have charged that life in the missions was close to slavery. However, according to George Tinker , a Native scholar, "The Native American population of coastal population was reduced by some 90 percent during seventy years under
17955-494: Was short-lived; the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay in 1846 and began the U.S. military invasion of California , with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces. In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of
18090-454: Was the only Yahi known to Americans. In 1770 the Tolowa had a population of 1,000; their population soon dropped to 150 in 1910; this was almost entirely due to deliberate mass murder in what has been called genocide which has been recognized by the state of California. In a speech before representatives of Native American peoples in June 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom apologized for
18225-429: Was undertaken primarily by settlers and that the state and federal governments did not establish a policy of physically killing all Indians. One of the most prominent historians espousing such a view is Gary Clayton Anderson, a University of Oklahoma professor of history who describes the events in California as " ethnic cleansing ", arguing that "If we get to the point where the mass murder of 50 Indians in California
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