“A Native American rejoinder to Richard White and Jesse Amble White’s California Exposures.”—Kirkus Reviews Rewriting the history of California as Indigenous. Before there was such a thing as “California,” there were the People and the Land. Manifest Destiny, the Gold Rush, and settler colonial society drew maps, displaced Indigenous People, and reshaped the land, but they did not make California. Rather, the lives and legacies of the people native to the land shaped the creation of California. We Are the Land is the first and most comprehensive text of its kind, centering the long history of California around the lives and legacies of the Indigenous people who shaped it. Beginning with the ethnogenesis of California Indians, We Are the Land recounts the centrality of the Native presence from before European colonization through statehood—paying particularly close attention to the persistence and activism of California Indians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The book deftly contextualizes the first encounters with Europeans, Spanish missions, Mexican secularization, the devastation of the Gold Rush and statehood, genocide, efforts to reclaim land, and the organization and activism for sovereignty that built today’s casino economy. A text designed to fill the glaring need for an accessible overview of California Indian history, We Are the Land will be a core resource in a variety of classroom settings, as well as for casual readers and policymakers interested in a history that centers the native experience.
This book was written as an introduction to the evoltuion of Natie American peoples in California and Nevada with emphasis on the historical and cultural experiences which have contributed to present day conditions of native communities. It also provides an introduction to the basic concept of Indian studies curricula.
Between 1846 and 1873, California’s Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. Benjamin Madley is the first historian to uncover the full extent of the slaughter, the involvement of state and federal officials, the taxpayer dollars that supported the violence, indigenous resistance, who did the killing, and why the killings ended. This deeply researched book is a comprehensive and chilling history of an American genocide. Madley describes pre-contact California and precursors to the genocide before explaining how the Gold Rush stirred vigilante violence against California Indians. He narrates the rise of a state-sanctioned killing machine and the broad societal, judicial, and political support for genocide. Many participated: vigilantes, volunteer state militiamen, U.S. Army soldiers, U.S. congressmen, California governors, and others. The state and federal governments spent at least $1,700,000 on campaigns against California Indians. Besides evaluating government officials’ culpability, Madley considers why the slaughter constituted genocide and how other possible genocides within and beyond the Americas might be investigated using the methods presented in this groundbreaking book.
"Relevant, timely, and approachable, California Indians and Their Environment is an instant classic that should be invaluable for anyone interested in California's diverse natural and cultural landscapes and the future sustainability of the state."--Torben Rick, author of Human Impacts on Ancient Marine Ecosystems: A Global Perspective "California Indians and Their Environment stands respectfully on the shoulders of scholarly giants and demonstrates the cumulative power of cultural, historical, and scientific research. It is a remarkably inclusive and relevant text that is both highly informative of past indigenous life ways and identities and strikingly insightful into current environmental crises that confront us all."--Seth Mallios, author of The Deadly Politics of Giving: Exchange and Violence at Ajacan, Roanoke, and Jamestown "In this highly readable and insightful book, Lightfoot and Parrish show how the natural diversity of California not only influenced the contours of Indian lifeways, but was indeed augmented by burning and other practices, that were used to sustain indigenous economies. The ingenuity and skill with which California Indians managed and used natural resources underscores the need to infuse modern land-use policy with the knowledge of people whose ecological experiences in North America eclipse those of Euroamericans by a factor of forty."--Kenneth E. Sassaman, author of People of the Shoals: Stallings Culture of the Savannah River Valley "This book is a deeply informative and fascinating examination of California Indians' rich and complex relationship with the ecological landscape. Lightfoot and Parrish have thoroughly updated the classic book, The Natural World of the California Indians, with critical analysis of anthropological theory and methods and incorporation of indigenous knowledge and practices. It is a lucid, accessible book that tells an intriguing story for our modern times."--Melissa K. Nelson, San Francisco State University and President of The Cultural Conservancy "At once scholarly and accessible, this book is destined to be a classic. Framed around pressing environmental issues of concern to a broad range of Californians today, Lightfoot and Parrish provide an historical ecology of California's amazingly diverse environments, its biological resources, and the Native peoples who both adapted to and actively managed them."--Jon M. Erlandson, author of Early Hunter-Gatherers of the California Coast "California Indians and Their Environment fills a significant gap in our understanding of the first peoples of California. Lightfoot and Parrish take on the daunting task of synthesizing and expanding on our knowledge of indigenous land-management practices, sustainable economies, and the use of natural resources for food, medicine, and technological needs. This innovative and thought-provoking book is highly recommended to anyone who wants to learn more about the diverse traditions of California Indians."--Lynn Gamble, author of The Chumash World at European Contact "This innovative book moves understanding of the Native Peoples of California from the past to the future. The authors' insight into Native Californians as fire managers is an eye-opener to interpreting the ecological and cultural uniqueness of the region. Lightfoot and Parrish have provided the best introduction to Native California while at the same time advancing the best scholarship with an original synthesis. A rare feat!"--William Simmons, Brown University
When the Spanish began colonizing California in the late 1700s, there were more than 300,000 native peoples living there. By 1860, their population had been cut down to 30,000 by the European diseases they were unprepared to fight, poverty, and other hardships. In this book, readers learn about the traditional culture of the native peoples of California, including the time period before European and American settlement as well as its influence on these groups. Full-color photographs and historical images illustrate their lifestyles as the main content and fact boxes introduce specific groups and their unique customs.
This book was written as an introduction to the evoltuion of Natie American peoples in California and Nevada with emphasis on the historical and cultural experiences which have contributed to present day conditions of native communities. It also provides an introduction to the basic concept of Indian studies curricula.
Provides an overview of the daily lives of California's native peoples, profiling their arrival in the area, survival in harsh times, relationships with the environment, rituals, customs, and beliefs.
Examines the diversity of peoples who inhabit California, including ethnic groups and immigrants, and profiles such successful Californians as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shirley Temple, and Ralph Bunche.
Introduction -- A people of the land, a land for the people : Yuma -- Beach encounters : indigenous people and the age of exploration, 1540-1769 : San Diego -- "Our country before the Fernandino arrived was a forest" : native towns and Spanish missions in colonial California, 1769-1810 : Rome -- Working the land : entrepreneurial Indians and the markets of power, 1811-1849 : Sacramento -- "The white man would spoil everything" : indigenous people and the California gold rush, 1846-1873 : Ukiah -- Working for land: rancherias, reservations, and labor, 1870-1904 : Ishi Wilderness -- Friends and enemies : reframing progress, and fighting for sovereignty, 1905-1928 : Riverside -- Becoming the Indians of California : reorganization and justice, 1928-1954 : Los Angeles -- Reoccupying California : resistance and reclaiming the land, 1953-1985 : Berkeley and the East Bay -- Returning to the land : sovereignty, self-determination and revitalization since -- Conclusion : returns
