The Washoe or Waší:šiw are a Great Basin tribe of Native Americans, living near Lake Tahoe at the border between California and Nevada. some say up to 9,000 years or more. Prior to contact with Europeans, the territory of the Washoe people centered around Lake Tahoe (; Washo: dáʔaw / daʔaw / Da ow – "the lake"; or dewʔá:gaʔa – "edge of the lake") and was roughly bounded by the southern shore of Honey Lake in the north, the West Walker River, Topaz Lake, and Sonora Pass in the south, the Sierra Nevada crest in the west, and the Pine Nut Mountains and Virginia Range in the east. Beside Lake Tahoe the Washoe utilized the upper ranges of the Carson (dá:bal k'iláʔam), Truckee (dabayóduweʔ), and West Walker rivers to the east as well the Sierra Valley (a site of extensive freshwater marshes filled with cattails, bulrushes and alkaline flats that drain into the Middle Fork Feather River) to the north. The Washoe would generally spend the summer in the Sierra Nevada, especially at Lake Tahoe; the fall in the ranges to the east; and the winter and spring in the valleys between them. Washoe Lake (c'óʔyaʔ dáʔaw) was named after them.

The Washoe/Washo were loosely organized into three (in some sources four) regional groups speaking slightly different dialects, which in turn were divided in groups (cooperating extending families for the seasonal hunt and living together in winter camps) and in nuclear families. The regional group was determined by where people had a winter camp:

  • Welmelti ("Northerners" or "Northern Washoe People")
  • Pauwalu / Powalu ("Easterners" or "Central Washoe People")
  • Hungalelti ("Southerners" or "Southern Washoe People") and,
  • Tanalelti ("Westerners" or "Western Washoe People")

Since the western part of the Washo territory was in the mountains and subject to heavy snows, few people wintered there so very few were organized into the western group.

Washoe people may have made contact with Spanish explorers in the early 19th century, but the Washoe did not sustain contact with people of European culture until the 1848 California Gold Rush. when hungry Washoes were killed or wounded for taking three acres of potatoes from European-American William Morehead's potato field at his farm near Honey Lake, some two miles northwest of Milford, California.

<blockquote>"No serious difficulty occurred until 1857, when the Indians, moved largely by a lack of food, became so troublesome by their thieving habits that difficulties arose between them and the settlers. The valley was then in its second year of permanent settlement. The troubles of this season are generally referred to as the Potato War, owing to the cause of the difficulties. The troublesome savages were of the Pit River tribe, and a company of the settlers, under Captain William Weatherlow, and accompanied by Winnemucca and a band of his Pah-Ute braves, went out against the savages, and punished them severely. The Plumas Rangers from Plumas County came over to the aid of the settlers, but arrived too late to participate in active hostilities. The Pit River Indians still annoyed the settlers during the next two years, and only ceased after their severe chastisement by General Crook." -Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties</blockquote>

Loss of the valley hunting grounds to farms and the piñon pine groves to feed Virginia City's demand for lumber and charcoal drove most Washoe to dependency on jobs on white ranches and farms and in cities. The areas where they settled became known as Indian colonies.

Culture

thumb|[[Louisa Keyser (Dat So La Lee), Washoe basketweaver]]

Piñon pine nuts gathered in the fall provided much of the food eaten in the winter. Roots, seeds, berries and game provided much of the food eaten during the rest of the year. The Washoe people were also deeply knowledgeable about their land and where resources were plentiful. This included an understanding of the seasonal cycles of both plants and animals. Wašiw people were also dependent on fishing at Lake Tahoe and the surrounding streams. Fishing was a huge part of Wašiw life; and each family had its own fishing grounds, until contact with Western civilization led to commercial fishing in the area, destroying another important resource for the Wašiw.

The Pine Nut Dance and girls' puberty rites remain very important ceremonies. The Wašiw people once relied on medicine men and their knowledge of medicinal plants and ceremonies. Much of this knowledge and activity has been lost due to contact with the Western world.

Washoe culture was based mostly on the legends that carried the explanation of different areas of life. The legends were handed over from one generation to another by storytelling and were told to younger generations to teach them basic things about Washoe's way of living. Children could get to know about gathering techniques, medicine preparation, and the legends were meant to teach them how to appreciate the land they were living in and give them a better understanding of Washoe's lifestyle. Children were raised in the environment which recognized family as the most valued thing. The whole Washoe life was concentrated on cooperation and unity, and older tribe members needed to convey their knowledge to the younger so the tribe culture would survive. Everyone in the family had his own role in everyday activities like fishing, gathering or hunting which helped Washoe people with doing everyday life tasks more efficiently.

Anthropologist Ernestine Friedl has noted that men and women's cooperation in gathering food lead to "no individual distributions of food and relatively little difference in male and female rights," contributing to gender equality amongst the pre-colonial Washoe.

Language

The Washoe / Wašiw language or Wá:šiw ʔítlu (today: Wašiw Wagayay) has been regarded as a language isolate, However, it is sometimes tentatively regarded as part of the controversial Hokan language family. The language is written in the Latin script. As the Native residents, they believe that they have the best knowledge of how the land should be maintained, and consider themselves to be the proper caretakers of the Lake Tahoe area, which has been a center Washoe tribes yearly cultural gatherings, where most traditional events took place. In 2002, The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources officially granted custody to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California over the land around the Lake Tahoe area for cultural purposes.

Washoe tribes

  • Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
  • Susanville Indian Rancheria
  • Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California

Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the colonies in the Carson Valley area of Nevada and California gained federal recognition as the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. The colony in Reno, Nevada, which also has a substantial Paiute, Washoe and Shoshoni population, gained separate recognition as the Reno–Sparks Indian Colony. There is evidence that some Washoe settled in the southwest region of Montana. The Susanville Rancheria includes Washoe members, as well as Northern Paiute, Northeastern Maidu, Achomawi, and Atsugewi members.

Notes

References

  • Dangberg, Grace (1968). Washo Tales: Three Original Washo Indian Legends. Nevada State Museum Occasional Paper Number 1. Carson City, Nevada.
  • d'Azevedo, Warren L. (1986). "Washoe" in Great Basin, Warren L. d'Azevedo, ed. pp.&nbsp;466–498. Volume 11 in Handbook of North American Indians, William C. Sturtevant, general editor. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. .
  • Nevers, Jo Ann (1976). Wa She Shu: A Washo Tribal History. Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada: University of Utah Printing Service.
  • Pritzker, Barry M. (2000). A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .

Further reading

  • Washo Bibliography, from California Indian Library Collections Project
  • Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, official website
  • Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, official website
  • Susanville Indian Rancheria, official website
  • A Guide to the Washo research notes, 98–17. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. These papers represent the research carried out by Anita Spring during her anthropological summer field studies in 1965.