George Ford

PS 391
Hendrix
10/19/2016
A study on the Wailaki people of the Eel River

The term “Wailaki” translates most directly to “North Language”, which is fitting given

the tribe’s location on the northernmost bend of the Eel river. The Wailaki language, however, is

not alone as it shares structures with the spoken word of many neighboring tribes. The Wailaki,

Mattole, Lassik, Sinkyone, and Nongatl people all speak some form of “Southern Athaspakan

Language”. (Kroeber pg. 151) Their shared use of language structures and close geographical

proximity have resulted in many shared ways of life and also similar fates within the history of

U.S. politics. The story of the Wailaki in a post-contact world then is largely a story shared with

many tribes; A story of colonization, westward expansion, and sometimes unhindered violence

as it creeped from east to west.

Much of the pretext for colonisation of Wailaki land and the surrounding area, now called

California, was set up by the doctrine of discovery. The doctrine primarily functioned as an

agreement between England, Spain, and France as they each set out with their own colonial

projects. The agreement determined that whoever found an area had exclusive rights to occupy it,

as well the rights to make deals with it’s inhabitants. Mentioned frequently by John Marshall, the

doctrine was invoked in court as a means to justify colonialist action as it set up the legal

framework for western expansion and Indian removal. In combination with the ideology of

‘manifest destiny’ and government promises of new land, the doctrine was extremely dangerous

for the indigenous people of western America.

 While court decisions made prior to colonisation of California did little or nothing to help

American Indians, new legislation for California was astoundingly brutal. In 1950, following the

creation of a state constitution, California passed An act for the Government and Protection of

Indians. The title of the act is ironic, as it did anything to protect California Indians. Part of the

act ruled that “in no case [could] a white man be convicted of any offen[s]e upon the testimony

of an Indian, or Indians.” (Johnston-Dodds pg. 6). The act not only erased all illegal rights for

California Indians, it also created a loose set of provisions which enabled slavery. Under this act,

“Any person could go before a Justice of the Peace to obtain Indian children for indenture”

(Johnston-Dodds pg. 5). It was easy for Europeans to enslave children, but with any sort of legal

ruling against them adults could be enslaved as well. Each case was ultimately determined by the

Justice of the Peace. Members of Wailaki and other tribes in the area of course had no say.

As early California laws did everything but permit outright slaughter, the near cultural

and physical erasure of Wailaki people was not an immediate process but rather one which

extended over the several-decade colonisation of Oregon and California territory. While their

southern neighbors were attacked primarily for residing in areas known to have gold, much of

the violence committed upon Wailaki people was motivated moreso by misguided beliefs in

European superiority and the benevolence of western expansionism. According to one account

“Between 1847 and 1865 American hunters killed 4,267 Indians in California” (Ojibwa). While

numbers vary depending on the source, when we follow this story and others like it some themes

remain consistent through all of them. The general ruthlessness with which colonizers attacked

Indians is rarely contested, and the role of federal troops seems to be one of complacency with

violence.
 After initial reports of unwarranted killings in northern California, the head of Indian

affairs was quick to call in federal troops for the purpose of Indian protection. Despite some legal

recognition of the problem, the violence continued and Indians were left on the run, fleeing the

areas they once resided. During this time small groups of Indians would occasionally revolt by

sabotaging cattle farms that had been placed on their land, this however was only seen by troops

and vigilantes as greater justification for genocidal beliefs and tactics. According to one account,

colonisers attacked a Wailaki settlement, killing around 20 individuals. In response, government

troops were sent in to protect them. Once arriving,”the squatters blamed the Indians for burning a

barn and in response the army executed five Indians while the squatters destroyed the Indian

crops” (Ojibwa). Here, government troops were directly involved in genocide at worst, and did

nothing to stop it at best. The notion that California and federal governments were engaged in

warfare is only further proven by evidence of several instances in which the governor of

California paid armed militias to to “suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.”(Johnston-

Dodds pg.15), as condoned under the California constitution.

By 1910 the remaining members of the Wailaki tribe would reside primarily on the

Round Valley reservation. The area which was once exclusive domain of the Yuki tribe would

now be shared with the Wailaki and their other Athabaskan neighbors. While there is little

documentation of the Wailaki tribe between 1840 and 1900, its is easy to say that these were not

good times for the group as estimates show their numbers dropped from a few thousand to just

200 by 1910 (Kroeber pg.154). One women named T’tcetsa (Lucy Young in her later life)

endured this hard period of time and has been able to share her illuminating lifestory. Born from

a Wailaki man and a Lassik women, T’tcestsa was ran out of her southern humboldt home at a

young age as it was stormed by troops. After having watched much of her family die, T’tcesta
was kidnapped and put into slavery under the normal rules of California legislation. T’tcesta

would eventually escape, but during this time she endured years of physical and sexual abuse.

After several more relocations and much more abuse, T’tcesta eventually would reside on the

Round Valley Reservation, marrying an Indian man in 1914 (Murphy and Young). Her story is

not the story of all Wailakis, however its is very telling of what the tribe and their descendants

may have experienced generally.

To this day, the Round Valley Reservation remains home to the Wailaki and what were

once their neighboring tribes. While Indians residing on the reservation had their situation

complicated by the Dawes act of 1887, they had a recent legal victory in April, 2012 when they

received reparations from the federal government. Citing mismanagement of tribal lands and

resources, the Round Valley reservation received 8.5 million which they plan to use for

education and economic development. Given the soaring unemployment and poverty rates on the

reservation, the money should be very useful. In the words of tribal vice president Joe Dukepoo,

“‘This is not a ‘true’ settlement because it does not include payment for all of the wrongdoing to

us and our ancestors – such harms simply cannot be quantified. But it is an honorable effort by

the United States to reconcile with the Tribe and to resolve our trust grievances dating back 156

years.’”(IndianCountryToday). No sum of money can make up for the violent history of northern

California yet this certainly seems like a step in the right direction. Additionally in the last few

decades, work has been done to document the Wailaki people and their history. One group doing

such work, The Eel River Nation of Sovereign Wailaki, is a non-profit organization whose

members have primarily Wailaki ancestry. The group engages in basket-weaving and other

historic practices as well as a great deal of research with the intent of maintaining and reviving

cultural knowledge (Hardy). The history of the Wailaki tribe is difficult and often-times painful
to learn, yet the Wailaki continue to fight for their legacy. The future will likely show a

continuation of legal and cultural struggles which have been ongoing for generations.

Sources Cited

Hardy Rhonda, Pat Heda. “Natural Life of the Lost Coast: The Wailaki People of the North
Coast”. Redwood Times. November.
http://www.redwoodtimes.com/article/ZZ/20120111/NEWS/120116312. Accessed October 20,
2016.

ICTMN Staff. “Round Valley Indian Tribes Receive $8.5M in Renumeration From the
United States” Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork. May, 2012.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/05/02/round-valley-indian-tribes-
receive-85m-renumeration-united-states-111054 Accessed October 21, 2016.

Kroeber, Alfred Louis. Handbook of the Indians of California. Vol. 78. Courier Corporation, 1925.

Johnston-Dodds, Kimberly, and John L. Burton. Early California Laws and Policies Related to California
Indians. California State Library, California Research Bureau, 2002.

Murphey, Edith VA, and Lucy Young. "Out of the Past: A True Indian Story Told by Lucy Young, of Round
Valley Indian Reservation." Calif Hist QJ Calif Hist Soc 20.4 (1941): 349-364.

Ojibwa. “Genocide in Northern California”. Native American Netroots. May 2010.

http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/488 Accessed October 20, 2016