Mattole
 Mattole River in Humboldt County | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 United States ( California) | |
| Languages | |
| English, historically Mattole |
The Mattole are an Indigenous people of California whose traditional territory was centered on the lower Mattole River in present-day Humboldt County, California. The neighboring Bear River people (Nekanni), whose territory was centered on the Bear River, were a separate people, although early ethnographers sometimes grouped them with the Mattole.[1] A notable difference between the Mattole and other Indigenous peoples of California is that the men traditionally had facial tattoos (on the forehead), while other local groups traditionally restricted facial tattooing to women.[2]
Name
[edit]According to ethnographer C. Hart Merriam, the Mattole called themselves Bet-tol or Pet-tol. The name Mattole was commonly applied by non-Indigenous settlers and was sometimes extended to include the neighboring Nekanni. The Wailaki name for the Mattole was Tul-bush, meaning “foreigners”.[3]
Language
[edit]The Mattole traditionally spoke a California Dene (Athabaskan) language. The Mattole variety was closely related to a distinct variety spoken along Bear River.[4] According to linguist Victor Golla, the last surviving person who could speak the Mattole language died in the 1950s.[5]
Territory
[edit]Traditional Mattole territory was centered on the lower Mattole River and the adjacent Pacific coast. Martin A. Baumhoff described it as including the Mattole River drainage below the mouth of the Upper North Fork and the coast from Davis Creek south to Spanish Flat.[6] Davis Creek formed the northern boundary between the Mattole and the Nekanni.[7] The precise eastern boundary was uncertain; ethnographer C. Hart Merriam placed it near the western base of Elk Mountain Ridge and included the upper North Fork Mattole valley.[6]
Way of life
[edit]The Mattole's main food source has always been salmon. Salmon was a main food source because the Mattole were located along the Mattole river, which was abundant with Salmon. This also meant that the Mattole did not travel far from the river because that would mean abandoning their food source.[8]
From the beginning of the tribe's 16th-century arrival in what is now Humboldt County, Mattole villages were essentially collective groups of families settling in close proximity over winter months.[9] For the most part however, the Mattole people would travel in single family bands where necessary according to food abundance and better climate conditions,[9] an easy feat with California's many microclimates. As warmer seasons set in the Mattole Valley, the Mattole would separate into their primary familial groups, becoming gatherers of vegetation more so than hunters as they would in colder months.[9] As James Roscoe observed, "the simple family was by far the single most important social unit in Mattole society."[9]
Tribes dealt with politics by electing tribesmen according to wealth and problem-solving skills rather than through bloodlines. These "chiefs", as they were later named, were not complete rulers, but leaders of a democracy who made suggestions that would be taken into account by the rest of the tribe and decided upon through popular vote.[9]
Post-contact history
[edit]In the mid- to late-19th century, tensions rose between white settlers and the Native Americans. In 1856 the Mendocino reservation was established for the Indian tribes. It ranged from Mendocino county to Bear River.[9] When the white settlers began establishing their homes in the Mattole valley in 1857, there was much conflict among the Indian tribes. The white settlers argued that the reservation was claiming lands that it should not be. The Mattole felt threatened because the white settlers were moving into their area and taking their women. The white settlers and Indian tribes—including the Mattole, were ruthlessly killing each other. Prison camps housed many Mattole and other Native Americans. On September 4, 1858, amidst the constant fighting, the Mattole Valley Treaty of Peace was established.[10]
Although the treaty seemed to be keeping the peace among both groups, it eventually became useless in 1859 when the reservation was no longer considered a reservation and more white settlers were coming in.[9]
Population
[edit]Historical population estimates vary, partly because researchers did not always distinguish the Mattole from the Bear River people. In a comparison adjusted to treat the two peoples separately, Martin A. Baumhoff listed Mattole estimates of 350 derived from Alfred L. Kroeber and 840 derived from Sherburne F. Cook. Baumhoff estimated a population of 1,200 using Mattole village and house counts.[11]
Contemporary affiliation
[edit]The California Native American Heritage Commission lists the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria as a Mattole-affiliated tribe. The commission notes that cultural affiliations in its atlas are self-reported by tribes.[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Rohde, Jerry (2022). Southern Humboldt Indians. Arcata, California: The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt. pp. 79–86. ISBN 978-1-947112-79-7.
- ↑ Powers, Stephen (1976) [1877]. Tribes of California. Intro. and Annotations by Robert Heizer. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA USA: University of California Press. p. 109. ISBN 0-520-03172-5.
- ↑ Merriam, C. Hart (1976). Heizer, Robert F. (ed.). Ethnogeographic and Ethnosynonymic Data from Northern California Tribes. Contributions to Native California Ethnology from the C. Hart Merriam Collection. Vol. 1. Berkeley: Archaeological Research Facility, University of California. p. 83.
- ↑ "Mattole". California Language Archive. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Golla, Victor. 2011. California Indian Languages. University of California Press, 2011. Sociolinguistic description of aboriginal languages of California.
- 1 2 Baumhoff, Martin A. (1958). "California Athabascan Groups". Anthropological Records. 16 (5). University of California Press: 195.
- ↑ Rohde, Jerry (2022). Southern Humboldt Indians. Arcata, California: The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-947112-79-7.
- ↑ Bussell, Gordon. "The Mattole" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2013-01-15. (accessed February 16, 2014).
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cooskey, Laura. "So... What Happened to the Natives Here?" Archived 2013-03-29 at the Wayback Machine Pdf. Accessed 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Bledsoe, Anthony Jennings. 1885. Indian Wars of the Northwest: A California Sketch. Bacon and Company. Print.
- ↑ Baumhoff, Martin A. (1958). "California Athabascan Groups". Anthropological Records. 16 (5). University of California Press: 217, 223.
- ↑ "Mattole". California Native American Heritage Commission Digital Atlas. California Native American Heritage Commission. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
External links
[edit]- Mattole language overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
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