Maidu (Native American tribe)

History

"The Maidu were not directly affected by Spanish and Mexican penetration into the Sacramento Valley, and whites did not enter their homeland in significant numbers until the immigrant surge through the Lassen Trail in 1849. Permanent white settlement in Honey Lake Valley began with the construction of Isaac Roop's log house in 1854. Although precise figures are lacking, Maidu population decline after the Gold Rush seems to have been precipitous; by the turn of the century, they may have numbered around 300 persons (Riddell 1978a:386). Perhaps 500 to 600 persons of partial Maidu ancestry live today in the Plumas and Lassen County homelands. Only a few of these can speak or understand the language (Shipley 1963:1-2, 1964:1)" > see:http://www.honeylakemaidu.org/ethno.html

~• early spelling: Maydoo < (for text searching, this alternate is worth a try)

When searching for family tree of mixed blood: Consider the following surnames

Coffee/Coffey, Hough/Huff, Young, Lowry, and others as detailed in "TOP SURNAMES".

• The 1860 census of the region around Plumas lists entries of many "Indians". Among these are Maidu and taken English language surnames, such as <Biddle> & <Brown>
• Naming Choices Wives of white immigrants were given adopted names such as Kate orJulia or (simply) Mahala which I believe meant wife.

Discussion

When Plumas was overrun by white settlers in the early 19th century a good number of the white single men partnered with Maidu women. These men were by all means part of the central fabric of the new mixed community. Historically White husbands of Maidu voted and were full participants in white man's culture .But the Maidu and half-breeds became marginalized. With few exceptions, the children of such unions were mostly non-participants in the white man's world, did not vote and basically became historically invisible.

Mountain Maidu

For more information on the Maidu people and their culture, contact the various Mountain Maidu organizations or visit:

The Plumas County Museum
500 Jackson Street
Quincy, CA 95971 (916) 283-6320

The Chester-Lake Almanor Museum Chester Public Library Chester, CA 96020

The Indian Valley Museum Mt. Jura Gem & Museum Society Taylorsville, CA 95983

Recent controversies

• http://www.livingwild.org/spring-blog-posts/in-the-land-of-the-moun...
• http://featherriver.org/_db/files/91_2007_Maidu_Humbug_Valley_Propo...
• https://www.frlt.org/news-events/news/mountain-meadows-reservoir-pr...
  • Did You Know? The Feather River Watershed is the largest watershed in the Sierra Nevada. At 2.32 million acres, it is larger than Yellowstone National Park.
  • "In August 2018, the Feather River Land Trust completed a conservation easement on the first of the PG&E properties to be conserved, the Mountain Meadows Planning Unit near Westwood."

various local contacts, interested sponsors; current or recent to 2018

The Plumas National Forest
159 Lawrence Street, Box 11500 Quincy, CA 95971 (916) 283-2050

The Lassen National Forest 55 South Sacramento Susanville, CA 96130 (916) 257-2151

Roundhouse Council P.O. Box 217 Greenville, CA 95947 (916) 284-6866

Plumas County Indians P.O. Box 102 Taylorsville, CA 95983 (916) 284-6527

Susanville Rancheria P.O. Drawer J Susanville, CA 96130 (916) 257-6264

Plumas Corporation HWY 70, 1/2 mile West of downtown Quincy, CA 95971 (800) 326-2247

Sources

• Maidu Language, summary on WIkipedia
• Greenville Rancheria
• Tribal Council 2018
  • Greenville Rancheria Chairperson Kyle Self P. O. Box 279 Greenville CA 95947 (530) 284-7990
• Indigenous Peoples of California on wikipedia
• Plea for awareness of Maidu culture 1868 (in Plumas) part 3 of 3
  • part 1 of 3
  • part 2 of 3
• Lassen Emigrant Trail
• Feather River Land Trust video
  • restoration: see comments Big Meadows topic
• an oral history of Leonard Lowry : https://archive.org/details/LowryLeonard/page/n76 :
• Beverly Benner Ogle author of book : An Ethnography and History of the Mountain Maidu of Tásmam Kojóm
  • Beverly Benner Ogle is the author of two previous books: Whisper of the Maidu (1998) and Spirits of Black Rock (2003). She is has been instrumental in the movement to return the Humbug Valley (Tásmam Kojóm) to its original inhabitants, the Mountain Maidu of Northern California. She currently serves as Vice Chairperson on the Maidu Summit Consortium & Conservancy
    • access/purchase through: California/Nevada Annual Conference’s Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM)
    • California-Nevada Conference 1350 Halyard Drive West Sacramento, CA 95691 (916) 374-1500