 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| approximately 800–1,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States ( California) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Pomoan languages | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Pomo people |
The Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people, an indigenous people of California. It has a reservation near Geyserville, California, in Sonoma County, where it operates the River Rock Casino Resort.
The Pomo people are indigenous to northern California and formed about 21 autonomous communities, speaking seven Pomoan languages. The Dry Creek Band are Southern Pomo, descended from the Mihilakawna and Makahmo bands. [1] Sustained European contact began with the Russian fur trappers in the 18th century. They were followed in the 19th century by American gold prospectors and settlers, who quickly outnumbered the native populations.
In 1915, the federal government purchased and held in fee, land for the "Dry Creek Rancheria", Dry Creek Valley being the name of the area, for use by both the "Dry Creek" Indians and the Geyserville Indians. The Dry Creek area, in what is now the Alexander Valley, was and still is prime agricultural land. The purchase was part of the U.S. rancheria program, which began in 1893 [2] and ended around 1922, when 58 tracts of land were purchased in California on which "homeless" Indians could live rent- and tax-free. Most of the land was selected and purchased by Special Indian Agent John Terrell, who took much care in finding good plots of land. Adults were to be given assigned plots of land, but in actuality, most Indians simply moved onto the rancherias with no assignments. No one was ever forced to live on a rancheria.
The tribe was reorganized via Articles of Association adopted on September 13, 1972. The Articles were approved by the Secretary of the Interior on April 16, 1973.
The tribe's name was officially changed from "Dry Creek Rancheria" to "Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians".
In 2002, the tribe established River Rock Casino on its reservation near Geyserville. The casino includes the Quail Run Restaurant, the Oak Bar, and Lounge 128.
The tribe's reservation is the Dry Creek Rancheria, situated near the town of Geyserville in Sonoma County, California. [3] The reservation has an area of 75 acres (300,000 m2) – a remnant of the 86,400 acres (350 km2) the tribe once owned. Much of the original reservation lands were inundated by the waters of Lake Sonoma after the construction of the Warm Springs Dam. [4]
The tribe also owns 277 acres (1.12 km2) south of Petaluma, for which it applied to be taken into federal trust, before suspending its application. In October 2013, the tribe added a 60-room hotel to its plan for the land, but the tribe's leader continued to insist that there were no plans for a casino. [5]
The Dry Creek Pomo conduct business out of Geyserville and Healdsburg, California.
In 2001 the tribe had a Coup d'état. Members of the tribe, without notice, attempted to recall and replace the government (Tribal Board of Directors). The tribe resolved the problem internally (privately). However, appeals were made to the BIA that have made the information public. [7]
On May 22, 2010 the tribe had a Coup d'état. Two special meetings were called - one by the Chairman (Harvey Hopkins) and one by two other Board members - to attempt recall of three Board members. No recall was successful but by a "force of numbers" the Chairman was removed, or perhaps removed himself (abdicated) to allow a "cooling off" or "de-escalation" period before "normal" operations could resume later in the summer. [8]
In the fall of 2010 the government had re-assembled and worked to hold regular Board elections. The 2010–2012 Board is: Harvey Hopkins, Chairman (retained); Salvina Norris, Vice-Chair (replaced Gus Pina); Margie Rojes, Secretary/Treasurer (replaced Salvina Norris); Marina Nojima (retained) and Jim Silva (replaced Gabe Nevarez), Members at Large. [9]
The current population of the Dry Creek Pomo is a matter of some controversy. [10] [11] At the beginning of 2009, there were approximately 970 enrolled members. [12] That year, tribal leadership proposed to disenroll members (between 70–143, depending on accounts), resulting in protests in March 2009. [13] In March 2014, the tribe notified another 75 members that they faced expulsion. [14]
Chris Wright is the elected Chairman of the Board of Directors, and has served as such since 2014 (replacing Harvey Hopkins, Chairman 2004–2014). The other members of the Tribal Board of Directors are Betty Arterberry (Vice-Chairman), Margie Rojes (Secretary/Treasurer), Jim Silva (Member at Large) and Tieraney Giron (Member at Large). [15] [16]
The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Sonoma County, California. They are also known as the Kashaya Pomo.
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo Indians. The tribe was officially restored to federal recognition in 2000 by the U.S. government pursuant to the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act.
The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Native Americans. They were recognized in the late 1980s, as lineal descendants of the two families who lived at the Lytton Rancheria in Healdsburg, California from 1937 to about 1960. The tribe now has around 275 enrolled members. It has a casino in San Pablo, California, and has proposed to build housing for tribe members, plus a winery and a hotel, just west of Windsor, California, in Sonoma County.
The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of the Hopland Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Mendocino County, California, south of Ukiah. The Hopland Band Pomos traditionally lived in the Sanel Valley.
Gregory Michael Sarris is the Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. Until 2022, Sarris was the Graton Rancheria Endowed Chair in Creative Writing and Native American Studies at Sonoma State University, where he taught classes in Native American Literature, American Literature, and Creative Writing. He is also President of the Graton Economic Development Authority.
Southern Pomo is one of seven mutually unintelligible Pomoan languages which were formerly spoken and is currently spoken by the Pomo people in Northern California along the Russian River and Clear Lake. The Pomo languages have been grouped together with other so-called Hokan languages. Southern Pomo is unique among the Pomo languages in preserving, perhaps, the greatest number of syllables inherited from Proto-Pomo.
The Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Big Valley Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo and Pit River Indians, with a reservation located in Lake County, California, near the town of Finley. They conduct tribal business from Lakeport, California.
The Dry Creek Rancheria is the land base of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians. The reservation consists today of approximately 75 acres (300,000 m2) near the Russian River, in Sonoma County, approximately 75 miles (121 km) north of San Francisco, California. It is situated about 3 miles southeast of Geyserville.
The Manchester Band of Pomo Indians of the Manchester Rancheria, formerly named the Manchester Band of Pomo Indians of the Manchester-Point Arena Rancheria, is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians in California. The tribe is a community of Pomo Native Americans who are native to Northern California. The Bokeya society are enrolled in the Manchester Band of Pomo with the approval of their constitution and by-laws in 1936.
The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians in California. The tribe is currently considered "landless", as they do not have any land that is in Federal Trust. In 2008 they acquired approximately 80 acres (32 ha) of property on the southern end of Cloverdale, California. The property is currently going through the Fee to Trust process to become the tribe's landbase.
The Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians in California.
The Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians in Lake County, California. The tribe's reservation, the Upper Lake Rancheria, is 119 acres (0.48 km2) large and located near the town of Upper Lake in northwestern California.
The Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians, as well as some Wappo and Lake Miwok Indians, in California, headquartered in Middletown, California.
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California, also known as the Scott's Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Sugar Bowl Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo and Wailaki Indians in Lake County.
The Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Eastern Pomo people in Lake County, California.
The Pinoleville Pomo Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Mendocino County, California. Leona Williams serves as Tribal Chairperson.
The Potter Valley Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Mendocino County, California. They were previously known as the Little River Band of Pomo Indians and Potter Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California. The tribe is descended from the first-known inhabitants of the valley, which the Pomo called Ba-lo Kai. Europeans first settled there, at the headwaters of the East Fork of the Russian River, in 1852.
The Koi Nation of the Lower Lake Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Southeastern Pomo people in northern California. Their name for their tribe is Koi Nation of Northern California, from their traditional village, Koi, once located on an island in Clear Lake.
