Awani descendants from Yosemite Valley are also enrolled in the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians.[7]
Government
The Tuolumne Band is headquartered in Tuolumne, California. The governing body for the tribe is a legislative body referred to as the "Community Council". Council officers of the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Tribal Council (TMTC) are democratically elected from among the tribal members; the current tribal chairperson is Andrea Reich.[4] The governmental structure for the executive aspects of tribal government (those that provide services to the tribe) is managed by the chief executive officer, who exercises authority over various governmental departments addressing tribal needs, which includes, but are not limited to: the Rancheria Fire Department, Tribal Law Enforcement, the Cultural Department, the Education Department & the Tribal School, the Housing Authority, the Fiscal Department, the Recreation Department, and Social Services.
Several community health care agencies are also operated by the tribe, including the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center in Tuolumne, the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Cedar Road Health Center in Sonora, the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Dental Center in Sonora, and the MEWU:YA Substance Abuse Recovery Offices in Tuolumne.
Reservation
A Tuolumne boy stands next to several acorn silos, 1937
The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians economic arm is the Tuolumne Economic Development Authority (TEDA), through which many of the construction projects for the Tribe are planned and completed.
The Tribe owns and operates several business in Tuolumne County, the most prominent of which is the Black Oak Casino Resort, which includes a casino, a hotel, an arcade with bowling alley, and several restaurants, bars, and lounges.[9] The Tribal Gaming Agency (TGA) was established by the Tribe to regulate, license, investigate, and monitor all gaming activities at these facilities.
Other economic ventures pursued by the Tribe and TEDA, which are often affiliated with Black Oak Casino Resort, but not managed by the Resort, include the Teleli Golf Course, the Westside Pavilion Music & Event Venue, the RV Park at Black Oak, the Bear Creek Gas Station, the Tuolumne Square Shopping Center, and the Native Plant Nursery.
The Miwok are members of four linguistically related Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok languages in the Utian family. The word Miwok means people in the Miwok languages.
The Ahwahnechee, Awani, or Awalache were an Indigenous people of California who historically lived in the Yosemite Valley. They were a band of Miwok people, specifically Southern Sierra Miwok.
The California Valley Miwok Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people in San Joaquin County and Calaveras County, California. They were previously known as the Sheep Ranch Rancheria or the Sheep Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indian of California. The California Valley Miwok are Sierra Miwok, an Indigenous people of California.
The Ione Band of Miwok Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people in Amador County, California. As of the 2010 census the population was only 5.
The Yokuts are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. Yokuts is both plural and singular; Yokut, while common, is erroneous. 'Yokut' should only be used when referring specifically to the Tachi Yokut Tribe of Lemoore. Some of their descendants prefer to refer to themselves by their respective tribal names; they reject the term Yokuts, saying that it is an exonym invented by English-speaking settlers and historians. Conventional sub-groupings include the Foothill Yokuts, Northern Valley Yokuts, and Southern Valley Yokuts.
The Plains and Sierra Miwok were once the largest group of California Indian Miwok people, Indigenous to California. Their homeland included regions of the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, and the Sierra Nevada.
The United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) is a federally recognized Native America tribe consisting mostly of Miwok Indians indigenous to the Sacramento Valley region.
The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok in Amador County, California. The Buena Vista Miwok are Sierra Miwok, an indigenous people of California.
The Big Sandy Rancheria of Mono Indians of California is a ranchería and federally recognized tribe of Western Mono Indians (Monache) located in Fresno County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census the population was 118. In 1909, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) bought 280 acres (110 ha) of land for the Big Sandy Band of Western Mono Indians.
The Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Mono Native Americans. Cold Springs Rancheria is the tribe's reservation, which is located in Fresno County, California. As of the 2010 Census the population was 184.
The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Mono Native Americans. North Fork Rancheria is the name of the tribe's reservation, which is located in Madera County, California. Nium is their self-designation.
Wilton Rancheria is a federally recognized Native American tribe of Miwok people based in northern California. They were formed from Wilton Rancheria Miwok and the Me-Wuk Indian Community of the Wilton Rancheria. It regained recognition in 2009.
The Table Mountain Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Native American people from the Chukchansi band of Yokuts and the Monache tribe. It is also the tribe's ranchería, located in Fresno County, California.
The Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people in Tuolumne County, California. The Chicken Ranch Rancheria Miwok are central Sierra Miwok, an Indigenous people of California.
The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, previously known as Smith River Rancheria, is a federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people in Del Norte County, California. They are Athabascan people, distantly related to northern Athabascans of eastern Alaska and western Canada, as well as the Apache and Navajo peoples of the American Southwest.
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Wintun people, specifically Patwin people or southern Wintun, in Yolo County, California. They were formerly known as the Rumsey Indian Rancheria of Wintun Indians of California.
The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of indigenous people of California, affiliated with the Chukchansi subgroup of the Foothills Yokuts. The Picayune Rancheria, founded in 1912 and located in Coarsegold, California, covers 160 acres (1 km2) in Madera County and serves as the tribal land.
The Miwok are four Native American groups in Northern California.
Dorothy Amora Stanley was an American educator, consultant, Miwok activist, and politician. Trained in Northern Miwok culture during her youth, she became involved in Native American affairs – particularly the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians – after her fourth marriage. An advocate for Native American interests, she served as vice-chair of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Central California Agency's advisory board and as chair of the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Tribal Council in 1980. She was also an educator and demonstrator on Miwok culture, including basket-weaving, as well as an archaeological and academic consultant.
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