Yontoket massacre

Last updated

The Yontocket massacre or Burnt Ranch massacre was an 1853 massacre of Tolowa people at the village of Yontocket (Tolowa: yan'-daa-k'vt [1] ), northwestern California.

Contents

Before the event

The Tolowa Tribe, or the Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni' is a Native American tribe from northwestern California and southern Oregon. In the Spring of 1853, a group of prospectors headed by a man by the name of "California Jack" started from Crescent City on a prospecting journey. They planned to go to a place near the Smith River.

Not long after, a Native American was spotted in town carrying a pistol with the name "California Jack" engraved on it. Believing that the prospectors had been killed by the Native Americans, a group of townspeople attacked the Native Americans at Battery Point. They killed the Native American who had the pistol and several others in the area. They immediately began to assemble a search party to look for the men's camp and bodies. When they found them, they became increasingly more angry.

After the killing of the Native Americans at Battery Point, a large number of the Tolowa survivors fled to a rancheria (a small Native American settlement) close to the mouth of Smith's River. The rancheria was known as Yontocket Ranch. A group was formed who were ready to fight. The manner of the attack displayed that someone in the group had knowledge of the country near the ranch. Yontocket was the location of the tribes arrival on the coast and it was a village on the south side of the Smith River. The Needash is the Tolowa's feather dance that occurs twice a year. This Needash was after fall harvest. Native Americans gathered from the surrounding areas to celebrate their religion. It was common for the tribes in the area (Chetko, Pistol River, Tolowa, Tututni, and some Rogue River tribes) to meet at the Center of the Tolowa World, Yontocket, at both the Summer and the Winter solstices. On the third night of the ten night gatherings, the town mob invaded the village and the massacre began. [2]

One Tolowa man said that more than 450 people were killed in the attack. The massacre was conducted by a "company", a militia organized by American citizens of Crescent City. [3] At the time of the attack, the Tolowa had been engaged in a prayer ceremony. After the initial massacre, a Tolowa man reported that those responsible for the attack started a bonfire, in which they burned sacred ceremonial clothing and feathers, as well as babies, some of them still living. [3]

The massacre

When Peter H. Burnett found out where the survivors of the Battery Point Massacre were located, they formed a thirty-three man company. California Jack and his men said that they were "well armed and resolved upon the extermination of all Indians". The men trapped the Indians by encircling them. Just when the sun came up on the Eastern horizon, they opened fire at Yontocket. The Indians immediately came running out of their huts, armed with their bow and arrows, fighting for their lives. Their primitive weapons were no match for the modern weapons of the men.

All around the men, the Indians attempted to escape, but there was no chance of surviving. The Indian men's scream was intermingled with the screams of the women and children, which caused even more confusion to the Indians. Hundreds of people were killed in the attack, but the men were not done yet. An eyewitness said "The people got all around them… Every time someone go out, never come back in… they set fire to the house, the Indians' house. You could see them just cutting heads off. They stick them things into them; pretty soon they pick them up and throw them right into the fire. Some of 'em tried to get away, run down the slough. Soon as they get down there, if they don't get 'em right away, they get 'em from the other side when they come up. Shoot 'em right there, waiting for them."

After the attack, the men built a huge fire and threw almost everything the Indians had into it. They threw in the Indian's sacred ceremonial dresses into it and they even threw babies, some of which were still alive, in the fire too. Finally, Burnett's men burned Yontocket to the ground and only a few Indians were scarcely left alive. The men reported no intentional kills of women and children. So many victims were incinerated, submerged, or have floated away that the attackers could not obtain a complete body count. Sources estimated to only 150 lives lost that morning. This may have been an understatement and Tolowa sources insist that 600 people were massacred at Yontocket. This is ranked as one of the most lethal massacres in U.S. history.

After the massacre

After the event, as many as 450 to 500 Tolowa people were recorded dead. Because their homes had burned down, the place received the name "Burnt Ranch." The Yontocket Massacre decimated the cultural center of the Tolowa peoples. The Natives from the surrounding areas would gather there for their celebrations and discussions. The survivors of the massacre were forced to move to the village north of Smith's River called Howonquet. The slaughtering of the Tolowa people continued for some years. They were seemingly always caught at their Needash celebrations. These massacres caused some unrest which led in part to the Rogue River Indian war.

Many Tolowa people were incarcerated at Battery Point in 1855 to withhold them from joining an uprising led by their chief. Adding to the number of dead from the Yontocket Massacre and the Battery Point Attack are many more in the following years. They are the Chetko Massacre with 24 dead, the Smith creek massacre with 7 dead, the Howonquet Massacre with 70 dead, and the Stundossun Massacre with 300 dead. In total, 902 Tolowa Native Americans were killed in 7 years. There are no records that any of the perpetrators were ever held accountable. [2]

Little or no loss of life was reported on the American side. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Siletz were the southernmost of several divisions of the Tillamook people speaking a distinct dialect; the other dialect-divisions were: Salmon River on the Salmon River, Nestucca on Little Nestucca River, Nestucca River and Nestucca Bay, Tillamook Bay on the Tillamook Bay and the mouths of the Kilchis, Wilson, Trask and Tillamook rivers, and Nehalem on Nehalem River. The name "Siletz" comes from the name of the Siletz River on which they live. The origin of the name is unknown

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiyot</span> Indigenous people of California

The Wiyot are an indigenous people of California living near Humboldt Bay, California and a small surrounding area. They are culturally similar to the Yurok people. They called themselves simply Ku'wil, meaning "the People". Today, there are approximately 450 Wiyot people. They are enrolled in several federally recognized tribes, such as the Wiyot Tribe, Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, Blue Lake Rancheria, and the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogue River Wars</span> 1855-56 conflict between Native American tribes and U.S. soldiers and settlers in Oregon

The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue River Valley area of what today is southern Oregon. The conflict designation usually includes only the hostilities that took place during 1855–1856, but there had been numerous previous skirmishes, as early as the 1830s, between European American settlers and the Native Americans, over territory and resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation</span>

The Round Valley Indian Reservation is a federally recognized Indian reservation lying primarily in northern Mendocino County, California, United States. A small part of it extends northward into southern Trinity County. The total land area, including off-reservation trust land, is 93.939 km2. More than two-thirds of this area is off-reservation trust land, including about 405 acres (1.64 km2) in the community of Covelo. The total resident population as of the 2000 census was 300 persons, of whom 99 lived in Covelo.

The Tolowa language is a member of the Pacific Coast subgroup of the Athabaskan language family. Together with three other closely related languages it forms a distinctive Oregon Athabaskan cluster within the subgroup.

The Tolowa people or Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethno-linguistic group. Two rancherías still reside in their traditional territory in northwestern California. Those removed to the Siletz Reservation in Oregon are located there.

Smith River is a town and census-designated place in Del Norte County, California, located near the Oregon border. Smith River is the headquarters of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 906. It is bordered by the Smith River National Recreation Area.

The Pit River Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of eleven bands of indigenous peoples of California. They primarily live along the Pit River in the northeast corner of California. Their name also is spelled as "Pitt River" in some historical records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Dick, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Fort Dick is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in rural Del Norte County, California. Fort Dick is around five miles north of Crescent City, California, and around 15 mi (24 km) south of the California–Oregon state line. Its population is 912 as of the 2020 census, up from 588 from the 2010 census. It is located on the U.S. Route 101 corridor on the Redwood Coast. A post office was set up in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chetco people</span>

The Chetco are a tribe of Native Americans who originally lived along the lower Chetco River and Winchuck River in Curry County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The name Chetco comes from the word meaning "close to the mouth of the Chetco River" in their own language, which is part of the Athapascan languages. Although they were once one of the largest tribes on the Pacific coast of Oregon, "the last known full-blooded Chetco" living on the Chetco River died in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuma War</span> Armed conflict fought primarily between the United States and the Yuma people

The Yuma War was the name given to a series of United States military operations conducted in southern California and what is today southwestern Arizona from 1850 to 1853. The Quechan were the primary opponent of the United States Army, though engagements were fought between the Americans and other native groups in the region.

The Achulet Massacre refers to the 1854 massacre of an estimated 65-150 Tolowa Indians at the hands of European-American settlers. The incident occurred at the village of Achulet, near Lake Earl in [what is now Del Norte County Del Norte County), California. During the same time, the Tolowa people were forcibly relocated to what they refer to as the “Klamath Concentration Camp”, only to later be relocated to Indian reservations in Oregon in 1860 after the Rogue River Wars. The village of Achulet was developed into a huge shipping and trade center. Its development can be attributed to the extensive migration of Europeans into California from 1845 to 1855, most of whom were prompted to travel there by the California gold rush. However, the arrival of these Easterners resulted in a visible decline of the Tolowa population. In addition to genocide, the decline in Tolowa population can also be attributed to contracting diseases that were introduced by the European-American settlers.

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.

Eunice Xash-wee-tes-na Henry Bommelyn was an American Tolowa cultural advocate, Tolowa language proponent, and tribal historian. Bommelyn was the last living person to speak Tolowa as a native first language; Bommelyn led the effort to revive fluency and teach the language. She uncovered and recorded the genealogy of the Tolowa from the present to the 1790s. Her genealogical records are used to determine the membership and enrollment of the Smith River Rancheria, the federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people in Del Norte County, California. Bommelyn was the mother of Loren Bommelyn, a ceremonial leader and basket weaver.

The Wiyot Tribe, California is a federally recognized tribe of Wiyot people. They are the aboriginal people of Humboldt Bay, Mad River and lower Eel River of California.

The California Indian Wars were a series of wars, battles, and massacres between the United States Army, and the Indigenous peoples of California. The wars lasted from 1850, immediately after Alta California, acquired during the Mexican–American War, became the state of California, to 1880 when the last minor military operation on the Colorado River ended the Calloway Affair of 1880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California genocide</span> Widespread killing of Native Americans (1846–1873)

The California genocide was a series of systematized killings of thousands of Indigenous peoples of California by United States government agents and private citizens in the 19th century. It began following the American Conquest of California from Mexico, and the influx of settlers due to the California Gold Rush, which accelerated the decline of the Indigenous population of California. Between 1846 and 1873, it is estimated that non-Natives killed between 9,492 and 16,094 California Natives. In addition, between several hundred and several thousand California Natives were starved or worked to death. Acts of enslavement, kidnapping, rape, child separation and forced displacement were widespread. These acts were encouraged, tolerated, and carried out by state authorities and militias.

The Sacramento River massacre refers to the killing of many Wintu people on the banks of the Sacramento River on 5 April 1846 by an expedition band led by Captain John C. Frémont of Virginia. Estimates range from 125 to 900.

The Sutter Buttes massacre refers to the murder of a group of Californian Indians on the Sacramento River near Sutter Buttes in June 1846 by a militarized expeditionary band led by Captain John C. Frémont of Virginia. At least 14 California Indians were killed in the massacre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolowa Indian Settlements</span> Historical Landmark in Crescent City, California, United States

Tolowa Indian Village Site is a historical site in Crescent City, California in Del Norte County. The Native America Tolowa Tride had villages in what is now northern Del Norte County. The villages were on Battery Point and Pebble Beach south of Point St. George, and north of Point St. George. There were a number of large independent Tolowa villages in the area. The site is a California Historical Landmark No. 649. A marker was placed on the site in 1965 by the California State Park Commission working with the Del Norte County Historical Society.

References

  1. ↑ "Siletz Talking Dictionary" . Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  2. 1 2 3
  3. 1 2 3 Norton, Jack (1979). Genocide in Northwestern California: When Our Worlds Cried. San Francisco: Indian Historian Press. pp. 54–56. ISBN   0-913436-26-2 .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.