Wiyot Tribal History
I am Yurok Indian, however I am in the Wiyot Tribe because the Yurok and Wiyot tribes joined (Humbolt county). The indian in me comes from my dads side of the family. My grandmother is full-blooded indian and my dad is half. I never lived on a reservation, however we have lived near reservations. I remember living in Susanville, CA when I was in elementaryf school and needed assistance, or tutoring, an indian woman would come and help me. She was very nice and always went over my work thoroughly with me. I also remember attending pow wows at my elementary school. But we moved to Sacramento, CA when I was in the 5th grade and there they didn’t have pow wows at school or any nearby reservations.
The Wiyot territory is in the Humbolt county area, which starts at Little River and continues down the coast to Bear River, then inland to the first set of mountains. Towns that are within the traditional Wiyot territory are McKinleyville, Blue Lake, Arcata, Eureka, Kneeland, Loleta, Fortuna, Ferndale, and Rohnerville. Rivers within the territory are Mad River (Batwat), Elk River, Eel River and the Van Duzen River.
Pre 1860 there were approximately 1500 to 2000 Wiyot people living within this area. After 1860 there were an estimated population of 200 people left. By 1910 there was an estimate of less than 100 full blood Wiyot people living within Wiyot territory. This rapid decline in population was due to disease, slavery, target practice, "protection", and being herded from place to place, and of course, massacres.
Indian Island was and is the center of Wiyot world. On the island a ceremonial dance would be held to start the new year. The ceremony may have been called the World Renewal ceremony. All people were welcomed, no one was turned away. The ceremony would continue for at least seven to ten days. It was held at the village site of Tutulwat on the northern part of the island. Traditionally the men would leave the island and return the next day with the day’s supplies. The elders, women and children were left to rest on the island along with a few men.
A massacre took place at such a ceremony in 1860. The leader of the Humboldt Bay Wiyots was a man named Captain Jim. He was the man who would organize and lead the ceremony to start a new year. Captain Jim welcomed all people, Indian and non-Indian alike. On February 26, 1860, several Eureka mean came to the island in the early morning after the ceremony was completed for the evening. They were armed with hatchets, clubs and knives. They left their guns behind so the noise would not be as great. This was not the only massacre that took place that night. Two other village sites were raided. One on the Eel River and another on the South Spit. Eighty to one hundred people or more were slain that night. A child, Jerry James (Captain Jim's son), survived. (Jerry’s son lives at Table Bluff reservation today). For their protection, the Wiyot people were corralled at Fort Humboldt. This was another California case of the Army protecting Indians from the violent and barbaric citizens...Then later some were herded to other Indian centers within California. However, they would keep returning to their homeland (the above info. was taken from the http://www.ucsc.edu/costano/wiyot1.html home page).