Atsugewi
The Atsugewi (also called Hat Creek Indians or Pit River Indians ) are a Native American tribe who lived in northeastern California . The Atsugewi numbered about 1,000 people. Today they are organized into the Pit River Tribe, officially recognized as a tribes, and the Susanville Indian Rancheria .
Socio-political organization
The Atsugewi were divided into two tribes. One was the Atsugé (= "pine-tree-people", "pine people"), who inhabited the heavily forested western tribal area between Mount Lassen and the Pit River , with the main settlement area along Hat Creek . Because of this residential area, they were mostly referred to as the Hat Creek Indians . The other were the Apwaruge (= "juniper-tree-people", "juniper bush people"). They inhabited the less forested, but characterized by rich marshland and marshland, the eastern tribal area, along Horse Creek . They were therefore mostly referred to as Horse Creek Indians .
In addition, the Atsugewi were divided into three social classes based on wealth and hard work (it was generally assumed that the rich were also the hard-working):
- Saswahecar (the trading, and therefore hard-working rich)
- Wikoi (the common, the normal, "the common people", the retinue of a Saswahecar, a rich)
- Brumui (the poor despised as lazy, because if they were hardworking they would be rich)
The social classes were in principle permeable upwards and downwards, but marriages were mostly concluded within the social classes, so that the status (and the related material prosperity) was passed on within the families belonging to different classes.
Way of life
During the summer, the Atsugewi lived in several semi-nomadic groups who made their living from hunting, fishing and collecting wild plants. In winter they built larger permanent settlements along the rivers, consisting of three to twenty-two huts covered with bark and earth huts. Some larger settlements may have had up to a hundred inhabitants. Each settlement was autonomous and had one or more bawi ( chiefs ), men who had been given control because of their wealth, their hunting and fishing experience, their personality and their prestige. The Bawi were responsible for organizing hunting and fishing expeditions, and they informed the residents of the settlements when and where to collect various roots and plants.
The basis for the wealth of the Bawi was the possession of land and other possessions (boats, nets, traps, metates ), which they sometimes lent out in order to receive gifts (shot game and handicraft products). A man's wealth was measured in the number of goods, pearls and furs.
nutrition
Seasonally, the Atsugewie used over a hundred different plants and animals that were native to their territory. The women were responsible for collecting and cooking vegetables and roots, and weaving baskets and mats. Men went hunting, fishing, and cooking the meat. They also made clothing from fur.
The most important foods were salmon and acorns , but game was regarded as a source of food with prestige and was associated with wealth. Deer and antelope were hunted in the mountains during the summer, with deer being hunted by both men and women, mostly in village hunting parties. Deer were mostly killed from ambush or using snares or traps that were placed along the water holes. During this hunt, the hunters usually wore deer heads in order to be able to hide. Game was eaten fresh or smoked, dried and stored for the winter. Hunted deer and antelopes were distributed among all members of the settlements. The Atsugewi also hunted small game, birds and waterfowl. Fish was an important part of the diet. Various species such as salmon and pike were hunted using basket traps, nets and spears . At night fish were shot with spear thrown from boats. Just like game, fish was eaten fresh or smoked and stored as dried fish for the winter.
The Atsugewi either did not eat the following animals for religious reasons, because they were considered taboo, or because they were not considered edible: eagles , crows , frogs , coyotes , minks , gray foxes and swallows (Martin).
Important vegetarian foods were acorns, five types of sunflower seeds , edible prairie lily roots, and other roots and berries . Roots and nuts were processed into flour to make biscuits or porridge and store them for the winter.
Trade relations
The Atsugewi traded with neighboring tribes in order to obtain missing goods or for sale in order to obtain wealth based on the possession of tradable goods that gave prestige. Therefore, successful traders were mostly also Saswahecar or Bawi .
| Trading partner | goods sold | purchased goods |
|---|---|---|
| Achumawi | Furs, hides, meat, grass, various roots, vegetables | braided hats, tule baskets, salmon, salmon flour, rabbit fur blankets, acorns, dentalia clams (shells of angiars ) |
| Northern Paiute | Bow and arrow, baskets, shells and pearls | processed skins, red ocher, pearls, (and later) horses, weapons and glass beads |
| Maidu | Furs, bows and arrows, baskets and (later) horses | Pearls, spiral baskets |
| Yana | Furs, arrows, wild cats, quivers | Salt, Dentalia clams |
| Klamath | baskets | |
| Wintun | Pearls, Dentalia shells |
language
The Atsugewi spoke Atsugewi , a branch of the Palaihnihan that belongs to the Hoka language family. Their language was closely related to that of the neighboring Achumawi , but the two tribes could not communicate in this way. Since most of the Atsugewi were fluent in Achumawi , the two tribes communicated using this language. Today there are hardly any speakers of Atsugewi left, but attempts are being made to bring this language back to life.
literature
- Mary Null Boule: Atsugewi Tribe . Merryant Pub Inc., Vashon WA 1992, ISBN 1-877599-26-3 , ( California's Native American Tribes 2).
Web links
- pitrivertribe.org/ Homepage of the Pit River Tribes -Eleven Autonomous Bands of Pit River Indians (Achomawi, Atsugewi and Northern Paiute); (currently unavailable; March 12, 2016)
- Homepage of the Susanville Indian Rancheria (Washoe, Achomawi, Mountain Maidu, Northern Paiute and Atsugewi)
- Native Americans. Atsugewi, College of the Siskiyous website
Remarks
- ↑ A map of their traditional territory can be found here ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
