SONOMA COUNTY'S FIRST INHABITANTS

The first people to live in Sonoma County were the Native Americans. There were many triblets or small groups. 

 Some of the tribes that lived in Sonoma County were the Pomo, Coast Miwok, and Wappo tribes.

Click to see California Indian Tribes

Each triblet had different customs and a different language. Each triblet was headed by a chieftain whose job was to settle arguments, organize food or trading trips, direct their ceremonies and help people to work together.

  Each group lived in a small are which usually had one or two creeks in them. The biggest area of villages was around where Healdsburg is today.

  Most of the Native Americans in Sonoma County belonged to the Pomo group. They mostly lived in Central and Western Sonoma County. The Coast Miwok group lived in southern Sonoma. The Wappo group lived in the eastern part of Sonoma County. 

 All the tribes lived in peace so they had time for recreation including games, music, dancing and basketry. They lived in permanent homes during winter and spring that were usually built along streams on on top of hills in the damper forest areas.

HOMES

Their homes were round or cone-shaped with a frame of willow branches and covered with tule, brush or redwood bark (depending where they lived). Some of these houses were 40 to 50 feet wide so several families could live together. During the summer and fall they would hunt for food so they would build temporary shelters. At this time, they would also trade with the other groups for obsidian, salt and clam shells.

  A village often included a sweat house, where only the men were allowed. Sweat houses were small, round and built a foot or two into the ground. Red hot stones or a fire were used for heat which made the men sweat. This was done to clean the men and remove their scent so animals could not smell them when they hunted. They were meeting places for the men of the village.

  A dance or ceremonial house was also built. It was used by everyone. Special dancers dressed up like gods and ghosts to perform religious dances.

CLOTHING  

   Because the weather in Sonoma County is pretty mild all year round (it doesn't get too cold or too hot), men men wore either nothing, blankets of rabbit skins or a loincloth of deerskin. Women wore a skirt of skins or strips of plants. In cold weather  they put a rabbit-skin blanket around their shoulders. Everyone wore moccasins in cold weather. Children under 10 wore nothing but older children dressed like their parents. The babies were tied into basket cradles and carried on their mother's back. Rabbit skin was wrapped around the baby to keep it warm in the cold weather. Shredded bark and moss were added to the skin as a diaper.

  Dance costumes and feather headdresses were made by the men for both men and women. Beads and feathers were used to create beautiful designs. These outfits were worn during their special religious dances and ceremonies. Most Indians used feathers on their ceremonial headdresses and belts. Men wore belts made out of porcupine quill or even human hair. Other ornaments included headbands not only with feathers but also with strips of fox, otter or the white fur from the belly of a wolf. Earrings made from bird bones were worn and necklaces of olivelia shells, abalone, clam discs, dentalia shells and pine nuts. Women's skirts were woven from various grass materials as well as hides, usually from deer.

FOOD  

Different groups in Sonoma County ate different foods and used different tools. 

  Plant foods were gathered by the women and children. A sharp, pointed stick was used for digging up roots and for knocking seeds from bushes or grasses. These foods were carried in large back-baskets. Some plants eaten were berries, ferns, flowers, seaweed, plant bulbs, roots, nuts and seeds. The main plant food was the acorn , which was collected in the fall and stored in large baskets for the winter. The were ground up and leached (washed) with warm water to remove the bitter taste. The it was boiled in baskets or baked in ovens.

Recipe for Acorn Mush

  The men did the hunting and trapping for animal food and clothing. They shot elk and deer with bows and arrows or spears. They would wear animal skins to disguise themselves so they could get close to the animal to shoot it. They also hunted or trapped bears, mountain lions, sea lions, seals, and sea otters for food and clothes. They would use snares or basket traps to get rabbits, squirrels, wood rats, quail, woodpeckers, pigeons, ducks and turtles. They set a ring of fire in the grass to get grasshoppers and caterpillars were collected from the trees along the Russian River to be cooked and eaten.

  Groups on the coast and around the lakes were excellent fishermen. They would use spears, nets or harpoons. They would work together in the spring to build fish dams in the streams and rivers. Ocean fish were mostly caught with hooks and line. They speared octopus and abalone in the tide pools. The Native Americans made boats from tied bundles of tule rushes, called balsa canoes. They used stronger boats made of redwood driftwood for short ocean trips to the offshore rocks.

TOOLS

  There were many tools used. Bones, horns, hardwood and rocks, especially obsidian, were used. Bone or horn knives were used for carving meat, eating or cutting. They used fire drills or two pieces of white quartz to start fires.

 Bow and arrow was the standard weapon for hunting and once in awhile for war. The bow was 3 to 4 feet in length and would be strung with sinew or a strong string. Arrows would have stone tips; obsidian, bone or the tips would only be sharpened wood points. Obsidian knives were made and the handle was wrapped with sinew, animal hide, or string. Other knives were made of shells sharpened by rubbing it on a stone. Fishhooks were usually made from shells like mussels and abalone. Some used antlers or bone, spears were made the same way.

MONEY

 Most money was made of Washington Clam shells that were found near Bodega Bay. They were traded all over Sonoma County. The clam shell was cut in pieces, ground smooth and rounded. Usually 200 beads were strung on a necklace. The beads that came from the thickest part of the shell and the smoothest ones were the most valuable.

BASKETS

  Baskets were made by all the groups but the Pomos made the most complex baskets in all of North America. They used from 10 to 12 different types of plants in their baskets. Baskets were used for everything. The Pomos were known for their coiled baskets covered with bright feathers or beads. They were also famous for their miniature baskets which could be as small as a pin head. The way they did this is still a secret. These small baskets were used as charms.

 GAMES 

Men played a game like hockey. They would hit a wooden ball with curved sticks through a goal made of wooden posts. The women played "Stave" using six sticks with markings on one side. They won points if certain patterns showed up in the sticks when they were thrown down.

 Children played many games. One game was like jacks. They threw a stone and while it was in the air they would pick things up. They used a string from plant fiber to play cat's cradle. Sticks  made from springy wood were stuck in the ground, then pulled back and let go to see whose stick would go the farthest. They also played hide and seek and circle kick ball. Boys practiced arrow throwing and other hunting skills. Dolls were made out of pieces of wood, stuffed skins, tule and walnuts.

Note: Drawings and research were done by Peggy A. Fontenot. Ms. Fontenot is of California Indian ancestry.