Achomawi

The Achumawi ( other spellings: Achomawi, Ajumawi, Ahjumawi ) or Pit River Indians were a Native American people, which consisted of several tribes. Their tribal area extended from the vicinity of Fall River, Tule Lake and Pit River in Shasta County in the northeastern part of the present State of California through to Goose Lake on the Oregon border in the United States of America. The Achumawi spoke Achumawi, a branch of Palaihnihan that belongs to the family of languages ​​of the Hokan languages. Today, they are organized in at the federal level as officially recognized tribes Pit River Tribe and the Susanville Indian Rancheria.

Strains of Achumawi

Among the tribes of the people, which are summarized as Pit River Indians, include the

• Ajumawi ( Fall River Mills people)
• Astariwawi or Astarawi ( Canby people)
• Atwansini or Atwamsini ( Big Valley people)
• Hammawi ( Likely people)
• Hewisedawi (pronounced Hay -wee -wee -see- daw - ' Those from On Top ' with, but often simply Hewise (pronounced Hay ~ wee -see ), lived around Goose Lake )
• Ihewisedawi ( Goose Lake people)
• Ilmawi or Illmawi ( Goose Valley people)
• Itsatawi (Big Bend people)
• Kosalektawi or Kosealekte ( Alturas people)
• Madesi ( Montgomery Creek people)
• Atsugewi ( are due to close cultural and linguistic similarity often referred to as Achumawi ) actual Atsugewi or Atsugé ( ' pine ' people ' lived between Mount Lassen and the Pit River, with the main settlement area along the Hat Creek, therefore, usually as Hat Creek Indians called )
• Apwaruge or Aporige ( ' juniper - people ', inhabited rich marsh and wetlands along the Horse Creek, therefore, usually as Horse Creek Indians called )

Language

The name derives from the term Achumawi wàdzùm -à from that referred to in the language of Achumawi a flowing waters, leaning thing is the compound word àdzùmà - wi, that means about people from the river in the translation. The term refers in the strict sense only to the Indians who lived in the catchment area of ​​Fall River. The language of Achumawi was originally classified by Powell as Palaihnihan to the Hokan languages ​​, later pointed Dixon to that Achumawi be assigned to the family of Shasta languages ​​, which is also counted among the Hokan languages. A closely related language was spoken by the Atsugewi that are closely related to the Achumawi, occasionally the two peoples are collectively " Palaihnihan " because of their close linguistic affinity.

The neighboring Klamath in the north called the Achumawi Palaikni ( " mountain people " ), also later Móatwas ( " the south living" ).

Distribution area

The original settlement area of ​​the Achumawi is located in northeastern California and stretched from Mount Shasta in the north-west to Mount Lassen in the southwest, the summit of the Warner mountain range marked the eastern boundary. The conclusion to the northwest was the territory of Shasta. The Modoc and Klamath lived in the north, the Yana, and Maidu in the south, the Wintun in the west and in the east of the Paiute tribal territory of the Achumawi. With all of these strains, Achumawi repeatedly led wars and smaller conflicts, only the actually always peaceful minded Wintun and Maidu there was little tension. To them also adjacent and spoke related Atsugewi (both tribes agreed, because the languages ​​were not understood by each other, with Achumawi ) they also had mostly peaceful relations based on trade.

Way of life

The Achumawi settled generally in the vicinity of water, the villages were inhabited only during the winter months, while they wandered in the summer months by their ancestral territories. They lived in huts, which were made of bark, Erdgras and scrub. The food Achumawi procured mainly by fishing with traps and hunting. Here, the hunting technique of the other California tribes differed. The Achumawi dug holes on animal crossing. These pits were particularly numerous in the vicinity of the rivers, because the animals came to drink there and gave the Pit River its name. Fish and meat was cut and either smoked or dried in the sun to eat this later or to use as barter. In addition, the accumulated Achumawi beechnuts, pine cones, wild herbs, berries, and in particular the edible prairie lily, which were needed both for their own consumption, but have also been used for trade with other tribes.

Today Achomawi

The people of the Pit River Indians consists of 11 independent tribes that originally settled in the area in the present-day counties Shasta, Siskiyou, Modoc and Lassen. The names of the tribes are Ajumawi, Atsugewi, Atwamsini, Illmawi, Astarawi, Hammawi, Hewisedawi, Itsatawi, Aporige, Kosealekte, and Madesi. Today, about 1,800 tribal members live in the area around Big Bend, Alturas, Big Valley, Likely, Lookout, Montgomery Creek, Redding, Roaring Creek and the Susanville ranches, as well as in the region of Pit River, Round Valley and the XL Ranch Reservation. A government housing project the government allows various social projects, which enables the creation of housing for vulnerable and older members of the tribe. The tribe also operates the pits River Casino in Burney, there is also the office of the tribal government.