Serrano people
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2021) |
Morongo Reservation | |
Total population | |
---|---|
over 1000[1] (1995 or 1998, est.) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States ( California) | |
Languages | |
English, formerly Serrano | |
Religion | |
traditional tribal religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Cahuilla, Tongva, Kitanemuk, Tataviam, Vanyume |
The Serrano are an
Culture
History of the Serrano
General
The Serrano are typically divided into the Mountain Serrano and the Desert Serrano. [citation needed][4] The Desert Serrano historically occupied the Western and Central Mojave Desert along the Mojave River. The Mojave River Region begins in the San Bernardino Mountains and provided ease of trading access between the Serrano and other Indigenous groups, including the Mojave.[4] The area of the Mojave Desert now and historically occupied by the Serrano used to have many oases, while it is now much drier and warmer.[5]
"Prehistory" [Archaeology of the Precolonial Periods]
Excavations of two prehistoric quarries in the central Mojave indicate the lifestyles of early Serrano and Serrano-Predecessors. The quarries, dating back to the Pleistocene, indicate a much wetter landscape present in the desert than exists today. The high number of hunting tools indicate that groups in this area were mostly mobile hunter groups during the Pleistocene. Conversely, Holocene artifacts found at these quarries indicate a year-long occupation of single sites and a combination of both foraging and hunting for sustenance. Materials harvested at the sites suggest high use of stone tools such as grinding stones.[10] Lithic artifacts found in the Central Mojave suggest high exploitation of stone quarries.[11]
During the Gypsum period, subsistence strategies shifted to rely more on hunting, and early Desert Serrano adapted the bow and arrow. A much cooler and moister environment meant intensified occupation of the area.[9]
Increased moisture during the “Rose Spring” period [1700 bp- 1000bp] is closely correlated with continuous indigenous occupation of the Western Mojave, followed by an abandonment of the area during a subsequent drought.[11]
The first
Historical Period [Colonial Periods]
Spanish Colonisation
The Spanish founded
There is significant historic documentation of trade between Serrano peoples, other, non-Serrano indigenous groups, and the Spanish in California during the 18th and 19th centuries. Diary accounts of trade from Franciscans and oral accounts from Native Serrano both discuss the Serrano “exploitation” of the Mojave River, and its use to efficiently trade both food and beads.
In 1819, Serrano were relocated to estancia throughout southern California, such as the Asistencia in Redlands, California.[14][2] The Serrano built Mill Creek Zanja here, an irrigation system which provided water for most of the region.
In 1834 the Mexican Alta California government forcibly relocated many Serrano to the missions. They suffered devastating smallpox outbreaks in 1840 and 1860. [citation needed]
Due to the cultural suppression which occurred during the Mission Period, there was one remaining hümtc [shaman] who revived religious ceremonies nearly lost to time in the early 1900s, as documented by anthropologist and ethnographer Ruth F. Benedict. Ceremonies such as the tuwituaim [dance] revive not only Serrano religious and spiritual practices, but communal and familial practices as well. Spiritual practices followed by female practitioners are often associated with the pursuit of good health, such as the hot sand pit. Women practiced health rituals to rid themselves of bad energy associated with taboo, such as menstruation periods.[15]
American Colonisation
In 1867 the Yuhaviatam band of Serrano were the victims of a massacre conducted by American settlers of the San Bernardino Valley, during a 32-day campaign at Chimney Rock. The massacre was a response to a raid, probably carried out by
In 1891 the United States established the
The Serrano historically lived in the
The Serrano populated the
Serrano villages included Akxawiet,
Modern-Day Use of Traditional Knowledge
The modern Band of Mission Indians is maintaining ancient trade relations with local Californian groups such as the Yurok. San Manuel Public Relations Manager, Jenna Brady, believes that these ancient trade relations should be maintained to both stimulate cultural growth and to stimulate economic security for indigenous Californian groups. The tribe is currently analysing prospects of new and ongoing inter-tribal relations, based on historic trade relations.[17]
Population
Estimates have varied as scholars struggle to determine the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California. (See
As noted, smallpox epidemics and social disruption reduced the population. The 1880 census reported only 381 Serranos, a number Helen Hunt Jackson thought was too low as it did not account for those who were living in remote areas.[20] Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam in 1910 as 150.
Reservations
The
See also
- Big Bear City, CA
- Serrano language
- Serrano traditional narratives
- Juyubit, California(Serrano settlement)
Notes
- ^ White, Phillip. "California Indians and Their Reservations: An Online Dictionary". San Diego State University. Populations/Population Estimates - by Cultural Groups. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Our History | San Manuel Band of Mission Indians". sanmanuel-nsn.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
- ^ "Serrano." San Diego State University Library and Information Access. 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2012
- ^ a b Sutton1 Earle2, Mark Q.1 D. D.2 (2017). "The Desert Serrano of the Mojave River". Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly. 54 (2, 3) – via Pacific Coast Archaeological Society.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Garcés, Francisco Tomás Hermenegildo; Coues, Elliott (1900). On the trail of a Spanish pioneer; the diary and itinerary of Francisco Garcés (missionary priest) in his travels through Sonora, Arizona, and California, 1775-1776; translated from an official contemporaneous copy of the original Spanish manuscript, and ed., with copious critical notes. University of California Libraries. New York : F. P. Harper.
- ^ The following material appears to come mostly from the 1901 Smithsonian Institution report on American Indians.
- ^ "Serrano", Handbook of the American Indian, AccessGenealogy
- ^ Pritzker 142
- ^ a b c d Altschul, Jeffrey; Johnson, William C.; Sterner, Matthew A.; Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District; Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District; Statistical Research, Inc.; SRI Press (1989). Deep Creek Site (CA-SBr-176): A Late Prehistoric Base Camp in the Mojave River Forks Region, San Bernardino County, California. Statistical Research Technical Series. Paul D. Bouey, Thomas M. Origer. Tucson, AZ: SRI Press.
- ISSN 0278-4165.
- ^ JSTOR 27825611.
- JSTOR 27825787– via JSTOR.
- .
- ^ "National Archives NextGen Catalog". catalog.archives.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
- JSTOR 661483.
- ^ Chong, Jai-Rui,Los Angeles Times " Wildfires Lead to Peek at Serrano Indian History" December 26, 2003
- ^ "How Yurok Tribe and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Strengthen the Relationship | San Manuel Band of Mission Indians". sanmanuel-nsn.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
- ^ Kroeber, Alfred L. Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C , 1925 pp 617,883
- ^ Bean, Lowell John, and Charles R. Smith, "Serrano", in California, edited by Robert F. Heizer, pp. 570–574. Handbook of North American Indians, William C. Sturtevant, general editor, vol. 8. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 1978 p 573
- ^ Brown, John Jr; Boyd, James; The Western Historical Association (1922). San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 16.
- ^ "San Manuel Band of Mission Indians". Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ^ Boyd, James; Brown Jr., John (1922). History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Chicago: The Western Historical Association. p. 246.
References
- Bean, Lowell John, and Charles R. Smith. (1978), "Serrano", in California, edited by Robert F. Heizer, pp. 570–574. Handbook of North American Indians, William C. Sturtevant, general editor, vol. 8. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- Kroeber, A. L. (1925), Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.
- Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1
- Sutton, Mark Q. and David D. Earle 2017 The Desert Serrano of the Mojave River. Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly. 53(2&3).