Esselen

The Esselen were the Native American inhabitants of what is now known as Big Sur on the Central Coast of California. Archaeological and linguistic evidence indicates that their territory extended much further north, into the San Francisco Bay Area, until they were displaced by the entrance of Ohlone speakers some 2,500-4,500 years ago.

They resided in the upper Carmel and Arroyo Seco rivers, and along the Big Sur coast. There were also settlements in the coastal mountains. They lived in one of the most beautiful areas of the Pacific coast, among redwoods, plunging seacliffs and spectacular beaches. They were hunter-gatherers who resided in small groups with no centralized political authority.

The Esselen probably numbered about 1,185-1,285 in 1770. They were absorbed into the mision population, at Mission Carmel, and many died from disease, demoralization, poor food, and overwork. A number of people today can still trace their ancestry to the Esselen.

The definitive work on the Esselen is by Gary S. Breschini and Trudy Haversat (2004), titled "The Esselen Indians of the Big Sur Country: The Land and the People." It is 240 pages in length and contains over 200 color photographs and 63,000 words of text. It was published by Coyote Press, Salinas, California.

The Esalen Institute in Big Sur is named after this group.

Language

The Esselen language, known natively as Huelel, is a language isolate. Esselen was the first California language to become extinct. Very little data on this language has survived; there was one word list collected during the Mission era and John Peabody Harrington managed to collect some more data in the late 19th century. It was originally proposed to be a part of the hypothetical Hokan family but has since been classified as an isolate.

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