Pomo peoples

Encyclopedia : P : PO : POM : Pomo peoples

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Pomo is the name used to designate certain of the native people of what is now Northern California. The people called Pomo were originally linked by location, language, and other elements of culture. They were not socially or politically linked as a large unified "tribe." Instead, they lived in small groups ("bands"), linked by geography, lineage and marriage, and relied upon fishing, hunting and gathering for their food. They lived on the Pacific coast to the north of San Francisco between Cleone and Duncan's Point, and inland to Clear Lake. There was a separate group near Stonyford, California (the Northeast Pomo).

The name Pomo is derived from a suffix -pomo or -poma, which was attached to the names of villages and local groups, the meaning of which is unknown.

The Pomo spoke seven distinct Pomoan languages that are not mutually intelligible. There are still a few speakers of some of the Pomoan languages and efforts are being made by the Pomo people to preserve those languages and other elements of their culture.

There were about 8,000 Pomo in 1770. The 1910 Census reported 777 Pomo, but that is probably low. The anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber estimated 1,200 in the same year. According to the 1930 census there were 1,143.

The United States acknowledges many groups of native people of the United States as "federally recognized tribes," giving them a quasi-sovereign status similar to that of states. Many other groups are not recognized. The Pomo groups presently recognized by the United States are based in Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino Counties and include, among others:

• Lytton Band of Pomo Indians,
• Cloverdale Band of Pomo Indians,
• Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians,
• Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians,
• Manchester-Point Arena Band of Pomo Indians,
• Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians,
• Hopland Band of Pomo Indians,
• Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and
• Kashia Band of Pomo Indians.

See also

• Pomoan languages
• Eastern Pomo language
• Kashaya language

External links

• [Pomo People: Brief History]
• [Gold, Greed & Genocide: The Pomo & The Paiute]
• [Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians]
• [Robinson Rancheria Tribe of Pomo Indians Home Page]
• [resource about history and living POMO people today]

Bibliography

 

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