The Nisenan: from 'digger Indian' to citizenship

On Nov. 8, 1856 the Placer Herald reported the estimated population of this county as being 12,540 white males, 1,860 white females, male and female blacks 400, Chinese 3,500 and 125 Indians.In less than a decade, since the discovery of gold in 1848, the men invading this region managed to destroy what was once a numerous people. The native inhabitants of hundreds of years disappeared mainly due to the greed for a precious metal and lust for domination of the land.This genocide came about in several ways. First, the indigenous people had no immunity to the viral and bacterial infectious diseases carried by the interlopers. This accounts for the greatest number of deaths among the Indian people. Second, through displacement to reservation land (see Colfax Record, Feb. 9, 2012), many died while in transition and due to lack of food, promised by the government, but never delivered by the suppliers. Third, their numbers diminished???? through outright killing by militia groups such as the Blades of Colfax (see Colfax Record, Feb. 2, 2012). The latter also includes hunting Indian people for the bounty placed by the government, both federal and state. When that ended "officially" in the 1860s, the hunting for mere sport went on for some time as many Indians (not counted in the above census) had escaped to the vast reaches of the Sierra, away from the settlements and expansion.Those few who remained, under the protection, usually, of white merchants and landowners, did so in servitude.In Illinoistown the indigenous people's village known as Wallace Camp was located just up the hill from the town. Today, it is the area occupied by the Indian Cemetery, Cal Fire and the houses of the Suburban Pines subdivision. Children, not indentured to white households, were sent away to Indian boarding schools, often run by churches, to learn reading and writing at grammar school levels. Sewing, cooking and other household skills were taught to the girls, while the boys learned animal care, carpentry and mechanical trades. In these schools they were forced to "assimilate" to the white society by wearing white man's clothes, speaking only English and converting to Christianity. The adults who could find work were employed in logging, ranching, construction and domestic pursuits. The Indians were scapegoats for the frustration of the whites as were most minorities during the era. Even though they were, by nature, very clean and health conscious, they would purposefully dirty themselves and wear tattered clothing when they came to Main Street in Colfax. Thus was the source, probably, of the very derogatory slur "dirty digger Indian." Many ceased to identify themselves as Indians to avoid harassment by the whites.Even though, in 1898, the Colfax Sentinel referred to them as the "humble children of the forest," this hostile and inhumane degradation continued for decades.In 1917, a major victory for Indians occurred when the California Supreme Court decided that California Indians were citizens. It wasn't until 1924 that federal recognition took place. Regular public school for the people didn't begin to happen until well after World War II. But, according to several locals, they continued to be hazed and treated rudely.The mores and folkways of the first people of this valley for hundreds of years were lost, seemingly, in the blink of an eye.In the Colfax area some traditional Nisenan life did continue in this small, out-of-the-way pocket, until there was just one left who lived in the old way. Her story is as close as we can come to knowing what it was like before the Gold Rush to the Bear and American Rivers. Fortunately her descendant, April Moore, a Nisenan-Maidu educator and Placer County local, is around to tell her tale."My great-grandmother was Lizzie Enos, a very, very knowledgeable woman," Moore said. "So with her having that knowledge and carrying it on for so long, she was able to pass it on to us. Especially as a little girl, myself, my cousin, and my brother, we would spend many, many hours with my great-grandmother, where she would tell us stories about coyotes and bears and different animals. But she also took us out and showed us all the different food sources that were available to us: the grasses, the mushrooms, the berries, what kind of seeds to gather, the right kind of acorns, and what kind of herbs were outside our living area that could be gathered for our health."Today, Moore travels the territory giving talks to school children and adult groups alike on the Nisenan-Maidu history and culture.