[Northern Washoe] Cultural Spaces in Wa She S
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University of Nevada Reno Naming, Remembering, and Experiencing We’ lmelt’ iʔ [northern Washoe] Cultural Spaces in Wa she shu It Deh [Washoe Land] A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology. by Natalie E. Davenport Dr. Louis Forline/Dissertation Advisor December 2019 © Natalie E. Davenport 2019 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Entitled be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of , Advisor , Coadisor , Comm ittee Member , Committee Member , Graduate School Representative David W. Zeh, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School i Abstract Few anthropological investigations have involved or characterized the northern Washoe area, and Washoe families residing in these places experienced effects of European settlement and development first, and they moved or were nudged out by the first part of the 20th century. This study highlights and maps landscapes of the northern Washoe, or We’ lmelt’ iʔ, and explores some of the ways Washoe individuals and communities are intertwined with landscapes in their homeland. Washoe engagement was pieced together from first-hand Washoe sources ranging from the 1920s to this study in 2019. Results show the activities of naming, remembering, and experiencing places in their homeland are significant factors in fostering a sense of place among contemporary Washoe individuals and communities. As a result, Washoe toponyms became a large component of the study. The naming conventions and the names show fundamental understanding of the land, and certain topographic features were consistently named. Washoe place names not only characterize places literally, but they prompt visualization of the place in a larger landscape context. We’ lmelt’ iʔ toponyms are highly water- centric and emphasize the abundance of named water features. A GIS ethno-map of northern Washoe landscapes was produced to depict a Washoe understanding, taxonomy, and naming of the topographic features in their homeland. The ethno-map not only serves to (re)present Washoe perspectives of the land, but it is also part of the process of (re)claiming Washoe spaces, (re)invigorating cultural memory of places, (re)vitalizing the Washoe language and names, and (re)storing a sense of place (Smith 1999). It was not just about the places, what happened there, and to whom it happened. Engaging with the landscape is essential to maintaining Washoe language and culture, because landscapes are contexts where Washoe people are speaking and actively learning Washoe language while simultaneously taking part in traditional activities–all helping to reinforce cultural experience, and research findings indicate contemporary knowledge (and memory) of landscapes in this region is waning, and there are few elders with knowledge of places. ii Table of Contents Chapters 1. Introduction 1 Outline of Chapters 4 2. Research Methodologies and Background 10 Community Participant Observation 10 Washoe Cultural Events and Activities 10 WCRAC Meetings 16 Washoe Language Classes 28 Archival Research 42 Oral Histories 44 Anthropological Research Collections 45 Cultural Resource Publications 48 Dissertations 48 Ethnographic Reports 51 Cultural Resource Reports 54 Historic Photographs 56 Identifying Landscape Locations 60 Discussion 68 3. Washoe Ethnohistory 74 Situating the Study 79 Washoe Creation Stories and Engagement with the Land 82 Early Encounters with Europeans 85 iii Increased Pressure to Assimilate 92 Early Anthropologists in the Washoe Homelands 98 Experiences of Washoe Individuals and Families During the Mid-Late 20th Century 104 Further Research and Oral Histories of the Late 20th Century 109 Washoe Compensation Arrives 112 Anthropological and Archaeological Research from the 1980s to the Present 114 Historic and Contemporary Practices on the Landscape 119 Stewarding and Claiming the Land 121 Owning Property, Personal Property, and Permission for Access 124 Rules and Proscriptions for Land Access 130 Identifying and Marking Spaces and Property 134 Spiritual Stewardship of the Landscape 135 The Employment of Fire 138 Concluding Thoughts 140 Chapter 4. Northern Washoe Places, Spaces, and Landscapes 146 Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Landscape Connections 146 Cultural Memory of Northern Washoe Places 151 Experiencing Washoe Spaces 156 Stewardship of Resource Areas 158 The Northern Washoe Landscape Study 160 Theoretical Frameworks 160 Remembering and Memories of Places 163 The Ethno-survey and Ethno-map of Northern Washoe Landscapes 165 iv Ethno-survey Recruitment Challenges 167 Outcome of the Ethno-Survey 169 Washoe Physical and Symbolic Landscapes 172 Named Places on the We’ lmelt’ iʔ Landscape 176 Washoe Spatial Orientation on the Land 181 Mythic Landscapes 185 Discussion About Northern Washoe Landscapes 186 5. Naming Places 193 Places Named by the Washoe 193 Lakes 194 Creeks and Rivers 194 Hot and Fresh Water Springs 196 Confluences and Tributaries 198 Mountains 199 Classes of Toponyms 199 Place Names that Reference Specific Flora 199 Toponyms Identifying Wildlife 201 Places Memorializing Historic and Mythic Events 202 Landscape Neighborhoods 204 Settlements and Camps 206 Places With Multiple Names 209 Forgotten, Unnamed, and Undisclosed Places 212 Undisclosed Names and Esoteric Knowledge 216 v Names and the Social Nature of the Landscape 217 Discussion 219 6. Ethno-mapping 221 Mapping Indigenous Lands 222 Indigenous Classification Systems and Taxonomies 227 Indigenous Knowledge Systems 235 Considerations for Mapping Washoe Lands 238 Acknowledgement and Validation of Washoe Property Customs 240 Conflict and Shared Landscapes 245 Different Concepts of Property 247 Dynamic Boundaries 248 Translation and Identification Discrepancies 250 Building a Northern Washoe Ethno-map 251 Themes that Emerged from Archival Research 259 Reworking Historic Maps and Archival Data 260 Conclusion 265 7. Northern Washoe (We’ lmelt’ iʔ) Landscapes 270 Landscapes of the We’ lmelt’ iʔ 270 Lake Tahoe (1) 270 Ward Creek and Stanford Rock (2-3) 276 Blackwood Creek (4-6) 277 Daugaiaca (7-8) 279 Madden Creek and Homewood Canyon (9-10) 279 vi McKinney Creek and Georgetown to Lake Bigler Indian Trail (11-12) 280 Tahoma (13) 284 Sugar Pine Point and General Creek (14-16) 285 Rubicon Point and Park, Lonely Gulch Creek, Rubicon Springs, Rubicon River (17-22) 287 Glenbrook and Glenbrook Creek (23-26) 289 Spooner Summit, Spooner Lake, and Secret Harbor Creek (27-30) 290 Marlette Creek and Marlette Lake (31-33) 291 Sand Harbor and Memorial Point (34-35) 292 Incline Village, Incline Creek, Mill Creek, and Third Creek (36-40) 293 Stateline Point and Brockway Spring (41) 294 Brockway Hot Springs and Mot lum watah (42-43) 294 Griff Creek in Kings Beach (44) 295 The Creeks, Muda’・l bayó・dok and Maha’・ku wa’t’a (45-46) 296 Watson Creek (47-48) 297 Dollar Creek (49) 298 Burton Creek (50) 299 Tahoe City (51) 300 Truckee River Outlet (52-54) 302 Truckee River (55) 303 Bear Creek and Five Lakes Creek (56-57) 305 Olympic Valley and Squaw Creek (58-59) 306 Truckee (60) 307 vii Donner Lake (61, 65) 309 McGlashon Hot Springs (62) 313 Donner Creek (63) 314 Trout Creek in Truckee (66) 315 Martis Valley and Martis Creek (67-68) 315 Emigrant Trail Cutoff (69) 316 Prosser Creek and Little Truckee River near Boca (70-71) 316 Verdi and Dog Valley (72-73) 317 Sierra Valley, Sierraville, and Webber Lake (74-75, 64) 318 Loyalton (76) 320 Honey Lake Valley, Honey Lake, and Amedee Hot Springs (77-79) 321 Beckwourth and Beckwourth Peak (80-81) 324 Long Valley and Long Valley Creek (82-83) 326 Truckee Meadows and Peavine Mountain (84-85) 327 Pyramid Lake, Pyramid Peak, and the Virginia Mountains (86-89) 328 Steamboat Springs, Galena Creek, Tahoe Meadows, Hawk Pond (90-94) 329 8. Conclusion 332 References Cited 339 Appendices 361 Appendix A. Recruitment and Data Collection Tools 362 Document 1. Recruitment Flyer Document 2. Recruitment and Posting Locations for Flyer Document 3. Ethno-survey viii Document 4. Consent Form Document 5. Photo/Video/Audio Release Form Appendix B. Handout from Washoe Language Class 372 Handout 1. Washoe Introduction Appendix C. Washoe Landscape Indices 374 Index 4. Historic and Contemporary Washoe Landscape Photographs Index 6. Master Index of Northern Washoe Landscapes ix List of Tables Table 2.1. Ethno-historic Maps and Figures Depicting Washoe Landscapes 262 Table 2.2. Historic Maps Contained in Cultural Resource Reports Depicting Washoe Landscapes 264 Table 3. Washoe Fishing Based Terminology 118 Table 4. Washoe Water Based Place Names from Creation Story, “The Weasel Brothers, Part II” 86 Table 5. Northern Washoe Toponyms for Permanent Settlements 208 Table 6. Northern Washoe Toponyms for Camp Areas 210 x List of Figures Figure 1. List of Categories for Washoe Landscape Type, Use, and Significance 177 Figure 2. List of Codes for Washoe Landscape Type, Use, and Significance 178 Figure 3. Subject Matter Coding for Historic and Contemporary Photographs of Washoe Landscapes 57 Figure 4. Image of Message Written in Washoe for Health Month 144 Figure 5. Image of Washoe Valentine 145 Figure 6. Image of Donner Creek in Truckee 182 Figure 7. Image of Galis Dungal in Sugar Pine Point State Park 188 Figure 8. Ethno-map of Northern Washoe Landscapes 271 Figure 8.1 Ethno-map of Northern Washoe Landscapes Labeled with Washoe Toponyms 272 1 Chapter 1. Introduction The name, Washoe, is a derivative of the word, Washiu, or person (Lekisch 1988, 148; Swanton 1952, 383). Northern Washoe elder and Washoe Tribal Historian Joanne Nevers (1976, 1) explains, “[t]raditionally, the people referred to the whole tribe with the phrase, ‘Wa She Shu.’ The word ‘Washo,’ which originally meant ‘one person,’ is often used today to describe the whole tribe.” The Wa She Shu homeland was divided among five regional Washoe groups: wel-mel-ti (northern Washoe), hung-na-lell-ti (southern Washoe), pau-wau-lu (valley Washoe), pel-lell-ti (eastern Washoe), and tong-lell-shi (western Washoe), however the majority of published matter only mentions the northern, central, and southern Washoe groups.