Remembering Our Past to Secure Our Future

“To destroy in whole or in part”: Remembering Our Past to Secure Our Future

Jack Norton

Abstract

This essay proposes that the history of California includes the intended destruction and decimation of native cultures, including their forced removal, illegal land acquisition, slavery, separation of families, and outright murder enacted by the private citizenry and governmental agencies during European contact can be defined as genocide as outlined by the United Nations Geneva Convention, 1948. The lasting legacy of contact on aboriginal lifeways and tradition, as well as the recent resurgence of native traditions and culture is addressed to suggest that the health and healing of native communities lies in reconciling the past to make passage into the future. Introduction

Each summer I return to northern California, to the land of the Hupa, Yurok, and Karuk. I return to pray and dance within the centers of our world. I join my cousins, my sons, my grandchildren, nephews and friends, to sing and dance once again upon the grounds cleansed and purified by spiritual energy eons ago. It is a time of renewal, to be amongst the energy of creation, to be re-created, born anew, and cleansed of a year’s accumulation of stress, anxieties, and distorted information, negative thoughts, or projections onto others for what we have failed to become. For ten days my wife and I stand within the radiance of ancestral memory as we visit, eat, and enjoy the company of those we have missed throughout the year. Yet, within this aura of renewal, I often feel a tinge of sadness and concern—for how many of our youth and even some adults know the true meaning and purpose, as well as essence of these prayers in motion? How many understand the teachings of the spiritual leaders and dance makers? Or instill these teachings into their daily lives? How much has been lost? Does the current generation know how much was taken from their ancestors? Did their elders tell them of the day when those from other faiths, stood in front of the dancers and shouted at the people, to stop this paganism? Or told that if they did not go home the superintendent would arrest them? Many of the men and women of my age had parents that were sent away to Indian boarding schools. My father was sent to Phoenix Indian Industrial Boarding School in 1912, and then to Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas. He did not return home until 1942. His father, my grandfather, Sherman Norton, was threatened by the superintendent with forced removal from the reservation for writing numerous letters to the BIA complaining about the unfair treatment and unequal wages paid to In- 11 “To destroy in whole or in part”

dian employees. These harsh realities of America were not uncivilized nor were contact between settlers and governmen- the nation groups or tribes in California tal officials and the indigenous peoples uncivilized. The term “civilized” is de- of California has left a lasting imprint, on rived from the word “civil” which means those alive today. a group of people or citizens composing a social community. The social groups Traditional Native Life Ways in northwestern California, for example, were the Hupa, Yurok, Karuk, Wi- Yet, prior to contact with Europeans, yot, and Tolowa nations who lived side the Native peoples of northwestern Cal- by side for hundreds of years without ifornia thrived on vast salmon runs and a war of attrition despite the fact each numerous shellfish and sea mammals. In possessed distinctive languages, mo- the mountains the Native peoples gath- res, and customs. However, there was ered acorns and hunted deer and elk. a shared philosophy among the north- Food was abundant and time was giv- western tribal nations that was perhaps en to developing rich religious ceremo- characteristic of many if not all Indians nies, proper modes of conduct, as well of North America. This characteristic is as superior artistry in basket designs, the belief that all things possessed a spir- bow-making, and boat construction to it and cognition or awareness, including produce incredible creative expressions trees, animals, streams, and trails. found in their religious regalia and ceremonial practices that celebrated the vi- Tribal Nationhood and tality and beauty of a meaningful life. Leadership Like all Native peoples of North America, California Native nations de- In northwestern California, lead- veloped various forms of governance ership was provided by men who had long before Europeans arrived. Their gained respect by listening to others and physical and social needs, as well as re- relating fair and equitable council or de- ligious and emotional expressions, were cisions within the decorum of the group. supported and controlled by agreed These leaders or headmen also demon- upon formulations of laws. Membership strated their spiritual achievements by in the group was defined by recognized gathering sacred items and regalia such boundaries, acceptance and practice of as albino deer hides, red-headed wood- a common language, established cus- pecker scalps, and large fluted obsidian toms and values and a shared history. blades. These objects along with others These factors describe nation groups were recognized within an energized throughout the world. Pejorative labels universal system. Thus, with the ac- such as “savage,” “heathen” or “unciv- companiment of ceremonial songs and ilized” are value laden terms projected prayers, these energies helped renew by a self-serving critic, yet without these the world from accumulative patterns appellations and their acceptance, the of death and decay. Individuals who name callers stand exposed to the world. understood and assumed such meta- Hence, the Indian nations of North physical and ontological processes were 12 Norton

esteemed by the group. Hence, leaders back and saw that it was good. “Soon,” were often “dance makers” as well as he said, “the Indian people will be here, wise men who sought to keep balance I see their mist, I see their smoke on the in all things; social, political, economic, mountains.” (Socktish 1976.) Within this and religious. Each village identified a gift from an immortal force the people spokesperson and they, in conjunction lived in harmony and sought balance with the headmen, often formed coun- between human needs and the integrity cils to adjudicate transgressions or to of their environment. The Hupa people plan future events. killed deer and other animals for food In addition, each group developed and held a ceremony for ten days every a careful and well-defined schedule of year that atoned and renewed the energy exchange or payments using valuable of life. Salmon, as a sacred food source, items to compensate the victim for any were taken when the Trinity River was potential disruption, affront or loss such blocked by a fish-dam but only for 10 as theft, trespass, adultery or death of days. The dam was then dismantled af- a loved one. The council negotiated the ter prayers given by the spiritual leader exchange and payments to be made. and the released salmon continued their During the ceremonial cycle, the indi- journey upstream to other tribes. vidual, community and universe would thus be renewed and balanced through A World Turned Upside Down a process of agreed upon restitution and reconciliation. This responsibility and respect giv- The tribal nations of California lived, en to others was characteristic of Cali- and many still do, in nationhood status. fornia Indian nations and did not lead That is, they have recognized boundar- to aggressive warfare. The Hupa, Yurok, ies usually defined by rivers, mountain Karuk, Wiyot, and Tolowa peoples lived ridges, and historical villages. In addi- side by side for thousands of years. Yet tion, they have a common language and there was never a war of attrition. Nev- an agreed upon cosmology that defines er did the Yurok march upon the Karuk their existence through mythos and ritu- to make the world safe for “Yurokism.” al as well as a shared history. These qual- There was no need to be envious or fear- ities are recognized by nations through- ful of others because all were secure and out the world as criteria for statehood. potentially whole in the bounty of their International law is based upon this re- world. Given this minimal overview of ality. Sovereignty is not granted by an- some of the tribes in northwestern Cal- other. It is held intrinsically by the iden- ifornia one can begin to comprehend tified aboriginal nation. For example, the the terror and bewilderment that these Hupa people in northwestern California Native peoples suffered when attacked have no migration story from a distant by unfeeling and disconnected miners land to their beautiful valley home. They and settlers. It was a time when many tell of the time when Yimantuwinyai, a may have felt that the world turned up- spiritual being, created mountains, riv- side down, or it was the end of the In- ers, trees, animals--all the things of this dian people. No longer did the sanctity world. When he was done, he looked of property apply. No longer could the 13 “To destroy in whole or in part”

world be put in balance. How could white men living with Indian wom- one make sense of the world when at en and because the Indians dare to the Yurok village of Kepel, for instance, remonstrate against this course of the following was recorded by Lt. C. H. conduct, they are frequently subject Rundell in 1857: to the worse and most brutal treatment. An occurrence of this kind I have the honor to report every- took place last month near Buckeye thing as usual in this section. On the Flat in the County. Two miners had night of the 19th February two men seduced a couple of squaws (sic) (one named Lewis commonly called and were living with them or keep- ‘Squire’ and the other Lawson, gen- ing them as prostitutes. The Indians erally known as ‘Texas’) came to an went to the cabin and demanded Indian ranch (Wasch) about a mile their women, when they were fired above this camp on the opposite upon by the miners which resulted side of the river. They commenced in the immediate death of one and abusing the Indian squaws (sic) and dangerously wounding another, one squaw, while endeavoring to and yet there was nothing but Indi- protect her daughter, was stabbed an evidence that could be obtained by Lewis very severely in the back to punish these villains, and as the and shoulder, he also stabbed the Indian’s evidence is not allowed father of the girl twice in the arm. against any white man in this State, They then seized two other squaws they could not be convicted. (Heiz- whom they forced to remain with er 1974:14). them all night. On the 22nd, the two men Lewis and Lawson came to this There were at least 250,000 miners camp, but not meeting with a favor- and settlers in California by 1852. There able reception they left and went were 2000 on the Trinity River by Big Bar back up the river. On the way they and nearby Weaverville and at Hayfork. stopped at the same ranch, but the Many Native peoples, faced with starva- Indians had seen them in time, and tion, harassment, fear and anxiety fled to the squaws ran to the hills. The man the hills or mountains to hide, still oth- Lewis, enraged at the escape of the ers attacked settler livestock to feed their squaws, seized a club and without families. Indian people, as all human be- provocation, attacked and brutally ings, had the fundamental right to pro- beat an Indian boy named Tom, so tect and provide for their families as best that it is doubtful he will recover they could. History would prove, how- (Heizer 1974:91-92). ever that these basic human rights were consistently and, in many cases, collec- Earlier, in 1853, Special Indian Agent tively denied. The miners, tore up and Stevenson stationed near the gold fields diverted the streams, turning them into of El Dorado and Placer counties noted mud. By May of 1850, the devastating that: ecological consequences of mining was observed by Special Agent E. A. Steven- It is a frequent occurrence to find son, who noted that “the rivers or tribu- 14 Norton

taries of the Sacramento formerly were claim they were fighting a war against a clear as crystal and abounded with the unified enemy because there was never finest salmon and other fish. But the min- an official declaration of war against the ers have turned the streams from their Native peoples. beds and conveyed the water to the dry Nor could they claim self-protec- diggins and after being used until it is so tion because inevitably it was the min- thick with mud that it will scarcely run” ers and settlers who initiated the first (Heizer 1974:16). Thousands of salmon, aggressive acts. It is inconceivable that a vital natural resource, had been killed. crimes against humanity were often In addition, cattle and hogs introduced perpetrated in this atmosphere of greed by the settlers destroyed prairie lands and a distortion of superiority by white, where deer and elk grazed, as well as Christianized, democratic individuals. consuming the acorns that had sustained Yet, historically, the record clearly docu- the Indian populations for centuries. In- ments violent attacks against California dian men were often shot on site, while Indian people that occurred at the hands fishing; or as one miner bragged “just to of white citizens, often without warning try out his rifle” (Norton 1979:50). or provocation. Several violent attacks Though few Americans were in Cali- occurred in northern California, when fornia before the overwhelming invasion tribal peoples were observing religious of miners occurred in late 1848 and 1849, ceremonies and praying that the world many of these would-be miners came would be in balance. They were brutally from all over the world; Russia, Mexico, attacked and butchered by local citizens. Hawaii, Australia and thousands came For example, this occurred in the from China. The vast majority were An- fall of 1853 after the Tolowa people had glo-Americans who left their families, stored their food for the coming winter. homes, and loved ones and frantically They gathered at the village of Yontoket rushed to the gold fields. Many were near the mouth of the Smith River, to pray escaping debts. Others were criminals. around the world. They considered Yon- Most were average Americans looking toket to be the center-of-the-world, that for riches. Once these miners were iso- is, a place where the energies of heav- lated among rugged mountains far from en and earth meet and where prayers, civilization, many became pathological, through song and ritual, revitalized all senseless beings driven by greed. If they life. Meanwhile, citizens from Crescent did not commit brutality upon others, City formed a killing squad and ringed they often stood by or were complicit the sacred village ready to murder men, in their support of violence. This bleak women and children. A Tolowa man tells record of human behavior demonstrates the story with deep sadness, years later: absolute evidence of murder, hatred, racism, rape, enslavement and rampant The whites attacked and the bullets horror unleashed upon the Native pop- were everywhere. Over 450 of our ulace that can only be called genocide. people were murdered or lay dying Those individuals consumed by an ob- on the ground. Then the white men session for wealth and the society that built a huge fire and threw in our supported them ideologically, cannot sacred ceremonial dresses, the rega- 15 “To destroy in whole or in part”

lia, and our feathers, and the flames can be obtained. It is well known, grew higher. Then they threw in however that the fight ended in a the babies, many of them were still disastrous defeat to the savages, a alive. Some tied weights around the large number being killed, while the necks of the dead and threw them whites escaped with little or no loss into the nearby water. Two men es- (p. 19-20). caped. They had been in the sacred sweathouse and crept down to the Bledsoe’s indifference to the suffering water’s edge and hid under the lily of the Tolowa people is clearly noted. pads, breathing through the reeds. Yet, the Yontoket massacre is but one of The next morning, they found the many ruthless and unfeeling attacks by water red with blood of their peo- the California citizenry upon unsuspect- ple. (Norton 1979:54-56). ing families, villages, and tribes.

Tragically, western anthropologists, Crimes Against Humanity ethnographers and historians have a long record of purposely nullifying and Perhaps the earliest recorded inter- negating the suffering of other cultures. action between white miners and Indian Whether to do so is an attempt to claim people occurred after gold was discov- an unbiased and scientific approach or ered in January 1848, at Coloma on the to appropriate the voice of the victim for south fork of the American River. There their own use, cannot be sufficiently -an had been a concerted effort to keep the swered here. Nevertheless, an emotion- news of the gold strike a secret, howev- ally dissociated account of the Yontoket er, by March 1849, there were hundreds massacre is given by A. J. Bledsoe’s His- of miners camped along Weber Creek. tory of Del Norte County (1881): A miner raped a Maidu woman. When her family approached the mining camp After the punishment of the Indi- to investigate the crime, they were shot. ans at Battery Point, a large number Other racist and paranoid miners at- of the Survivors [were] removed to tacked a nearby Indian village and mur- a Rancheria near the mouth of the dered twelve people. The miners then Smith River, known as the Yontoket kidnapped seven or eight Indian men Ranch. But the feeling in Crescent and took them to Coloma. Once there, the City against them was too intense to miners debated whether to hang or shoot subside without further punishment the Indian men. Finally, in a display of being administered. A company was the miner’s sadism, they told the Indian formed and procuring a guide who men to run while the miners shot them had some knowledge of the coun- in the back (Trafzer 1999:17). Ignorance try, they with difficulty, made their and paranoia soon became a stimulus for way through the forests, and arriv- murder. In April of 1852, Redick McKee ing at a point near the ranch, pre- wrote to then Governor Bigler that miners pared for the attack on the Indians. had killed many Indian men and women Of the manner in which the attack as a precaution against anticipated re- was made, no authentic information taliation for the shooting of one of their 16 Norton

young Indian men by a miner named the settlers often had to use force against Irvin R. Tompkins. McKee’s letter refers the citizen settlers to protect the Indians. to the “murder almost in cold blood of The Humboldt Times reported such an in- some thirty or forty Indians” by miners stance on February 3, 1855: from Happy Camp. “In all the frontier settlements,” he states, “there are many At the beginning of hostilities, Cap- men from Missouri, Oregon, and Tex- tain Judah went with 26 men to the as, etc. who value the life of an Indian Klamath. There the Weitspeck (sic) just as they do of a coyote or a wolf and and other Indians surrendered their embrace every occasion to shoot down” arms, but the miners gathered to- (Heizer and Almquist 1971:28). gether and wanted to immediately Time, however, had not mitigated start a general massacre of all In- the actions of the miners. Another attack dians--friendly or otherwise--they occurred involving a white man and an could find and hunt down. Cap- Indian woman that resulted in the “war” tain Judah succeeded in tempo- between the Karuk people and the min- rarily keeping the whites in check ers. The Humboldt Times, December 1854, but needs reinforcement to handle issue describes the circumstances. An the whites (Heizer and Almqiust Indian boy had been killed while pro- 1971:33). tecting a woman, apparently his mother, from rape by a white man. The murder- On April 22, 1850, the California legisla- er had left the area, but in the meantime ture had passed “An Act for the Govern- the Indians had retaliated by killing an ment and Protection of Indians,” a law ox that they believed belonged to him. that can only be called a slave act. The Later, after learning that he had sold it, law created a mechanism whereby In- the Indians offered to pay the present dians of all ages could be indentured or owner the value of the steer. However, apprenticed by the court to any white cit- he refused the offer and the miners- re izen for a fee of $2.00. The average terms acted by attempting to take all the guns of servitude was 16 years, although a from the nearby villages. When the min- longer term of 25 years was not uncom- ers met resistance, they attempted to mon. Section 6 of the law stated, “com- burn the houses containing the Indian’s plaints may be made before a Justice of winter provisions. The article ends by the Peace, by white persons or Indians; rationalizing the miner’s paranoia and but in no case shall a white man be con- the resulting murders by suggesting that victed of any offence upon the testimo- for “future protection, the miners should ny of an Indian” (Heizer and Almquist form themselves into a body as regula- 1971:213). Thus, the Indian person and tors and swing every man convicted of labor was secured without the large cap- selling arms or ammunition to an Indi- ital outlay of Negro slavery in the South. an” (Humboldt Times, January 20, 1855). Furthermore, on April 18, 1860, the law was amended to suit any miner The Slavery of Native Peoples turned settler or capitalistic entrepre- neur as the gold played out. Section 3 Troops repeatedly called to protect states: 17 “To destroy in whole or in part”

County and District Judges in the re- who had nine Indian children, from spective counties of this State, shall, three to ten years of age, which they by virtue of this act, have full power had taken from Eel River in Hum- and authority, at the instance and re- boldt County. One of the three was quest of any person having or here- discharged on a writ of habeas cor- after obtaining any Indian child or pus, upon the testimony of the oth- children, male or female, under the er two, who state that ‘he was not age of fifteen years, from the parents interested in the matter of taking or person or persons having the care children:’ after his discharge the or charge of such child or children, two made an effort to get clear by with the consent of such parents or introducing the third one as a wit- person or persons having the care ness, who testified that ‘it was an or charge of any such child or chil- act of charity on the part of the two dren, or at the instance and request to hunt up the children and then of any person desirous of obtaining provide homes for them, because any Indian or Indians, whether chil- their parents had been killed, and dren or grown personals, that may the children would have perished be held as prisoners of war, or at the with hunger.’ My counsel inquired instance and request of any person how he knew their parents had been desirous of obtaining any vagrant killed. ‘Because,’ he said, ‘I killed Indian or Indians, as have no settled some of them myself’ (Document 63 habitation or means of livelihood, 1863:315). and have not placed themselves under the protection of any white per- Nor were the Indian people safe son,... shall appear proper (Heizer upon the few Federal Reservations es- and Almquist 1971:216). tablished by 1855 in California. An article from a San Francisco newspaper in Any person or persons “desirous of ob- 1856 relates: taining any Indian or Indians” child or not, had a legal right to own human be- Some of the agents, nearly all of the ings as property. The law then legalized employees, we are informed, of one murderous individuals. In many cases of these reservations at least, are dai- sanctified killing units, acquired children ly and nightly engaged in kidnap- by either imprisoning or killing the par- ping the younger portion of the fe- ents who in some cases were being held males for the vilest of purposes. The against their will as prisoners under the wives and daughters of the defense- misnomer of war. According to a letter less Diggers (sic) are prostituted be- written to his superiors in Washington, fore the very eyes of their husbands from G. M. Hanson, Superintendent of and fathers, they dare not resent the Indian Affairs in 1860: insult, or even complain of the hid- eous outrage (San Francisco Bulletin, In the month of October last, I ap- September 13, 1856). prehended three kidnappers, about 14 miles from the city of Marysville, In total, it is estimated that at least 10,000 18 Norton

California Indians were indentured be- Though all Native life was in danger, tween 1850 and 1863 in the northern Hurtado (1988) confirms that “women’s counties alone. As a result, the kidnap- chances for survival were measurably ping and abuse of thousands of Native worse.” Brutal assaults, deadly diseas- women and children became common es, and general privation killed women place because Indian testimony was dis- and left their communities’ reproduc- allowed against white settlers. Predict- tive potential in doubt” (p. 188). Thus, ably, the European community, turned the patterns of genocide by a democratic American settler, benefited from the law. and Christian nation were established. Native Californians continued to suffer The white invaders were often whipped ruthless assaults upon their integrity, life into a frenzy of gold fever and racist in- ways, and families. Pitelka (1994) stated tolerance. Few considered the very basic that “the abduction and sale of Indians, right of protection of one’s family, loved especially women and children became ones, community or nation from others. a lucrative business from 1852 to 1867. In their vulgarity they could only ap- Most of the Indians seized came from ply these realities to themselves. Those Mendocino and other remote northern persons motivated by greed and rac- counties, but their captors sold them all ist agendas, including local county and over the state” (p. 30). district judges as well as Indian agents, In addition to survivor accounts, it interpreted and implemented the law to was documented within the U.S. Senate serve their own genocidal purposes. Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1861, that the United “Indian Wars” as States troops were responsible for geno- Genocidal Intent cidal acts in conjunction with the abduction of innocent children: Years later, two University of Cali- fornia, Berkeley historians, Robert Heiz- A company of United States troops, er and A. J. Almquist, wrote that: attended by a considerable volunteer force, has been pursuing the California newspaper officials in the poor creatures… The kidnappers office of Indian Affairs and other ob- follow at the heels of the soldiers to servers cited the organized bands seize the children when their par- of Indian kidnappers operated in- ents are murdered to sell them to the dependently, or followed troops best advantage (Pitelka 1994:31). on Indian campaigns and collected women and children after an at- Such brazen and indecent behavior out- tack on a village, as one of the main raged the Native populations as well as causes of the “Indian wars” which making them afraid of whites because were common in the late 1850s and how they suffered at the hands of many early 1860s. (Heizer and Almquist settlers. Kidnapping of women and chil- 1971:44). dren was a direct affront to the famil- ial life ways, hence the very survival The authors put in quotes the term “In- of Native people (Rivers-Norton 2014). dian wars” because no war had been 19 “To destroy in whole or in part”

officially declared by the United States Young warriors who were guilty of Congress against California Native peo- the murder of Colonel Anderson ples. Yet, the intent to destroy in whole passed by Bridge Gulch fleeing on or in part, was clearly orchestrated by up Hayfork Creek in the night. The the white citizenry, a necessary condi- large band camped in the Gulch tion for a charge of genocide to be made, were mainly women and children according to the Geneva Convention, as and were apparently unaware of will be later discussed. danger as the men were away hunt- These conditions had established ing… Apparently the raiders who the background for the horrendous Hay- stole the cattle and killed Anderson fork Massacre (Bridge Gulch Massacre) escaped punishment (McKibben in Trinity County, May 18, 1852. Ter- 1998). rorized, murdered, and often hungry, the Wintun struck back. They took five The brutal massacre had occurred so cattle belonging to “Colonel” John An- suddenly that there had been no time, derson and Anderson was killed. By the no period of grace, for the 153 human time Anderson’s body reached the town beings who had died there. These, men, of Weaverville, a gang of seventy volun- women, and children had awakened teers had been organized. The merchants for an instant of complete terror before and many others freely furnished food, feeling the tearing pain of bullets, or see- blankets, and supplies to outfit these ing ghastly, bottomless wounds of their killers. Under the leadership of the local loved ones, their life-long friends, and sheriff they set upon the track. A Wintun their tribesmen. Havoc, screams, tears, camp was located in the evening near cries for help, were mixed and muted present day Natural Bridge. That night, by the sharp deadly crack of rifles, and as the unsuspecting families lay down bitter curses from hate-filled mouths. to sleep, they were ringed by desperate There had been no time to hold the dy- men lying in cover with rifles cradled in ing ones’ hand to ease their journey. No their arms. At daylight the signal was time for simple acts of love, of wiping given. One hundred and fifty-three men, the brow or sitting quietly beside them. women, and children were slaughtered There was so little time to reflect upon without provocation. They were given one’s meaning in life or a purpose for no chance. Yet, paid with their lives for which one is given. There was no time to five cattle and for the death of one man review those things of a life of deeds that who had intruded into their natural and ease the transition from the material and secure world. No burial followed. Their manifested world to the spiritual. There bodies were left to rot, their bones lay was no time for remembrances, no mem- scattered and bleaching under the sun. ories; no time to hand down articles of The Wintun account of the massacre heritage of a fine woman or a good man. is recorded by Grace McKibben, perhaps There was not even time to decide upon the last full-blooded Wintun in the Hay- the acceptance of death. fork area. She states that her uncle, Bob The tragedy of the Hayfork Massacre Tewis, a survivor of the massacre, told is terrible within its own narrative how- her that: ever, the greater horror lies in the fact 20 Norton

that its pathology was repeated in Cali- War, and the consequent disband- fornia history. Inhuman patterns of mur- ing of the volunteer corps, we learn der, maiming, dismemberment, rape, that it is the intention of many who enslavement, and kidnapping were in- have been engaged in the service, flicted against the Native peoples. Hun- to locate upon the territory re- dreds of massacres occurred through- claimed from aboriginal occupan- out California. At least, 93% over-all of cy. We hope they will do so; and we California Indians died during and after emphatically say that those should the Gold Rush era. Entire Indian nations have due preference in the selec- were destroyed. For example, where are tion of homes (Northern Californian, the Chimariko? Gone. The Yuki? Gone. March 23, 1859). Where are the Mattole and Sinkyone? Gone. The common thread that tied all Nazi Germany as these horrific crimes against humanity Parallel History together were the vigilante and volunteer killing units made up of white A parallel history can be found in citizens. These citizens formed well the formation of Nazi Germany’s Ein- supplied and compensated squads to satzgruppen in the early years of World go out and murder California Indians. War II. The atrocities committed have It has been estimated that “the Unit- been described as Hitler’s “Hidden ed States Government reimbursed the Holocaust” and they were particularly state of California $924,259.00 [nearly operational in Eastern Europe. For ex- a million dollars] for this sort of semi- ample, in 1942 citizens of Estonia, Lat- pro Indian killing units between 1850 via, Lithuania, and the Ukraine joined and 1859” (Brandon 1961:282). They of- these specialized killing units, often ten gave themselves names such as the constituting 60% of the personnel. They “Humboldt Home Guards,” Hydesville began murdering the Jewish popula- Dragoons,” “Eel River Minutemen,” tion by forcing the men to the edge of or the “Mariposa Battalion” (Norton a prepared pit and shooting them at 1979). Their intention, under the guise close range. Then women and children of “war,” was to annihilate California were similarly executed until the grave Indian people and steal their lands. A was filled and covered over. The - citi northern California newspaper stated zens were then free to steal the belong- that: ings, property, and the homes of their victims.1 The destruction of California Upon the completion of the Indian Indians varied in the north, central and

1. See the works of F. Chalk and K. Jonassohn, 1990, The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, W. Churchill, 1994, Indians Are Us? Culture and Genocide in Native North America, Common Courage Press, Monroe, MA, D. E. Stannard, 1992, American Holocaust, Oxford University Press, NY, and E. Staub, 1992, The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence, Cambridge University Press, NY, for a cross case comparison 21 “To destroy in whole or in part”

southern sections of the state. However, records of early European expeditions, in the north, entire tribes were extermi- such as those by Juan Rodriguez Cabril- nated or reduced by at least 98% of the lo in 1542, and Sir Francis Drake in 1579, aboriginal population. For example, the noted large populations along the coast. Humboldt Times, January 17, 1863, ran Later visitors to the Spanish Missions as the Headline: “Good Haul of Diggers- well as the missionaries themselves no- -Band Exterminated.” ticed many Native villages in the area. This larger population figure replaces the Later, the paper also editorialized: extreme conservatism of early ethnogra- The Indian must be exterminated phers and anthropologists who estimat- or removed… This may not be the ed a population of 300,000. When the U. most Christian-like attitude, but S. Census was taken in 1900 only 16,000 it is the most practical (Humboldt Indian people had survived. There were Times, May 1863). 5,000 counted on the reservations while nearly 11,000 endured in their original Earlier, the newspaper Yreka Herald homelands or were abandoned and dis- made its position unequivocally clear: located in cities. By 1906, congressional investigations revealed overwhelming Now that general hostilities against poor health conditions in the California the Indians have commenced, we Native populations due to near starva- hope that the government will ren- tion, poverty and diseases such as tu- der such aid as will enable the citi- berculosis and trachoma. Congress ap- zens of the north to carry on a war of propriated $100,000 to provide adequate extermination until the last Redskin water to rectify some of the most blatant of these tribes has been killed. Exter- injustices (Castillo 1998:118). mination is no longer a question of time--the time has arrived, the work Manifest Destiny as has commenced, and let the first Land Acquisition man that says treaty or peace be re- garded as a traitor (August 7, 1853). Acquiring lands illegally from Na- tive Californians was also a common The historian H. Dobyns placed and pervasive pattern. It was further the total death rate of California Indi- presupposed that the original inhab- ans at 94% of the original population itants, for their own good, were to be of nearly 1.5 million people using the removed, and if not removed, extermi- recognized calculation of 14 people per nated. This approach was the inevitable square kilometer for highly populated consequence of the distorted theory of areas. California has long been recog- a “master race” over all others. Political nized as supporting one of the highest harangues and editorial statements were Indian population densities in North not then perceived as public incitements America (Dobyns 1976). The historical to commit genocide but the articulation

between acts of genocide in Nazi Germany and the Americas. 22 Norton

of the common will encouraged to car- We Charge Genocide ry out justice under the guise of Mani- fest Destiny. On November 11, 1848, for How can the deaths of thousands instance, an issue of The Californian de- of innocent lives suffered at the hands clared, “We desire only a white popula- of an unfeeling populace, be justified as tion in California; the Indians among us, anything less than murderous acts per- as far as we have seen, are more of a nui- petrated upon California Indians with sance than a benefit to the country. We genocidal intent? Until recently it was would like to get rid of them” (Hoopes never seriously proposed that the Amer- 1966:5). However, the intent of govern- ican society could also become an instru- mental policies continued in the assim- ment of brutality. It is asserted that most ilation and domestication efforts to - in Americans would actively and vigor- flict physical and lasting mental anguish ously deny any wrong- doing in the his- upon the Indian people. Domestication torical and present record. Their vehe- programs were enhanced and continued mence is particularly offensive, both as a by propaganda and public incitement cause and as an effect, in contemporary to encourage fraudulent schemes that political charades of seeking authority divested Indians of their resources and and legitimacy. Perhaps this would be lands. an opportune moment to note individ- These patterns of tyranny did not ual responses to what has been stated lessen after the California Territory be- thus far, not only as a case in point, but came a state. In fact, examples of intent also to more carefully consider what is to to remove or exterminate, as well as follow. More than likely, the ire of some descriptions of the crimes themselves, Americans has been raised. Some, per- shout from the official correspondence haps, have already neatly labeled this between civil and military authori- writing as that of the “rhetoric of rebel- ties and from the instruments of pub- lion,” the very act of allowing a radical a lic incitement—the local newspapers. gratuitous forum, that demonstrates the The official governmental sentiment, strength and tolerance of the democratic however, was clearly articulated by faith. This can be rejected. Governor John Bigler in April 1852 in Certainly, it may be offensive to use a correspondence with General Ethan the word genocide in relation to the Unit- A. Hitchcock, Commander of the Pa- ed States or to democracy. The word geno- cific Division, that federal troops were cide and its attendant imagery are too obliged by the U. S. Constitution to pro- incongruent for the democratic faithful. tect its citizenry from “merciless savag- Often, the charge of genocide is not taken es.” The “savages,” the Governor wrote seriously and is dismissed out-of-hand. possess the “ferocity worthy of canni- Yet, this is precisely the point. Irrational bals of the South Sea and they cherish dismissal of perceived impropriety is ar- an instinctive hatred toward the white bitrariness. And depending upon the will race. If governmental aid was not forth- to power, arbitrariness has often resulted coming, then “the people of California in terror. Therefore, it may be of benefit would use their State Militia” (Heizer to look at some aspects of the American and Almquist 1971:207-209). record to determine whether words such 23 “To destroy in whole or in part”

as brutality, terror, tyranny, cruelty and towards the American experiment, how- genocide have standing. Thus, it is ben- ever, little credence is given to the charge. eficial to agree upon a working defini- Yet, the sad litany of offenses that exist tion of the word genocide. Fortunately, in the historical record, a small sampling a definition has been proposed, accepted of which has been given in this essay, and applied by 82 nations throughout the and as lived by thousands of Native world. The United Nations by the Gene- peoples throughout California and the va Convention on the Prevention and Pun- United States, clarifies the issue. Though ishment of the Crime of Genocide, in 1948, authors such as Gary Clayton Ander- presented for the world to consider the son, resist the use of the term genocide following (under Article II of the Conven- as established by the Geneva Conven- tion Compact). tion, a growing number of Native and “In the present Convention, geno- non-Native scholars, have embraced the cide means any of the following acts com- definition for its explanatory power.2 mitted with intent to destroy in whole or The United States Government and its in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or reli- people, in one form or another, for these gious group, as such: past 200 years have practiced genocide as defined by the Geneva Convention. It a). Killing members of the group; should be obvious that a people cannot b). Causing serious bodily or mental be systematically attacked, demeaned. harm to members of the group; Their lives and history destroyed or dis- c). Deliberately inflicting on the torted, their suffering negated or ratio- group conditions of life calculat- nalized; their rights, needs, and present ed to bring about its physical de- lives and lifeways ridiculed unless it is struction in whole or in part; a result of a deliberate policy to commit d). Imposing measures intended to genocide as conducted by the state in prevent births within the group; whole or in part and those who control e). Forcefully transferring children of it. It is little wonder that the survivors of the group to another group. such brutality and fraud, might feel trep- idation about what the future may bring Further, Article III indicates that the fol- for the Native nations of California and lowing acts shall be punishable: the broader United States. Sadly, the American genocide against a). Genocide; Native Americans in this country, un- b). Conspiracy to Commit genocide; like the Jewish Holocaust, has not been c). Direct and public incitement to officially acknowledged by the federal commit genocide; government, and those responsible for d). Attempt to commit genocide; the death and destruction have not been e). Complicity in genocide” (United held accountable, though strides have Nations Pamphlet, 1948:6-7). been made to apologize for the atrocities When the term genocide is directed committed. The fact remains, however,

2. See the seminal scholarship of J. Norton, C. Trafzer, B. Madley, and B. Lindsay. 24 Norton

that apologies alone do not address the Impact on Native Peoples magnitude of the death and destruction caused. It is this author’s contention that The historical and contemporary an apology does not go far enough to al- impact of genocide on Native cultures low any real healing for the orchestrated is tragic. Patterns of inter-generational intent to destroy in whole or in part Na- dysfunction within Native families have tive cultures of the Americas. More often damaged the resolve of many to recov- than not, the Native legacy of trauma is er or adhere to traditional values and still romanticized through glorious cele- belief systems. Alcoholism and drug brations of European and American col- use abound as does poverty, malnutri- onization. Western dominance as myth tion and unresolved grief. In addition, is directly linked to the demise of Native re-traumatization often occurs when cultures. This collective myth is exalted Native people witness the disrespectful under the banner of Manifest Destiny; in and misguided perceptions exhibited assertions of national pride and patrio- by a seemingly insensitive and ignorant tism, that hide or distort the price expan- mainstream society regarding its own sionism cost Native people. Hence, it can history. However, the future of Califor- be easily asserted that Americans and nia Native identity is being reaffirmed Europeans alike, do not comprehend or through the assertion of tribal sover- accept their own potential complicity in eignty and traditional life ways and the the genocidal death and destruction of renewal of ceremonies and rituals. The Native American life ways. Rather, the determination, beauty, and will of ab- death of millions of innocent people is original ancestors, as well as of those described as inevitable or necessary for Native people alive today, teaches us all our macabre compulsion to acquire and about the tenacity and tenderness of the possess limitless physical space, an all Native spirit--a spirit that cannot be de- too familiar concept of spatial superior- stroyed, one that is currently reinventing ity later echoed in the Nazi doctrine of itself through life affirming actions that lebensraumpolitik or living space. promise to celebrate and revitalize each The Native people, it is argued, were of us in the 21st century. heathens, incapable of utilizing the vast Sacred regalia is returning to its stretches of American soil, even though rightful owners, ceremonies are resur- it was their ancestors who had dwelled facing to reenact the very moment of upon aboriginal lands for eons in relative creation after years of sorrow and sup- balance and environmental stewardship. pression, and the identity and integrity Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Na- of Native communities are continually tive people were required to yield to Eu- being reborn in the light of a precious re- ropean interests—to the rightful and the membrance of those lives lost to the his- just owners of the earth—whose ances- torical onslaught of Indo-European rac- tors had, in many instances, severely de- ism and rage. Every other autumn, the pleted the natural resources within their Hupa people still hold their White Deer own European homelands and needed to Skin Dance and Jump Dance ceremonies seize the new world in order to survive. at Takimildin, the center of their beau- 25 “To destroy in whole or in part”

tiful and secure world. About 60 miles Chalk, Frank and Kurt Jonassohn. 1990. away up the Klamath River, the Karuk The History and Sociology of Genocide: will dance with prayers for all things Analyses and Case Studies. New Hav- near their own center of spiritual pur- en, CT: Yale University Press. pose and pride, as do the Yurok, Wiyot, Churchill, Ward. 1994. Indians Are Us? and Tolowa peoples. We will secure our Culture and Genocide in Native North future and our children’s future because America, Common Courage Press, we will not forget the strength, bravery, Monroe, MA. and dedication of our ancestors. We shall Dobyns, Henry. 1976. Native American not forget the purpose of our ceremonies Historical Demography. Bloomington, to honor all life and all things. With the IN: Indiana University Press. knowledge and commitment of young Goddard, Pliny. “Life and Culture of scholars and the leadership of dedicat- the Hupa” in University of California ed people, we will live a meaningful life Publication in American Archeology with dignity and purpose. and Ethnology. 1(1). Berkeley, CA: Every society has a code of ethics UCP. that defines and emphasizes their- re “Good Haul of Diggers—Band Extermi- sponsibility to others. It is only when nated,” Humboldt Times. January 17, individuals distort, narrow, or set aside 1863. Eureka, CA. these moral obligations do inhuman Heizer, Richard, F. 1974. The Destruction acts such as genocide find its way into of California Indians. Lincoln, NE: human history. In the future, the his- University of Nebraska Press. tory of California may be corrected so Heizer, Richard, F. and A. F. Almquist. that justice and reconciliation can offer 1971. The Other Californians: Prejudice us new insights into human behavior in and Discrimination Under Spain, Mex- order to live more graciously upon this ico, and the United States. Berkeley, land. CA: University of California Press. Hoopes, Chad, L. 1966. The Lure of the References Humboldt Bay Region. Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Company. Bledsoe, Alan, J. 1881. History of Del Humboldt Times. December 1854. Eureka, Norte County. Eureka, CA: Hum- CA. boldt Times Print - Wyman and Humboldt Times. May 5, 1855. Eureka, Company. CA. Brandon, William. 1961. The American Humboldt Times. January 20, 1855. Eure- Heritage Book of Indians. NY: Dell ka, CA. Publishing Company. Humboldt Times. January 27, 1855. Eure- Castillo, Edward. 1998. “The Impact of ka, CA. Euro-American Exploration and Humboldt Times. February 23, 1861. Eu- Settlement” Pp. 99-127 in Handbook reka, CA. of North American Indians, Vol. 8: Cal- Hurtado, Albert. L. 1988. Indian Survival ifornia, edited by R. Heizer. Wash- on the California frontier. New Hav- ington, DC: Smithsonian Institute. en, CT: Yale UP. 26 Norton

McKibben, Grace Nolan. 1998. “Story- Denied, edited by Jack Norton and board Display,” Jake Jackson Muse- Jana Rivers-Norton. Medford, Ore- um, Weaverville, CA. gon: CARE. Northern Californian. March 23, 1859. Socktish, Rudolph. September 19, 1976. Arcata, CA. Personal Communication.San Fran- Norton, Jack. 1979. Genocide in North- cisco Bulletin. September 13, 1856. western California: When our Worlds San Francisco, CA. Cried. San Francisco, CA: Indian Stannard, D. E. 1992. American Holo- Historian Press. caust, Oxford University Press, NY. Pitelka, Linda. 1994. Mendocino: Race Staub, E. 1992. The Roots of Evil: The Or- Relations in a Northern California igins of Genocide and Other Group Vi- County, 1850-1949. Ph.D Disserta- olence, Cambridge University Press, tion. University of Massachusetts, NY. to the Yurok, Amherst, MA. \Document 63. Trafzer, Clifford, E. 1999. Exterminate 1863. Report of the Commissioner of Them! East Lansing, MI: Michigan Indian Affairs for 1862.Washington, State University. DC: GPO. United Nations Pamphlet. 1948. OPI/489- Rivers-Norton, Jana. 2014. “When Our 73-00880-35-35M. United Nations Humanity Meets,” Pp. 198-214 in If Public Information. Yreka Herald, the Truth Be Told: Lessons of Innocence August 7, 1853

About the Author

Jack Norton is Emeritus Professor of Native American Studies at Humboldt State University. He is of Hupa/Cherokee descent and an enrolled member of the Yurok Nation. He was the first California Native historian to be appoint- ed to the Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian History at the University of California, Riverside, 1997-1998, and author of the seminal work Genocide in Northwestern California: When Our Worlds Cried published by the Indian His- torian Press. In retirement Professor Norton has written several works on native culture, history, and philosophy, and has worked with native communities throughout California as a consultant to promote social justice in areas of native history, education, and sovereignty.