Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley, California

Sprouting Valley: Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley, California James R. Welch Sprouting Valley: Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley, California Contributions in Ethnobiology Contributions in Ethnobiology Marsha Quinlan and Dana Lepofsky, Series Editors Contributions in Ethnobiology is a peer-reviewed monograph series presenting original book-length data-rich, state-of-the-art research in ethnobiology. It is the only monograph series devoted expressly to representing the breadth of ethnobiological topics. Explorations in Ethnobiology: The Legacy of Amadeo Rea Marsha Quinlan and Dana Lepofsky, Editors Sprouting Valley: Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley, California James R. Welch Sprouting Valley: Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley, California James R. Welch S E 2013 Copyright © 2013 Society of Ethnobiology All rights reserved Library of Congress Control Number: 2013939560 ISBN 978-0-9887330-2-2 (paperback) ISBN 978-0-9887330-3-9 (PDF) Society of Ethnobiology Department of Geography, University of North Texas 1155 Union Circle #305279, Denton, TX 76203-5017 Cover photo: John Scott using a fire blower to shape a wooden bowl, Pinoleville Rancheria, 1901. Photograph by John W. Hudson, used with permission. Negative no. CSA1889, The Field Museum, Chicago. For David W. Peri (1939–2000) David Peri, a close friend during the last years of his life, provided me with both the idea for this study and the primary archival resources to conduct it. After the City of Ukiah acquired the Hudson-Carpenter estate in 1975, David was hired to do an inventory. During the course of this project, he recognized the unparalleled ethnobotanical value of John Hudson’s field- notes. With permission from Lila Lee, administrator for Otis Kendrick, former owner of the Hudson-Carpenter estate, he retained copies of the entire set of documents containing ethnobotanical data with the intention of analyzing and publishing it himself. In the late 1970s David began efforts to systematize the material on index cards with the assistance of students, whose names regrettably I never located. He never completed the ef- fort and the Hudson ethnobotany study eventually took up permanent residence on several locked shelves at the bottom of a cabinet in his office. Decades later, as he approached retire- ment, David realized he was unlikely to finish the project and passed the materials on to me, his master’s student at the time, so that I might use them for my thesis. Our close collaboration discussing and assessing this remarkable ethnohistorical and ethnobotanical resource changed my view of the potential of both ethnobotany and anthropology. My work under Dr. Peri’s tutelage led me to continue my studies in the doctorate program in anthropology at Tulane University. I was already in New Orleans when news of David’s death reached me, just five months after he signed my completed thesis. It gives me immense pleasure to now complete the project that once was as much David’s as my own. Table of Contents List of Figures �� viii List of Tables �� x Foreword .....................................................................xi Acknowledgements ............................................................xv 1. Introduction .................................................................1 2. Reconstructing Potter Valley Pomo Plant Knowledge.............................5 3. Cultural and Physical Landscapes .............................................18 4. Historical Transitions and Encounters .........................................37 5. Potter Valley Pomo Plants ....................................................46 6. Plant Technologies, Preparations, and Applications ............................123 7. Final Remarks..............................................................175 Afterword....................................................................179 References Cited..............................................................180 List of Primary Taxa by Use Category ...........................................192 List of Primary Taxa by Family.................................................203 List of Figures Figure 1. Map of Pomoan lands. �� 1 Figure 2. Dr. John W. Hudson, circa 1892. �� 3 Figure 3. Pomoan dancers, circa 1895.. .10 Figure 4. Captain Jack Napoleon, Pinoleville, circa 1895. .10 Figure 5. John Miller drilling clamshells, Pinoleville Rancheria, circa 1895. ��11 Figure 6. Tony Me-tok. ��11 Figure 7. Migration routes to Potter Valley.. .20 Figure 8. Indigenous village sites in Potter Valley and vicinity, 1908. ��22 Figure 9. Approximate contemporary distributions of plant communities in lands historically frequented by the Potter Valley Pomo. ��23 Figure 10. Foothill (valley oak) woodland, North Coast Range, California, 2012. ��24 Figure 11. Riparian wetland, North Coast Range, California, 2008. ��24 Figure 12. Mixed conifer succession, North Coast Range, California, 2012. ��25 Figure 13. Chaparral in regrowth after fire, North Coast Range, California, 2011. ��35 Figure 14. Agricultural field in Ukiah Valley, circa 1880s. ��40 Figure 15. Potter Valley Tribe cemetery, Potter Valley, 2011. .42 Figure 16. Grace Hudson illustration of Potter Valley, 1893. ��42 Figure 17. Aurelius and Helen Carpenter with family, circa 1873. ��43 Figure 18. Fire drill apparatus made from buckeye.. .51 Figure 19. Baby brush made from angelica root fiber with iris cordage.. .55 Figure 20. Dogbane wedding bag with shell beads. ��56 Figure 21. Rolls of sedge basketry fibers. .69 Figure 22. Soaproot brush.. .72 Figure 23. Ash smoking pipes and bag of tobacco.. .90 Figure 24. Grace Hudson illustration of small wooden grinding bowl. ��98 Figure 25. Elderberry flutes.. .107 Figure 26. Child’s sleeveless tule garment. .108 Figure 27. Man using pump drill, Yokayo Rancheria. ��126 Figure 28. Barbed fish spear points. ��133 Figure 29. Woman parching seeds for pinole, Pinoleville Rancheria, 1901. .137 Figure 30. Closed plain-twined conical burden baskets, 1899.. .140 Figure 31. Hulling and drying acorns in the sun, Yokayo Rancheria, 1892. .140 Figure 32. Woman pounding acorns. .142 Figure 33. Red earth (ma-po’) collected by John W. Hudson in Potter Valley.. .143 Figure 34. Basketry weft materials: tule, willow (stripped), willow, and redbud.. .149 Figure 35. Open-twined utility basketry, 1899.. .150 Figure 36. Closed plain-twined baskets, 1899. ��151 Figure 37. One-rod coiled baskets with feather ornamentation, 1899. ��153 Figure 38. Wormwood game counters. ��158 Figure 39. Women’s gambling staves. ��158 Figure 40. John W. Hudson illustration of “Robin’s signature” design. ��160 Figure 41. Magnesite cylinder (po’). .161 Figure 42. “Firelog Joe” wearing armor, Hopland Rancheria, 1892. ��163 Figure 43. Men’s sweathouse, Yokayo Rancheria, 1897.. .172 Figure 44. Agricultural project on land purchased in 2006 by the Potter Valley Tribe, Potter Valley, 2011. ��175 Figure 45. Potter Valley, California, 2011. ��177 List of Tables Table 1. Phonetic alphabet employed by Dr. John W. Hudson.. 8 Table 2. Scientific name changes, showing Hudson’s terms, updated taxa, and bibliographical sources used. ��13 Table 3. Plant use categories and descriptions... .15 Table 4. Northern Pomo place names indicating past geomorphological transformations.. 21 Table 5. Northern Pomo terms for plant parts. .29 Table 6. Northern Pomo terms for plant growth phases and processes. ��29 Table 7. Major Northern Pomo plant categories and examples of associated plants. ��30 Table 8. Partial list of taxa associated with the native category “branching plant or tree” (ka-lǐ’). ��30

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