California through Native eyes : reclaiming history / William J. Bauer, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bauer, William J., Jr., author.

Series:

Indigenous confluences

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indians of North America--California--History.

Indians of North America.

Indians of North America--California--Folklore.

Indians, Treatment of.

Indians of North America--Wars.

Indian mythology.

Paiute Indians.

Folklore.

Pomo Indians.

Konkow Indians.

History.

California.

Konkow Indians--Folklore.

Pomo Indians--Folklore.

Paiute Indians--Folklore.

Indian mythology--California.

Indians of North America--Wars--California.

Indians, Treatment of--California.

Physical Description:

xiii, 165 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2016]

Summary:

"Most California histories begin with the arrival of the Spanish missionaries in the late eighteenth century and skip to the Gold Rush of 1849. Noticeably absent from these stories are the perspectives and experiences of the people who lived on the land long before European settlers arrived. Historian William Bauer seeks to correct that oversight through an approach that tells California history strictly through Native perspectives. Using oral histories of Concow, Pomo, and Paiute workers, taken as part of a New Deal federal works project, Bauer reveals how Native peoples have experienced and interpreted the history of the land we now call California. Combining these oral histories with creation myths and other oral traditions, he demonstrates the importance of sacred landscapes and animals and other nonhuman actors to the formation of place and identity. He also examines tribal stories of ancestors who prophesized the coming of white settlers and uses their recollections of the California Indian Wars to counteract popular narratives that downplay Native resistance. The result challenges the "California story" and enriches it with new voices and important points of view."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Creating

Naming

Discovering

Fighting

Cleansing

Persisting

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780295998343

0295998342

9780295998350

0295998350

OCLC:

933273551