Hupa

For other uses, see Hupa (disambiguation).

Hupa

Total population
(2140 enrolled (1990))
Regions with significant populations
United States (California)
Languages
English, Hupa
Related ethnic groups
Chilula and Whilkut

A Hupa man with his spear

Hupa (also spelled Hoopa) are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinookwa, meaning "People of the Place Where the Trails Return". The majority of the tribe is enrolled in the federally recognized Hoopa Valley Tribe.

History

File:Hupa Sweat House.jpg

wood plank and rock Hupa sweat house

The Hupa people migrated from the north into northern California around 1000 CE and settled in Hoopa Valley, California. Their heritage language is Hupa, which is a member of the Athabaskan language family. Their land stretched from the South Fork of the Trinity River to Hoopa Valley, to the Klamath River in California. Their red cedar-planked houses, dugout canoes, basket hats, and many elements of their oral literature identify them with their northern origin; however, some of their customs, such as the use of a sweat house for ceremonies and the manufacture of acorn bread, were adopted from surrounding indigenous peoples of California.

Hupa people had limited contact with non-native peoples until the 1849 Gold Rush brought an influx of miners onto their lands. In 1864, the United States government signed a treaty that recognized the Hupa tribe's sovereignty to their land. The United States called the reservation the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation (located at ), where the Hupa now reside. The reservation is next to the territory of the Yurok at the connection of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers in northeastern Humboldt County. The reservation has a land area of 141.087 sq mi (365.413 km²).

Hupa female shaman, c.1923, Edward Curtis

Culture

Arts

Hupa people have traditionally excelled at basketry, elk horn carving, and since the 17th century, petroglyphs.

Ethnobotany

The Hupa use the acorns of Notholithocarpus densiflorus to make meal, from which they would make mush, bread, biscuits, pancakes, and cakes. They also roast the acorns and eat them. They also use the dyed fronds of Woodwardia radicans for basketry. They also use Xerophyllum tenax to create a border pattern in baskets.

Population

Further information: Population of Native California

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. Alfred L. Kroeber thought that the 1770 population of the Hupa was 1,000 and that the Chilula and Whilkut accounted for another 1,000. Kroeber estimated the population of the Hupa in 1910 as 500. In 1943, Sherburne F. Cook proposed an aboriginal population of 1,000 for the Hupa and 600 for the Chilula. He subsequently suggested a population for the Hupa alone of 2,900. William J. Wallace felt that the latter estimate was "much too high", and allowed 1,000 for the Hupa, 500–600 for the Chilula, and 500 for the Whilkut. The Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation has a resident population of 2,633 persons according to the 2000 census.

See also

• Hoopa, California—the name for the town (Unincorporated community) in the Hupa Valley. The name was changed at various times related to the post office.

References

Bibliographies

• Hupa Bibliography, from California Indian Library Collections Project

External links

• Hoopa Valley Tribe, official website
• San Francisco State University - Hupa
• Hoopa Tribal Museum