Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria

Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria

Kashia Old Roundhouse in March 2012.
Total population
(over 86)
Regions with significant populations
United States (California)
Languages
English, Pomoan languages
Religion
Roundhouse religion, Christianity, Kuksu
Related ethnic groups
Pomo tribes

The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Sonoma County, California. They are also known as the Kashaya Pomo.

The reservation, Stewarts Point Rancheria, is located in Stewarts Point in Sonoma County. As of 2010, 78 people live on Stewarts Point Rancheria.

Stewarts Point Rancheria
Indian reservation
Country	United States
State	California
County	Sonoma
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	78
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	95480
Area code(s)	707

Reservation

The Kashia Band's reservation is the Stewarts Point Rancheria. It is located at Skaggs Springs Road in the Stewarts Point community in rural northern Sonoma County. It occupies 40 acres (160,000 m²) in Sonoma County and 78 people live on it. According to the 2010 United States Census 72 of the 78 residents are Native American, and an additional three residents consider themselves to be both Native American and of another race or ethnicity. The reservation has one elementary school, Kashia Elementary School.

The tribe conducts business from Santa Rosa. The nearest outside community is Sea Ranch, which lies to the northwest along the Pacific coast.

History and culture

The Kashaya still live in their ancestral homelands near present day Fort Ross. Their name for themselves, wina·má· bakʰe yaʔ is alternately translated as "Person who belongs on the land" or "People From the Top of the Land," or "Kashaya" means "expert gamblers."

When Russians settled in Kashaya lands, they conscripted the tribe to work for them but did not break up the tribe or convert them to Christianity.

Essie Parrish (1902-1979) was an important Kashia Band basket weaver and a spiritual leader of the Kashia Tribe, she strove to sustain Pomo traditions throughout the 20th century. The current spiritual leader of the Kashaya Pomo is Lorin Smith, (1935- ). As a Kashaya Pomo elder and medicine man, Lorin has welcomed non-Indians to visit the round house and take part in the ceremonies.

Language

The tribe traditionally speaks the Kashaya language, also known as Southwestern Pomo. It belongs to the Hokan language family of Northern California. Several dozen elders speak the language, and younger people are learning and trying to sustain it.

Restoration of tribal land

In October 2015, California landowner Bill Richardson returned his 688-acre farm to the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, restoring their access to the Pacific coast after they were forced to an inland reservation approximately 150 years earlier. Richardson's family had bought the property, which features dense redwood forest, towering coastal bluffs, and waterfalls along the Pacific Coast Highway, in 1925. The Tribe will manage the land as protected open space, and a demonstration forest will be maintained in order to educate and engage the public about the history and practices of indigenous people in the area. The newly established Kashia Coastal Reserve restores ownership of the land to the tribe, the land being acquired after five years of fundraising by the Sonoma County government, The Trust for Public Land, private foundations and groups.[1]

References

• Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1
• Sarris, Greg. Keeping Slug Woman Alive: A Holistic Approach to American Indian Texts. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. (retrieved through Google Books, 28 July 2009) ISBN 978-0-520-08007-2.

External links

• Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of Stewarts Point Rancheria, tribal website