Course Description
This course is a survey of California Native American Cultures. The main temporal focus will be the late prehistoric and early historic periods. This time period (sometimes called the "ethnographic present") will permit us to utilize detailed ethnohistoric and ethnographic records as well as recorded oral histories, while at the same time permitting us to get a glimpse of cultures before extreme change brought about by European contact. However, we also take a brief look at the earlier prehistoric period (utilizing mostly archaeology) as well as the effects of European and American contact from 1539 to the late 1800's. Most of the course will involve consideration of the indigenous groups in each of California's major geographic\cultural regions: The Deserts, Southern California, Central California, Northwestern California, the Sierra Nevada, and Northeastern California. For each region, we will discuss the relevant cultural groups, language families, economic practices, social organization, material culture, and ideology. Frequently, the course will utilize the perspective of cultural ecology: the theoretical view that ecology significant affects cultural practices and institutions..
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Course Objectives

Students who successfully complete the course will be able to discuss, understand, and appreciate:

1) the nature of the archaeological evidence for the peopling of California and the length of Native American culture history in California.
2) the variety of traditional cultures, languages, and peoples among California Native Americans.
3) the role of ecology in shaping cultural adaptations in California
4) the nature and effects of contact between California Native Americans and Europeans
5) the severe impact of Anglo-American culture on California Native Americans
6) the challenges facing modern day California Native Americans

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Course Texts
Lowell J. Bean and Thomas C. Blackburn (eds.), Native Californians: A Theoretical Retrospective. Ballena Press, 1976.

James J. Rawls. Indians of California: The Changing Image. University of Oklahoma, 1986.

Students should also be aware that a number of helpful and important sources have been placed on reserve in the university library. A list of these is accessible through the course web page. The web page also provides access to several of the key handouts for the class.

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