The signs in the photos are incorret. They show photos of Paiutes and Yokuts, but claim they are Miwok or Miwok/Paiute. That is what upsets many of the Paiute people. Kathleen Hull states that Tenaya's father was a Miwok, but during that same time Paiutes and Miwoks were fighting. In other words no Miwoks could've gone to Paiute Mono Lake and lived there. He would've been killed. In our Paiute legends we have a place called Ahwahnee so how do they explain that. Also in Tenaya's group he had people from Nevada and maybe some from Oregon. Yes Tenaya's band was a camposite tribe, a camposite tribe of different Paiute groups. There is no such thing as Nevada and Oregon Miwoks, only Nevada and Oregon Paiutes.
R. Dandridge | Homepage | 01.11.08 - 6:16 pm | #

Kathleen Hull says "Tenaya's mother was Paiute but his father MAY HAVE BEEN Miwok." Then she goes on to say "...there's good reason to believe the Awahnichi were Miwok-speaking people based on the language and various other cultural traits." May have been is not scientific. It is a guess. Dr. Lafayette H. Bunnell, who met Tenaya, wrote that Tenaya spoke a Paiute jargon, not Miwok. That the Mono Paiutes considered Tenaya to be one of their own and bragged about his WAR exploits. Now can Hull explain to me when or where did Tenaya speak Miwok? There has never been any account of Tenaya speaking Miwok, only speaking Paiute. Can Hull explain who Chief Tenaya was fighting that he would have "war exploits" for the Paiutes to brag about? Tenaya certainly wasn't fighting the Monos and Paiutes, but there are recorded accounts of Mono Paiutes fighting Miwoks. So no Miwok man could've went to war-like Paiute Mono Lake and live in peace, that is a fantasy promoted by white people. Ahwahnee or Owahnee is also a place in Paiute legends. It was only written that the Miwoks were the scouts and guides for the white miners and militia. The Miwoks had signed the Fremont Treaty EVEN BEFORE The Mariposa Battalion went into Yosemite Valley. It was also written that the white militia could have never discovered Tenaya if not for the help of their Miwok scouts. So the Myth of the Yosemite Miwoks is just that...a myth. The Park also says that they cannot identify the photos yet the photos in question can be identified. The photos in question are titled "Piute" or are of KNOWN Paiute people. So why can't the Park identify them if they are titled? What the park is doing is putting up a "Yosemite Miwok" story but using photos of known Paiute people. That is the true story here, not some fantasy of the Yosemite Miwoks. Plus the Park is also PAYING the Non-profit Southern Sierra Miwuks over 87,000 dollars to do 'tasks' around the park, but does not pay any other Indian group in the area. Why is that? They are not even a federally recognized tribe yet. It is a fact the non-profit Southern Sierra Miwuks are going for a nice big casino in the town of Dublin.
Jake Smith | Homepage | 01.11.08 - 2:10 am | #