Salinan

The Salinan are a Native American tribe whose ancestral territory is in the southern Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Range in the Central Coast of California. Today, the Salinan governments are now working toward federal tribal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Geographic origins

There were two major divisions and one subgroup. From north to south, the Antoniano lived in the lower part of the Salinas Valley (which flows south to north), near the future site of two missions: (Mission San Antonio de Padua and Mission San Miguel Arcángel). The Miguelino lived on the upper course of the Salinas River, and to the south near Slates Hot Springs, Junipero Serra Peak, and Soledad. There were also a Playano subgroup on the Pacific Coast in the vicinity of what is now Lucia and San Simeon. Salinans were Hunter-gatherers and, like most other California tribes, were organized in small groups with little centralized political structure.

They left shell middens behind indicating that they lived in the area in numbers along the coast. Their main diet during the summer consisted of fish and shell fish, evidenced by the fine particles of shell present in the soil for a depth of several feet in areas where the Indians camped. The Salinan named the peak Pimkolam.  

The  Wagon Caves rock formation about  northwest of present-day Jolon is an archeological site that was used by the Salinan Antonianos subtribe  who researchers believe occupied at least two villages in the area, an older site dating to approximately 450 A.D. and a later, protohistoric site with dates ranging from about 1450 to 1650 A.D. Archeologists have found a stemmed biface, lithic flakes, shell beads, and non-human bones, as well as shell, bone, flaked stone, fire-affected rock, charred seeds, and mortars at the cave site. The rock overhangs and caves have fire-scarred roofs that bear evidence of occupancy over hundreds of years. The Wagon Cave Research Natural Area of  contains diverse stands of Valley Oaks of varying ages and densities and has been recommended as a Research Natural Areas within the Los Padres National Forest.

When European settlers arrived on the southern Big Sur coast in the 1880s, they found some native people living on Mill Creek south of the present-day Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. Mabel Plaskett, whose family homesteaded along the coast in September, 1869, wrote about two saw mills established along the creek. Gabriel Fontes lived in a cave high up on the north slope of Mill Creek. He had two daughters, Alberta and Antonia. Alberta became a governess for a  wealthy family and traveled to Europe several times. , Tony lived in Jackson, California with family. Another native family was Cayatan and Lucia Canieti. She was the daughter of Antonio Gomez. They had two daughters, Hattie and Regina. They attended the Mansfield School in Manchester with the settlers' children.

Etymology

The tribe's name is taken from the Salinas River, as the Spanish  did not understand if the people had a name for themselves. The people's own name is "Te'po'ta'ahl"  or "People of the Oaks," according to current tribal leadership.  C. Hart Merriam called these people the En-'ne-sen on advice from one informant; En-'ne-sen  was the native word for the Salinan headquarters.

Language

The Salinan language, spoken until the 1950s is a language isolate. It may be a part of the  Hokan language family. Sapir included it in a subfamily of Hokan, along with Chumash and Seri; this classification has found its way into more recent encyclopedias and presentations of language families, but serious supporting evidence has never been presented.

Population

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially.  Alfred L. Kroeber put the 1770 population of the Salinan as 3,000. Sherburne F. Cook similarly estimated that there were at least 700 Salinans. The  2000 United States Census reported a total population of Salinan people as 681.

See also
 Salinan traditional narratives
 Kuksu (religion)
 Painted Rock (San Luis Obispo County)
 Chalon
 USS Salinan (ATF-161)

Notes

References

 Cook, Sherburne F. 1976. The Conflict between the California Indian and White Civilization. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
 Kroeber, Alfred L. 1925. Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.
 Hester, Thomas R. 1978. Salinan, in Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 8 (California). William C. Sturtevant, and Robert F. Heizer, eds. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978.  / 0160045754, pages 500-504. 
 Marlett, Stephen A. 2008. The Seri-Salinan connection revisited. International Journal of American Linguistics 74.3:393-399.
 Sapir, Edward. 1925. The Hokan affinity of Subtiaba in Nicaragua. American Anthropologist 27: (3).402-34, (4).491-527.
 National Public Radio segment by Allison Herrera, December 13, 2017

 
Native American tribes in California
California Mission Indians
 
Salinas River (California)
Salinas Valley
Santa Lucia Range
History of Monterey County, California
History of San Luis Obispo County, California
People from Monterey County, California
People from San Luis Obispo County, California