Maidu
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The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who lived in Northern California. They lived in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers.
The name Maidu means "person".
Kroeber estimated that there were 9,000 Maidu about the year 1770. The Census of 1910 counted 1,100, and the 1930 Census only 93.
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Local divisions
The Maidu were divided into three groups, the Nisenan or Southern Maidu, the Northeastern or Mountain Maidu, and the Northwestern Maidu, or Konkow.
The Southern Maidu occupied the whole of the American, Bear and Yuba river drainages.
The Northeastern Maidu lived on the upper North and Middle forks of the Feather River.
The Northwestern Maidu were below the high Sierra, in the South, Middle, North and West branches of the Feather River, on the Upper Butte and Chico Creeks, and in the Sacramento Valley along the lower course of those streams.
Culture
The Maidu were hunters and gatherers. They lived in small villages with no centralized political organization.
Religion
Their mythology revolved around stories of the trickster Coyote. Maidu Coyote tales are exceptionally funny and very bawdy.
See also
External links
- Konkow Valley Band of Maidu
- Mechoopda Maidu Indians
- Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California in 1770 (map after Kroeber)
Bibliography
- Kroeber, Alfred L. (1925). Handbook of the Indians of California. (Reprinted 1953, 1970, 1976).
- Heizer, Robert F. (1966). Languages, territories, and names of California Indian tribes.ca:Maidu