Tsnungwe
tse꞉ning-xwe | |
|---|---|
 łe꞉lding xontah - mouth of the South Fork of the Trinity River, principal Tsnungwe village | |
| Total population | |
| 150-200 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| California (Salyer ) | |
| Languages | |
| Hupa, Chimariko |
The Tsnungwe (current Hupa-language orthography, own name: Tse꞉ningxwe - "Tse꞉ning-din (Ironside Mountain) People") or Tsanunghwa are a Native American people indigenous to the modern areas of the lower South Fork Trinity River (yisinchʼing-qeh), Willow Creek (xoxol-ding), Salyer (miy-meʼ), Burnt Ranch (tse꞉n-ding/tse꞉ning-ding) and New River (Yiduq-nilin) along the Trinity River (hunʼ 'river') in Trinity and Humboldt County in California.[1] The Tsnungwe were a bilingual Hupa-Chimariko-speaking people and are known by the Hupa-speaking peoples as tse꞉ning-xwe.[2] The primary language was the Tsnungwe dialect of Hupa, and the secondary language was Chimariko, although spoken with a Hupa accent.[3]
The Tsnungwe include two sub-groups called łe꞉lxwe ('People of łe꞉l-ding') after their most important settlement and religious center, and the Chima꞉lxweʼ/Chimalakwe/Tłʼoh-mitah-xwe ('grass, prairies-amongst-people') along New River. The Karuk living north of the Salmon River Divide called the Chima꞉lxweʼ/Chimalakwe/Tłʼoh-mitah-xwe Akráak vaʼára ('New River People').[4] The Norelmuk Wintu from Hayfork called the Tsnungwe Num-nor-muk.[5]
Because their language is a dialect of the Hupa language, they are also called South Fork Hupa. Other tribal names refer to their territories occupied: South Fork Indians, Burnt Ranch, South Fork Trinity Tribe, and Kelta/Tlelwe/Hlelwe/Tlelding/Leldin Tribe or Tlohomtahhoi, Chaltasom.[6]
Neighboring tribes to the Tsnungwe include the Yurok, Redwood Creek Hupa, Hoopa Valley Hupa, Wiyot, Chimariko, Shasta, Karuk, and Wintu. Often times, Tsnungwe spoke many Native languages.[7] C. Hart Merriam referred to Tsnungwe leader Saxey Kidd as "a well-known polyglot," speaker of many languages.
Federal recognition
[edit source]The Tsnungwe descendants are members of the Tsnungwe Council: recognized by both Humboldt and Trinity counties, previously recognized by the United States of America, and working to have that federally-recognized status restored.[8][9]
Culture
[edit source]The traditional Tsnungwe diet included salmon, steelhead, Pacific lamprey "eels", black tail deer, and other local animals and plants.[10][11]
Language
[edit source]The language of the Tsnungwe is considered a dialect of the Hupa language of the Pacific Coast Athabaskan language group of North American native languages. This language (Diningʼxine꞉wh 'Hupa-speaking people', 'Hupa Indians') with various dialects is spoken (Tse꞉ning-xwe, dialect of South Fork and New River areas); (na꞉tinixwe 'Hoopa Valley Hupa'); (Chilula/Whilkut/Me꞉w-yinaq/Whiyłqit 'Redwood Creek Hupa').[12][13]
Villages
[edit source]Willow Creek area villages
[edit source]misqine꞉qʼit/nisking-qʼit, nantsʼing-tah (Clover Flat), niskin-ji-ding/niskinje꞉ndihding (upriver from Willow Creek), da꞉chwanʼ-ding (opposite niskin-ji-ding), da꞉chwanʼ-ding mima꞉n-chʼing (opposite of da꞉chwunʼ-ding, Camp Kimtu), saqe꞉qʼit (alternative: so-keʼa-keit, sock-kail-kit), saqe꞉qʼit mima꞉n-chʼing (opposite of saqe꞉qʼit), yinaq-xa꞉-ding/yinuq xa꞉-ti-nit (all three at Willow Creek), tłʼohday-kyoh-qʼit, xowiykʼiłxowh-ding (formerly: kʼiqin-saʼan-ding, Knight's Trailer Park), tse꞉-ding (opposite xowiykʼiłxowh-ding/Knight's Trailer Park), xoxo꞉chʼe꞉lding (at the mouth of Willow Creek), minqʼit-ch-ding (Enchanted Springs), qʼaykist chʼe꞉xahsding (Gambi's, formerly: China Flat), tʼunchwing-tah (alternative: tash-huan-tat, tash-wan-ta), dʼahilding (alternative: a-hel-tah, ta-hail-ta, Whitson's), yinaq-xa꞉-ding (just above the mouth of Willow Creek).[14][15]
South Fork Trinity area (yisinchʼing-qeh) villages
[edit source]łe꞉l-ding (also: Tlelding 'place where the rivers (South Fork and Trinity) meet', about one mile downriver from today's Salyer, largest and leading Tsnungwe settlement; ancient times: a kʼixinay village), including the three sub-villages me꞉łchwin-qʼit, ta꞉kʼiwe꞉ltsil-qʼit (on the other side of the mouth of the South Fork), ta꞉ngʼay-qʼit (old name was mituqʼ-qʼit-ding); chʼiłte꞉l-ding, chway-meʼ (Sandy Bar), dahchiwh-ding (about 12 miles above the mouth of the river), dilchwehch-ding (also: hay nahdiyaw tehłchwin-ding 'place where the money grows, once an important rich settlement at the mouth of Campbell Creek),łichiwh-ding, tłʼoh-wa꞉ne/xołtsowch-ding (Saxey Ranch), niłtuq-tah-ding (mouth of Mosquito Creek into Grouse Creek), qosta꞉n-ding, yahtsʼameʼ, yidahtichʼinahding (Ammon Ranch), yunihting (Todd Ranch).
Trinity River (South Fork – Cedar Flat area) villages
[edit source]hunʼ-kya꞉w-qeh (at Trinity River), ti-dił -ding (downstream from Salyer), xoling-kyoh-miye, miy-meʼ (alternative: meʼ-yemma, me-em-ma, Old Campbell Ranch/Fountain Ranch), kʼinunqʼ-ding, tse꞉-qʼit (Swanson's), no꞉kʼiwowh-ding (downstream from tse꞉-qʼit/Swanson's), kin-saʼan-ting (Irvings, Hawkins Bar), tse꞉łe꞉nga꞉ding (downstream from kin-saʼan-ting/Irvings), ta꞉wha꞉ wh-ding (Gray's Flat), xowung-qʼit (at a lake, near xwedaʼay-saʼan-meʼ/Chesbro's), xwedaʼay-saʼan-meʼ (Wells, Chesbro's).
Burnt Ranch and New River area villages
[edit source]tse꞉n-ding/tse꞉-nung-din (Burnt Ranch, large settlement), tse꞉nung-axis-ding (near China Slide, upstream from yinuq-dinung-ting/McDonald's at Burnt Ranch), yinuq-dinung-ting (McDonald Ranch, Burnt Ranch), chʼe꞉nantiłting (at the mouth of the New River), chʼe꞉na꞉dawhding (Dyer's, Bell's Flat), chʼixe꞉ne꞉wh-din (also: ʼxolish na꞉xoxuyntaʼ – Martha Dyer Ziegler's, upstream from qowh-ding), kʼiłna꞉dil mitoʼ (Hoboken), kʼiyawh-michwan (at China Creek, also: xolish chʼena꞉xolxolding – China Creek), łige꞉y de꞉-dilła꞉t-ding (upstream from tłʼohne꞉s-ding/Quimby), tłʼohne꞉s-ding (at the mouth of Quinby Creek, Ladd's, Thomas', Quimby), qowh-ding (south of Panther Creek), tłʼohschʼilʼe꞉n-ding (Daily's, before: Moses Patterson), tse꞉na꞉ningʼa꞉ding (at the confluence of East Fork and New River), yiduq-nilin (New River), yiduq-łe꞉na꞉lding (at the forks of the New River upstream from Denny), tłʼoh-mitah-xwe (Hupa speakers in New River villages).
References
[edit source]- ↑ Rowley, Max; Wooden, Margaret. "Big River: A Look at the South Fork of the Trinity by Max Rowley and Margaret Wooden". Humboldt Historian. 50 (1, Spring 2002): 15–23.
- ↑ "Chesbo family, Burnt Ranch. August 1921 1". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ↑ Hupa Language Dictionary - 2nd Edition, pages iii and 100
- ↑ Ararahihʼurípih - Karuk Dictionary
- ↑ Ethnogeographic and Ethnosynosymic Data from Northern California Tribes, by C. Hart Merriam, pages 111-112, Edited by Robert Heizer, Archaeological Research Facility, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1976
- ↑ Tsnungwe Place Names, by Tsnungwe Tribal Elders, 1994
- ↑ Map by C. Hart Merriam, Bureau of American Ethnology
- ↑ "Treaties between the Tsnungwe and United States Govt". www.dcn.davis.ca.us. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ↑ The ACCIP (Congressional Advisory Council on California Indian Policy) Recognition Report - Equal Justice for California, 1997
- ↑ "Tsnungwe Narrative". www.dcn.davis.ca.us. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Tsnungwe Council – NAHC Digital Atlas". nahc.ca.gov. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ↑ California Athabascan Groups by Martin Baumhoff, Anthropological Records 16:5, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1958
- ↑ "Hupa, Chilula and Whilkut" by William J. Wallace, Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 8: California, 1978
- ↑ Northern and Central California: Chimariko/Hupa, John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. Interview with Saxey Kidd, 1928
- ↑ Ethnogeographic and Ethnosynosymic Data from Northern California Tribes, by C. Hart Merriam, pages 111-112, Edited by Robert Heizer, Archaeological Research Facility, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1976
