Tag: Mono Lake

Mono Lake is found on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada, California. It is an ancient desert, saline lake with a unique ecosystem. It supports no fish but is home to trillions of brine shrimp and alkali flies. Additionally, around two million migratory birds visit the lake every year.

Paiute people have lived around the Mono Basin area for millennia. They are the southern band of Northern Paiutes (Numu) known as Kutzadika’a (or Kucadikadi and other spellings). The meaning of the name is “brine fly larvae eaters”, derived from the Paiute word Kutsavi, meaning “brine fly”.

The Ahwahneechees, whose homeland is Yosemite Valley (Ahwahnee), are also a group of Northern Paiutes. They lived in the valley area for several thousands of years. However, in the late 18^th century a “black sickness” caused the deaths of many of the Ahwahneechees, forcing their Chief to abandon the valley to live with their relatives at Mono Lake. There the Chief married a Kutzadika’a. They bore a son, called Tenaya, who was raised amongst the Kutzadika’a in the Mono Basin.

After his father died, Tenaya returned to Ahwahnee as the new Chief with his people and all who wanted to be with them in the valley. This was in the early part of the 19^th century.

During the time of the California Gold Rush, in the 1840s and beyond, many of the indigenous people in California were driven from their homelands as tens of thousands of prospectors and fortune seekers displaced them. Conflicts arose between the new settlers and local groups. This led to fighting, robberies, and murders. The California State Governor established a military force to protect the new arrivals and force the indigenous people into reservations.

In 1850, the Mariposa Battalion was formed and pursued the Ahwahneechees into Yosemite Valley to drive them out and take them into reservations. Chief Tenaya and his people resisted but were compelled to flee. Members of this Battalion were the first white people to enter Yosemite Valley. There they mapped and re-named the astonishing landmarks that we know today.

In June 1852, a military detachment set out to pursue the remaining Ahwahneechees. They followed them across the Sierras into the Mono Basin. It believed that they were the first white people to enter this region. Chief Tenaya and his remaining people hid with the Kutzadika’a and weren’t discovered by the soldiers.

The true and astonishing story of the Ahwahneechees can be found in the historical fiction Great Spirit of Yosemite: The Story of Chief Tenaya.