Patwin
The Patwin are a patrilineal Indigenous group from California, part of the larger Wintun language family. Historically, they occupied territories stretching from Suisun Bay to Little Snow Creek and were organized into small, localized communities known as tribelets, each typically situated near streams. Their subsistence practices included fishing, hunting, trapping, and gathering, reflecting a diversified lifestyle. Patwin villages were characterized by earth-covered, semi-subterranean structures, which housed multiple families and included sweathouses.
Cultural practices included significant rites such as the Kuksu rituals, which may have originated with them, reflecting their spiritual beliefs. The Patwin faced a tumultuous history following European contact, which led to their servitude and significant population decline due to disease and conflict. Eventually, they were forced onto reservations, and by the early 1970s, few individuals could identify as Patwin. In the present day, descendants are part of three federally recognized tribes that aim to preserve Patwin heritage, language, and culture while engaging in environmental and economic initiatives on their ancestral lands.
Patwin
Category: Tribe
Culture area: California
Language group: Wintun (Penutian)
Primary location: From Suisun Bay to Little Snow Creek, California
The patrilineal Patwin were divided by territory into Hill and River Patwin, whose villages were always located on streams. A single village constituted a tribelet. Part of the Native American culture of California, the group had a diversified subsistence base that included fishing, hunting, trapping, gathering, and collecting. Though they had four types of structures, all were earth-covered and semi-subterranean, with either circular or elliptical ground plans; each housed several families. Their sweathouses were also subterranean. They had numerous rites of intensification, but rituals of particular importance were the Kuksu rituals and society and the Hesi cult systems. The Kuksu cult, in all its ritual complexity, may in fact have originated among the Patwin.
Prior to 1800, there were numerous Spanish missionary accounts and vital statistics concerning the Patwin. After coming into contact with European Americans, they became serfs and a valuable labor force to Mexicans. Several Indian leaders arose in opposition, forming alliances with other Indian groups. The Patwin suffered greatly from epidemics and conflict with settlers, miners, and the military; eventually they were forced onto reservations. The decline in Patwin population and ethnographic identity continued into the twentieth century, and by 1972 the Bureau of Indian Affairs could locate only eleven people who claimed Patwin ancestry.