Pomo
The Pomo are a group of Native American peoples from Northern California, historically known for their rich cultural heritage and connection to the land. At their peak in 1770, the Pomo population was approximately 8,000, but numbers declined significantly by the 1930 census. Their traditional territory extends from the coastal areas near Cleone and Duncan's Point to the Clear Lake region and the Sacramento River valley. Pomo society was organized into small, semi-nomadic groups rather than large tribes, often centered around permanent villages.
A notable aspect of Pomo culture is their exceptional basketry, regarded as one of the highest forms of art among California tribes. The Pomo also utilized natural resources for food and crafts, engaging in trade using shells as currency. Their spiritual practices include shamanism and unique ceremonies such as the Maru Cult, which reflects the influence of historical events like the Ghost Dance of 1870. Family practices included bride purchase, and leadership was typically shared among respected male figures rather than a single chief.
Today, many Pomo descendants continue to uphold their traditions, with several federally recognized tribes operating in Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma counties, actively engaging in community development through initiatives like gaming revenues.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Pomo
Category: Tribe
Culture area: California
Language group:Hokan
Primary location: Clear Lake, Northern California
Population size: 10,308 ("Pomo tribal grouping," 2010 US Census)
The Pomo Native Americans are one of the many Native American cultures in California, and they historically shared traits with a wide variety of hunter-gatherer tribes in the area. In 1770, the number of Pomo was estimated at 8,000, which had dropped to 1,143 by the 1930 census. Pomo Native American traditional areas include Cleone Duncan’s Point and inland as far as the Clear Lake (Stony Creek) area, north of the San Francisco Bay, with the valley of the Russian River as the focal point for the main population. Another group made its home in the valley of the Sacramento River.
California Native Americans generally are not to be understood as tribes but rather as small tribal groups of a hundred persons at most. These groups, usually not permanent, surrounded a centrally recognized permanent village. The Pomo shared many common cultural traits with other village communities up and down the California coast as far south as the beginnings of the great Mexican tribal groups, where the appearance of pottery and other traditional Mexican native arts in the region of Southern California signals a mixing of cultures on a spectrum approaching the major civilization centers of central and southern Mexico.
Historically, Pomo people are most noted for their distribution of shells as a kind of currency exchange. They enjoyed a comparative wealth of natural resources for food, bead-making, and other needs. They also developed Native American basketry to perhaps the highest art form among all the California tribal groupings, incorporating styles and designs that mark Pomo artistry in a manner that is clear even to those not widely familiar with California basketry. Because of their residency near Clear Lake, the Pomo also developed canoes, the use of the single-blade paddle, and the use of balsa rafts.
As with other California tribal groupings, shamanism was practiced among the Pomo as a healing and supernatural art. Pomo ceremonial life is also noted for the use of sweat lodges, heated by direct fire rather than by steam (steam was absent throughout California tribal use of sweat lodges). Of particular interest with regard to Pomo religion is the Maru Cult, a religious ceremony of ritual and dancing that is a direct descendant of the influence of the Ghost Dance of 1870 on the Pomo people. The Maru Cult rituals are still observed among many modern Pomo members.
In terms of family life, the Pomo traditionally practiced the purchase of brides as an essential aspect of matrimony. There was no recognized chief in Pomo tradition, but rather a leadership of recognized male leaders of the settlements.
In the twenty-first century, numerous bands of Pomo Native Americans continued to carry on the heritage of their ancestors, with the majority still residing in California. This included several federally-recognized tribes based in California's Mendocino County, Lake County, and Sonoma County, which covered the traditional lands of the Pomo. For example, the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, recognized at the state and federal levels, operated with a level of autonomy that includes gaming rights, and the revenue collected from its casino facilities allowed the tribal government to fund various community programs.
Bibliography
"2010 Census CPH-T-6. American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2010." US Census Bureau, Dec. 2013, www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/cph/cph-t/cph-t-6/table-66.pdf. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Brown, Vinson, and Douglas Andrews. The Pomo Indians of California and Their Neighbors. Heraldsburg, Calif.: Naturegraph, 1969. Print.
"History." Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians. Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, 2016. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
Kroeber, Alfred. "The Indians of California." The North American Indians: A Sourcebook, edited by Roger Owen, James Deetz, and Anthony Fisher. New York: Macmillan, 1967. Print.
Meighan, Clement W., and Francis Riddel. The Maru Cult of the Pomo Indians: A California Ghost Dance Survival. Southwest Museum Papers 23. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum, 1972. Print.