Wappo
The Wappo are a Native American tribe traditionally located in the Napa Valley region of California. They are closely associated with neighboring tribes such as the Southern Pomos and Coast Miwoks. Known for their oval grass houses, the Wappo established permanent villages along stream systems and relied on fishing, hunting, and gathering, particularly acorns and other wild plants, for sustenance. Culturally, the Wappo practiced monogamy and had a rich tradition of basket manufacturing, reflecting their deep connection to the land.
The name "Wappo" is derived from the Spanish term "guapo," meaning "handsome," while the tribe refers to themselves as the Onastis, or "Outspoken People." The Wappo population faced significant challenges following European contact, including disease, displacement, and environmental degradation, leading to a steep decline in their numbers and cultural practices. By the early 20th century, only a small number of Wappos retained knowledge of their language.
In recent years, the Mishewal Wappo Indians have sought to restore their federal recognition, claiming that it was improperly terminated in the late 1950s. A 2015 court ruling ruled against their claim, highlighting ongoing legal and community dynamics surrounding tribal recognition and land rights. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, 291 individuals identified as Wappo, representing one of the fifteen tribes within the broader California Tribes grouping.
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Wappo
Category: Tribe
Culture area: California
Language group: Wappo
Primary location: Napa River, Clear Lake, and Alexander Valley, California
Population size: 300 (2015 Napa Valley Historical Society)
The Wappos, contiguous with the Southern Pomos, Central Pomos, Patwins, and Lake and Coast Miwoks, were territorially divided into the Clear Lake and the Southern Wappos. They located their oval grass houses in permanent villages on stream systems in the Napa Valley, acquiring subsistence by fishing, hunting, trapping, and gathering food plants, including acorns, tubers, roots, and numerous grasses. They tended to be monogamous and discouraged divorce. The Wappo excelled in manufacturing baskets.
There are indications that the Wappos fought against the Spanish in Napa Valley; some Wappos were apparently held at the Sonoma Mission. The reservation at Mendocino was established in 1856, closing in 1867. Post-contact disease, displacement of groups, degradation of the environment and its resources by European Americans, and ensuing conflict all served to reduce the Wappo population and traditional lifeways. By 1910, only twenty Wappos had any knowledge of their language and traditional ways. By 1960, only five Wappo speakers remained. The name Wappo comes from the Spanish word guapo, meaning “handsome.” The Wappos call themselves the Onastis, meaning “Outspoken People.”
According to the 2010 United States Census, 291 people reported that they were Wappos, one of fifteen tribes within the California Tribes tribal grouping. These population totals include individuals who reported multiple tribes or tribal grouping affiliations and those who reported being American Indian and Alaska Native alone or with any combination of other races.
In March 2015, a federal court ruled against the Mishewal Wappo Indians of Alexander Valley, who had sued the federal government in 2009 over what they claimed was the illegal termination of the tribe’s federal recognition under the 1959 California Rancheria Act. The Mishewal Wappo Indians sought to have federal recognition of the tribe restored and for unspecified land in Napa and Sonoma counties to be placed into a federal trust, which would exempt the land from local and state regulations. Opponents of the suit, which included the agriculturally focused Napa and Sonoma counties, were concerned that the tribe planned to build a casino on the land, although the tribe’s chairman, Scott Gabaldon, said that while building a casino would be within the tribe’s sovereign rights, they did not have immediate plans to do so. At the time of the lawsuit in 2015, there were approximately 300 Wappo American Indians.
Bibliography
Fimrite, Peter. “Wappo Indians Want to Reclaim Recognition, Land.” SFGate, 18 May 2012, www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Wappo-Indians-want-to-reclaim-recognition-land-3567666.php. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Lowery, Linda. Native Peoples of California. N.p.: Lerner, 2017. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 7 Sept. 2016.
“Napa's First People – Napa County Historical Society.” Napa County Historical Society, 12 Oct. 2015, napahistory.org/napas-first-people/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
“Native History of Napa Valley's First People.” Suscol Intertribal Council, www.suscolcouncil.org/about-us/firstpeopleshistory/. Accessed 26 March 2023.
Raskin-Zrihen, Rachel. “Federal Court Rules for Napa County, Against Wappo Tribe.” Times-Herald (Vallejo, CA), 11 Apr. 2019, www.timesheraldonline.com/2015/03/24/federal-court-rules-for-napa-county-against-wappo-tribe/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
"2010 Census CPH-T-6. American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2010." Census.gov, Dec. 2013, www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/cph/cph-t/cph-t-6/table-66.pdf. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.