| Two articles are posted here. Scroll
down to read them. They are:
1. Natomas' First Settlers
(history of Maidu-Nisenan)
2. Steelhead Creek in the
Ueda Parkway (which led to the successful renaming
of Steelhead Creek [from Natomas East Main Drainage Canal])
Natomas' First Settlers
(history of Maidu-Nisenan)
Our Native American
Heritage
by Barbara Graichen
The first settlers arrived in the Sacramento Valley as early as
8,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of them in Sacramento County
is found along the Cosumnes River near Rancho Murieta where crude
stone tools were recovered from gravels estimated to be
12,000-18,000 years old. The first Natomas residents, sometimes
called the Windmillers, were mainly hunters. They established
villages in Natomas about 4,500 to 5000 years ago. However, some of
the sites have not been fully evaluated so they may be older.
Around four thousand years ago, the activities, language and
cultural habits of Natomas residents changed. People began to spend
more time gathering the abundant and tasty native food found in
Natomas. They baked, made jewelry from shells, stones and crystals,
and traded pelts and food for beads, obsidian, chert, greenstone,
quartz, slate, and other materials not found in Natomas. By 500
A.D., the Maidu-Nisenan culture was firmly established. Many people
were living in villages along the Sacramento and American Rivers
along western and southern Natomas, and Dry and Auburn Ravine Creeks
to the east and north.
 By
the 1800s, over 100,000 native peoples lived in the Central Valley.
As many as 10,000 Maidu-Nisenan people lived in Natomas. In 1832,
John Work counted 1,500 people living at the confluence of the
Sacramento and Feather Rivers near present day Verona. These
people, the Maidu, gave Natomas its name. "Natomas" is a Maidu word
meaning north place or upstream people. The Maidu were a branch of
the Nisenan people. The word, "Nisenan," means our people or among
us.
Most of the Natomas Maidu lived on natural levees or high ground
along our rivers and creeks. There were at least six villages along
the American and Sacramento Rivers from Northgate Boulevard to
Verona. They were called Wollack (near Verona), Leuchi, Nawrean
(west of Power Line Road), Wishuna, Totola (in northern Natomas),
and Pusune (southern Natomas). Other settlements were located along
Dry Creek in eastern Natomas, and Auburn Ravine Creek in northern
Natomas.
Remnants of villages, cemeteries, ceremonial grounds, trading
sites, fishing stations, seasonal camps and river crossings still
remain in Natomas. Their locations are kept hidden from the public
so they won't be disturbed. There have been several archaeological
digs in Natomas, and beautiful pottery and other items from sites,
like the now destroyed Bennet Mound (west of Power Line Road), are
on display in various California museums.
Natomas was considered the best place to live in Western North
America because of the mild climate and abundant year round food
resources. It was a bit like paradise, here. There was no need to
work hard raising crops, tending livestock or going to work every
day.
There was ample shade in the forested areas. Rivers, creeks,
ponds and lakes teemed with Salmon, Steelhead Trout, Tule Perch,
crawdads, ducks, geese, turtles, mussels, freshwater clams and
bullfrogs. Grasslands and forests supported pheasants, rabbits,
doves, and quail. Elderberries, grapes, onions, sweet potatoes,
sunflower seeds, pine nuts, brodiaea bulbs, carrots, lettuce,
potatoes, blackberries, nuts, roots and tubers, and grains grew wild
in Natomas. They were easy to find and gather. There were forests
and herds of elk, pronghorn antelope, and deer. Early explorers
(Yount, 1837) wrote that the deer, antelope and elk were so tame
that people could walk amid them without startling them.
 The
Maidu built granaries and made or traded milling equipment, mortars
and pestles, baskets, harpoons, fish spears, bows and arrows,
quivers, mats, pipes, nets, ropes, antler wedges, balsa canoes,
obsidian knives, and other stone tools. Villages or groups of
villages were organized into a tribelet under the authority of a
"headman." The office could be elected but was usually hereditary.
The main functions of the headman were to settle disputes, host
visitors, and oversee other activities.
Maidu villages generally had 3-7 houses although larger villages
housed up to 200-300 people. Dwellings were 10-15 feet in diameter
and generally dome shaped. They were covered with bark or brush and
placed over slight depressions. This kept residents very cool
during hot Natomas summers. People also built 30 foot diameter or
larger round houses for dances, gatherings and ceremonies. Natomas
was a peaceful and marvelous place to live.
Unfortunately, paradise was lost. In 1832, a group of Hudson Bay
Company workers brought malaria to Natomas. Within a few months,
seventy-five percent of Natomas' residents died. The gold rush
brought miners and settlers, some of whom destroyed villages, killed
people or forced them into slave labor. Many other Maidu people
died of measles, consumption or from horrible working conditions.
The herds of antelope, elk and other large mammals disappeared.
Place names, like Elkhorn Boulevard and Natomas, provide some of the
only reminders of Natomas' first settlers and the natural
environment in which they lived. Perhaps, our "new" Natomas
residents can think of ways to remember and honor those who came
before us. If you would like to learn more about Natomas' history,
help preserve and document our history and/or meet a lot of
fascinating people, call 419-0509 (Natomas Historical Society).
2. Steelhead Creek in the
Ueda Parkway?
by Barbara Graichen
Take a
moment and imagine what Natomas was like twenty years before the
gold rush. In those days, dozens of creeks and streams drained the
eastern valley or Sierra foothills and meandered through Natomas.
Some streams emptied into a motley assortment of year round lakes
and marshes that were scattered throughout our basin. Others made
it all the way to the big rivers.
Herds of
deer and antelope, fattened on lush grasses, tules and marsh plants,
roamed the lowlands of Natomas. Salmon, Steelhead and other fish
were abundant as were the plump water birds. River otter feasted on
fresh water clams. Forests of huge oak and cottonwood trees were
visible in every direction.
This was
the place that thousands of native Maidu-Nisenan people called
home. Many made their homes on the natural levees that paralleled
the Sacramento and American Rivers and Natomas’ larger creeks.
Other natives simply enjoyed hunting and fishing trips along our
creeks and streams. It was a bit like paradise.
Times
changed. By the early 1900s, an urge to farm or sell land for
profit caused the promotion of remarkable plans to drain the land.
Landowners and residents reacted favorably to expensive engineering
proposals to tame the rivers and creeks that flooded the basin.
Dreams turned into an enormous land reclamation effort that caused
Natomas to earn national renown as “the Holland of California.”
Lakes and
marshes were drained. Natural creeks were captured in canals, with
portions of their channels shunted in unfamiliar directions.
Between May 1912 and December 1914, a ring of levees rose around
55,000 acres of land blocking the natural waterways that once
crossed the great basin. Our streams became captive creeks; at
best called sloughs; at worst drainage canals.
Some local
residents and groups have decided that it’s time to begin to
acknowledge our natural heritage by changing the name of the Natomas
East Main Drain Canal (NEMDC), the eastern boundary of Natomas, to
Steelhead Creek. Reasons vary. Some people simply don’t like the
official name because it brings concrete to mind rather than
wildlife viewing and recreation. Some, like County Parks
Commissioner, Bob Bastian, think that it helps people focus on a
local recreation opportunity. “The ponds just north of Sorento Road
are a great place to spend a Sunday morning fishing with my son!” he
said. “Two weeks ago, we saw Canadian Geese, Mallards and a variety
of other birds.”
Many
Natomas residents who support the new name want more people to
appreciate the area’s history and learn about wildlife that live in
and near the creek. Valley View Acres resident, Jeanie Brower,
remembers her brother catching Steelhead in the NEMDC. Jack Alvarez
remembers sitting under the old Sorento Road Bridge catching Black
Bass while waiting for his future wife to finish dinner.
Seventy-two year old Lou Lawrence relates stories from his boyhood
when friends caught Steelhead in what they then called Steelhead
Creek.
Some
people, like me, remember year round water in the northern NEMDC and
more trees. We want others to share our vision of a restored creek.
Most younger residents have only seen Steelhead Creek’s degraded
northern channel and few people realize that the beautiful stream
that enters the Sacramento River on the north side of Discovery Park
in the American River Parkway is actually the NEMDC!
Many of the
volunteers who helped breathe life into the Ueda Parkway, like
equestrian Mike Harriman, look forward to riding horses or bicycles
on the many miles of trails planned to be constructed beginning in
spring 2001. They would like to see more shaded trails. Many,
like Beverly Dir, enjoy seeing the trees and shrubs that have
already been planted and would like to see more.
“The name,
“Steelhead Creek,” may serve as a reminder that captive Natomas
streams can provide opportunities for education, wildlife viewing
and recreation.” said Alta Tura, president of the Sacramento Urban
Creeks Council. “They need to be kept clean and attractive for
wildlife and for us.”
The State
passed SB 2261, which requires that, the State Department of Fish
and Game double the natural production of Steelhead. Perhaps
Natomas can further efforts to obtain state and federal dollars for
restoring and enhancing Steelhead and Salmon fisheries in our creeks
by supporting the new name for the NEMDC. This could mean more
scenic places for picnicking, fishing and other recreation.
ABOUT
STEELHEAD Steelhead were once abundant in central California
streams from Mexico to Oregon including Dry Creek and the NEMDC.
For years, no one saw any Steelhead in our smaller creeks (Salmon
runs continue in low numbers). In recent years, residents and
scientists have begun to report Steelhead sightings.
A Steelhead
Trout is often called a Rainbow Trout that has the urge to travel to
the sea. An adult Steelhead has a bluish back, silvery side, and
small, sharply defined spots on the head, back, and sides, and on
dorsal and tail fins. In fresh water, a reddish stripe can usually
be seen from head to tail. Steelhead average 2 to 15 lbs. Six lbs.
is considered large although a few have reached 40 lbs.
Like the
salmon that inhabit Steelhead (proposed) and Dry Creeks, Steelhead
usually return to spawn in the upstream gravels where they were
spawned. However, they do not die after spawning. Counts taken
between 1943 and 1947 indicate that local Steelhead generally
migrated in the spring although many Steelhead migrate between
October and April. Young Steelhead spend from one to two years in
fresh water before returning to the ocean.
The ideal
spawning location for a Steelhead is slower moving water with 2 to
14 inch depths available for babies (fry) and juveniles. Year round
water temperatures need to remain below 60 degrees making Dry
Creek’s spring fed upstream and higher elevation locations suitable
habitat. |
