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Wiyot Territory The Wiyot Tribe is located in the far northern California region near the city of Eureka historically known for its surrounding majestic redwood forests and thick salmon runs. In 1840 settlers began moving into what is now the Humboldt County district, and began to create their own economy supported by logging, fishing, hunting and gold mining. An event that occurred over 135 years ago still burns in the memory of the Wiyot people... For thousands of years the Wiyot people danced for healing on this land, hunted its wildlife, fished the salmon and gathered its roots for medicine, food and basketry. At one time the Wiyot lands spanned across approximately a 40 mile radius. From what is now McKinleyville to Capetown to Scotia and inland as far as Blue Lake and Kneeland. As settlers grew in numbers so did the desire to rid the land of Wiyot people. An event that occurred over 135 years ago still burns in the memory of the Wiyot people as if it had happened yesterday.  Pictured Above: Indian Island |
The Massacre Indian Island, the center of the Wiyot world, was a place for a dance known as a “world renewal ceremony” which lasted for seven to ten days in a village called Tuluwat. The significance of this ceremony was to ask the Creator to bless all people and the land in preparation for the new year.  Traditionally the men would leave the island and return the next day with the days supplies. The elders, women and children were left to rest on the island along with a few men. Early morning February 26th, 1860, the day after the world renewal ceremony a group of local Eureka men armed with hatchets, clubs and knives, paddled their boats over to the island. Guns were left behind so the noise would not be so great. Exausted from the ceremonial dance, sleeping men, women and children were brutally slain. History would tell that this was not the only massacre that took place that morning. Two other Wiyot village sites were also attacked. A total of eighty to one hundred people or more were brutally murdered that cold February morning. After 1860 there were an estimated population of 200 Wiyot people left. By 1910 there was an estimate of less than 100 full blood Wiyot people living within Wiyot territory. This rapid decline in population was due to disease, slavery, target practice, “protection”, and being herded from place to place, and of course, massacres. Today the Wiyot tribe resides on 88 acres of land called Table Bluff, 16 miles south from the city of Eureka. Currently there are over 500 enrolled Wiyot members that continue a struggle for the survival of their cultural way of life. As part of the survival of the Wiyot culture the Wiyot Tribe has entered into an agreement to purchase back a portion of Indian Island for future generations and for those of today. The Wiyot people who have gone before us and those who are to come would like to invite you to contribute generously to the Wiyot Sacred Site Fund and help heal the past to make a dance for future generations to come. |
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Also, please visit the Wiyot Sacred Site Fund, and Indian Island Cultural and Environmental Restoration Project pages. For more information please contact Michelle: (707) 733-5055 or 1-800-388-7633
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