Some Ahwahneechee slowly returned and established small communities in the Valley. Survivors from other tribes also settled here where a better living could be made. By 1910, over 90% of the original Ahwahneeche inhabitants were dead or missing. Beyond Yosemite Valley, seven traditionally associated American Indian tribes and groups have ancestral connections to Yosemite National Park: the American Indian Council of Mariposa County, Inc. (aka Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation), Bishop Paiute Tribe, Bridgeport Indian Colony, Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a, North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, and the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. ![]() (Right) Bridgeport Tom, a Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a, and his family lived in the Valley during the early 1900s. Here, the family poses in front of their home at the base of Yosemite Falls. ![]() (Right) Their community in tatters, Indian people had to adjust to a new and strange way of life. In 1870, this was an American Indian family of high status in Yosemite. |
Last updated: November 21, 2022