Mythologies of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Tribe
The Tolowa people or Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethno-linguistic group. Two rancherías (Smith River and Elk Valley) still reside in their traditional territory in northwestern California. Those removed to the Siletz Reservation in Oregon are located there. Related to current locations, Tolowa people are members of several federally recognized tribes: Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (Tolowa, Chetco, Yurok), Elk Valley Rancheria (Tolowa and Yurok), Confederated Tribes of Siletz (more than 27 Native Tribes and Bands, speaking 10 distinct languages, including Athapascans speaking groups of SW Oregon, like Upper Umpqua, Coquille, Tututni, Chetco, Tolowa, Galice and Applegate River people), Trinidad Rancheria (Chetco, Hupa, Karuk, Tolowa, Wiyot, and Yurok), Big Lagoon Rancheria (Yurok and Tolowa), Blue Lake Rancheria (Wiyot, Yurok, and Tolowa) as well as the unrecognized Tolowa Nation. The name "Tolowa" is derived from Taa-laa-welh (Taa-laa-wa), an Algic name given to them by the Yurok (Klamath River People) (meaning "people of Lake Earl"). The name "Tolowa" is derived from Taa-laa-welh (Taa-laa-wa), an Algic name given to them by the Yurok (Klamath River People) (meaning "people of Lake Earl"). Their homeland, Taa-laa-waa-dvn (“Tolowa ancestral-land”) lies along the Pacific Coast between the watersheds of Wilson Creek and Smith River (Tolowa-Chetco: Xaa-wun-taa-ghii~-li, Xaa-wvn’-taa-ghii~-li~, or Nii~-li~) basin and vicinity in northwestern California Del Norte.
The Tolowa language (also called Chetco-Tolowa, or Siletz Dee-ni) is a member of the Pacific Coast subgroup of the Athabaskan language family. Together with three other closely related languages (Lower Rogue River Athabaskan, Upper Rogue River Athabaskan or Galice-Applegate and Upper Umpqua or Etnemitane) it forms a distinctive Oregon Athabaskan cluster within the subgroup. At the time of first European contact Tolowa was spoken in several large and prosperous village communities along the Del Norte County coast in the far northwestern corner of California and along the southern coast of adjacent Curry County, Oregon. Today the term Tolowa (or sometimes Smith River) is used primarily by those residing in California, most of whom are affiliated with the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation. Those residing in Oregon, most of whom are affiliated with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz southwest of Portland, where their ancestors were removed in the 1850s (Beckham 1971), refer to themselves as Chetco, Tututni, or Deeni.
Tolowa Dee-ni’ (people) live throughout Taa-laa-waa-dvn (Tolowa-Ancestral-Land), which lies along the Pacific Coast between the watersheds of; Wilson Creek and Smith River in California, and the Winchuck, Chetco, Pistol, Rogue, Elk and Sixes Rivers, extending inland up the Rogue River throughout the Applegate Valley in Oregon.
In Tolowa culture, caring for the forest is an essential responsibility, as all life is interconnected in the forest. Redwood forests are an important part of the Nation’s culture. Redwoods are called K’vsh-chu in the Tolowa Dee-ni’ language. The tree’s roots are used to make ceremonial baskets; the leaves are used for medicine; and wood is used make utilitarian tools and build houses, sweathouses, and dugout canoes. A traditional practice passed down from generation to generation, crafting a redwood canoe takes months. The canoe is revered as a living body with its own spirit, and it provides Tolowa people with the ability to fish for salmon, which is a traditional food.
Tolowa Indians. An Athapascan tribe of extreme north west California. When first known they occupied the coast from the mouth of Klamath river nearly to the Oregon line, including Smith river valley and the following villages: Echulit, Khoonkhwuttunne, and Khosatumie of the Khaamotene branch, Chesthltishtunne, Tatlatunne, Ataakut, Meetkeni, Stuntusunwhott, Targhinaatun, Thltsusmetunne, and Turghestlsatun. They were gathered on a reservation in 1862, which was established on leased land, but it was abandoned in 1868, since which time the Tolowa have shifted for themselves. They are much demoralized and greatly reduced in numbers. Their language is unintelligible to the Hupa. In culture they resemble the Hupa and the Yurok, the chief difference being in their folklore and religion. They have been greatly influenced by the sea.
The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation was established in 1908 and was the largest Reservation in the State of California, consisting of 160 acres. During termination, we lost all but a few acres of land, which consisted of an offshore rock, a cemetery, and a church. Today the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation consists of over 950 acres of tribal-owned land and has over 1900 Tribal Citizens. Dan'-taa-dvn (Del Norte County) is located in the heart of Taa-laa-waa-dvn (Tolowa Aboriginal Territory) on the most northwestern corner of present-day California. Tolowa Dee-ni', the original peoples of this area, have close ties with the other Dene (Athabaskan)-speaking Tribal Nations along the southern Oregon coastline such as, Upper Umpqua, Lower Rogue River, Coquille and Chetco. The state border that distinguishes California and Oregon is not recognized by the Tolowa Dee-ni' as it runs right through Taa-laa-waa-dvn. The Taa-laa-waa-dvn of the Tolowa Dee-ni' encompasses over one hundred (100) miles of coastal shoreline and approximately 2.87 million square acres of land and an undefined acreage of marine waters in northern California and southern Oregon. The aboriginal territory of the Nation encompasses the area of Daa-ghestlh-ts'a' (Wilson Creek) to the South, Ts'aa-xwii-chit (Sixes River) to the North, East to Taa-xuu-me' (Applegate watershed) in the Coastal Range, and West to the Pacific Ocean horizon, all sea stacks including Point St. George Lighthouse, and all usual and accustomed places. These lands constitute our place of origin and our continued habitation and occupancy, demonstrated by the ancestral villages of our people within these boundaries.
Information and language learning
materials from the Tolowa Indian language
materials from the Tolowa Indian language
Questions and answers about Tolowa culture
Collection of Tolowa Indian legends and folktales
Encyclopedia articles on the Tolowa Indians
Information about the Tolowa tribe in Spanish
Tolowa links
An overview of the Tolowa tribe,
their language and history
their language and history
Tolowa Indian language samples,
articles, and indexed links
articles, and indexed links
Related links about the Tolowa
Native Americans past and present
Native Americans past and present
The Tolowa are an American Indian group numbering about two hundred whose ancestors in the early nineteenth century numbered about twenty-four hundred and were located in the Pacific coast region from the Oregon boundary of California south to Wilson Creek. In 1850 the California gold rush reached the Tolowa area, and in the latter part of the century the Tolowa population was decimated by measles and cholera. Subsequently, they were removed to small Reservations and rancherias where most intermarried with other North American Indian groups. The Tolowa spoke an Athapaskan language and were a fishing and gathering people. Traditionally, in the summers on the coast the Tolowa fished for smelt and hunted sea mammals from forty-foot redwood canoes; in the autumn they moved inland to temporary camps where they fished for salmon and gathered acorns. Prestige was gained through the accumulation of wealth, consisting primarily of obsidian knives, headdresses of red-headed woodpecker scalps and dentalium shell bead necklaces; the wealthiest man in a Village was usually its headman.
The Tolowa are an American Indian group numbering about two hundred whose ancestors in the early nineteenth century numbered about twenty-four hundred and were located in the Pacific coast region from the Oregon boundary of California south to Wilson Creek. In 1850 the California gold rush reached the Tolowa area, and in the latter part of the century the Tolowa population was decimated by measles and cholera. Subsequently, they were removed to small Reservations and rancherias where most intermarried with other North American Indian groups. The Tolowa spoke an Athapaskan language and were a fishing and gathering people. Traditionally, in the summers on the coast the Tolowa fished for smelt and hunted sea mammals from forty-foot redwood canoes; in the autumn they moved inland to temporary camps where they fished for salmon and gathered acorns. Prestige was gained through the accumulation of wealth, consisting primarily of obsidian knives, headdresses of red-headed woodpecker scalps and dentalium shell bead necklaces; the wealthiest man in a Village was usually its headman. The important religious ceremonies of the Tolowa were connected with catching the season's first salmon, smelt, or sea lion. Both men and women could serve as shamans and cured the sick by dancing, trancing, magical formulas, and sucking the sources of evil out of the afflicted. The dead were wrapped in tule mats and buried along with shell beads and other objects.
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