This marker is composed of four plaques secured front and back to two pillars.
Adapting to a New Life
For thousands of years, Indians adapted to climate changes, fires and droughts in the Sierra. They also survived conflicts with other local Indian settlements. But in the mid-1800s, the California Gold Rush drastically changed their way of life forever, and vast numbers of their population were wiped out.
In 1851, soldiers for the Mariposa Battalion were the first non-Indians to enter Yosemite Valley, They burned the Village of Koomine and forced resistant Ahwahneechee people from Yosemite Valley. Later, they were permitted to return. Those survivors rebuilt Koomine and adjusted to the new Euro-American presence here.
Preserving the Culture
In the early 1800s, about 3,000 Indians people lived here. By 1900, fewer than 200 survived. The others may have been victims of an epidemic. The U.S. Cavalry removed the Village of Koomien in 1906 and relocated its residents to another part of the Valley.
Ahwahneechee descendents still live here in Mariposa County and elsewhere. Many are teaching the younger generations, preserving Miwok and Ahwahneechee cultural traditions. The Yosemite Museum and the Indian Village of Ahwahnee (behind the museum) showcase the past and present-day culture.
The Power of Stories
Legends passed down through generations of Yosemite's Miwok people tell the stories of creation and of spirits living in the waterfalls and forests. These stories explain the physical and spiritual order of things. Many tales warn of the dangers of waterfalls.
In the waters just below Cho'-lok (Yosemite Falls) live the Po'-loti, a group of dangerous spirit women. A maiden from the nearby village went to the stream for a basket of water. She dipped the basket into the stream as usual, but brought it up full of snakes. She tried repeatedly, each time a little father up stream, but always drew a basketful of snakes. Finally, she reached the pool at the foot of Cho'-lok, and a sudden violent wind blew her into it.
During the night she gave birth to a child which she wrapped in a blanket and brought home the next morning. The girl's mother was very curious and soon took the blanket off the baby in order to see it. Immediately a violent gale arose and blew the entire village and its inhabitants into this same pool. Nothing has ever been seen or heard of them since.
Living With the Land
Ahwahneechee people regularly burned the Valley's forests and meadows to keep them open for gathering and hunting. Ground fires in the oak woodlands helped acorns sprout and made collecting easier. Acorn meal was the staple of the Miwok diet.
Yosemite Valley has been home to American Indians for approximately 8,000 years. Countless generations of Ahwahneechee lived in this area near Lower Yosemite Fall. You are standing on the site of their largest community, Koomine (Ku-mai-ni).
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