Sprouting Valley: Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley, California

225 Pages·2013·7.066 MB·English

by  James R. Welch

Sprouting Valley:
Historical Ethnobotany of the
Northern Pomo from Potter Valley,
California
James R. Welch
Sprouting Valley:
Historical Ethnobotany of the
Northern Pomo from Potter Valley,
California
Contributions in Ethnobiology
Contributions in Ethnobiology
Marsha Quinlan and Dana Lepofsky, Series Editors
Contributions in Ethnobiology is a peer-reviewed monograph series presenting original
book-length data-rich, state-of-the-art research in ethnobiology. It is the only monograph
series devoted expressly to representing the breadth of ethnobiological topics.
Explorations in Ethnobiology: The Legacy of Amadeo Rea
Marsha Quinlan and Dana Lepofsky, Editors
Sprouting Valley: Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley,
California
James R. Welch
Sprouting Valley:
Historical Ethnobotany of the
Northern Pomo from Potter Valley,
California
James R. Welch
Society of Ethnobiology
2013
Copyright © 2013 Society of Ethnobiology
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013939560
ISBN 978-0-9887330-2-2 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-9887330-3-9 (PDF)
Society of Ethnobiology
Department of Geography, University of North Texas
1155 Union Circle #305279, Denton, TX 76203-5017
Cover photo: John Scott using a fire blower to shape a wooden bowl, Pinoleville Rancheria,
1901. Photograph by John W. Hudson, used with permission. Negative no. CSA1889,
The Field Museum, Chicago.
For David W. Peri (1939–2000)
David Peri, a close friend during the last years of his life, provided me with both the idea for
this study and the primary archival resources to conduct it. After the City of Ukiah acquired
the Hudson-Carpenter estate in 1975, David was hired to do an inventory. During the course
of this project, he recognized the unparalleled ethnobotanical value of John Hudson’s field-
notes. With permission from Lila Lee, administrator for Otis Kendrick, former owner of
the Hudson-Carpenter estate, he retained copies of the entire set of documents containing
ethnobotanical data with the intention of analyzing and publishing it himself.
In the late 1970s David began efforts to systematize the material on index cards with the
assistance of students, whose names regrettably I never located. He never completed the ef-
fort and the Hudson ethnobotany study eventually took up permanent residence on several
locked shelves at the bottom of a cabinet in his office. Decades later, as he approached retire-
ment, David realized he was unlikely to finish the project and passed the materials on to me,
his master’s student at the time, so that I might use them for my thesis.
Our close collaboration discussing and assessing this remarkable ethnohistorical and
ethnobotanical resource changed my view of the potential of both ethnobotany and anthro-
pology. My work under Dr. Peri’s tutelage led me to continue my studies in the doctorate
program in anthropology at Tulane University. I was already in New Orleans when news of
David’s death reached me, just five months after he signed my completed thesis. It gives me
immense pleasure to now complete the project that once was as much David’s as my own.

Table of Contents
List of Figures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viii
List of Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x
Foreword ..................................................................... xi
Acknowledgements ............................................................xv
1. Introduction.................................................................1
2. Reconstructing Potter Valley Pomo Plant Knowledge.............................5
3. Cultural and Physical Landscapes .............................................18
4. Historical Transitions and Encounters.........................................37
5. Potter Valley Pomo Plants ....................................................46
6. Plant Technologies, Preparations, and Applications............................123
7. Final Remarks..............................................................175
Afterword....................................................................179
References Cited..............................................................180
List of Primary Taxa by Use Category...........................................192
List of Primary Taxa by Family.................................................203
List of Figures
Figure 1. Map of Pomoan lands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Figure 2. Dr. John W. Hudson, circa 1892. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Figure 3. Pomoan dancers, circa 1895.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Figure 4. Captain Jack Napoleon, Pinoleville, circa 1895.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Figure 5. John Miller drilling clamshells, Pinoleville Rancheria, circa 1895. . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Figure 6. Tony Me-tok.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Figure 7. Migration routes to Potter Valley.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Figure 8. Indigenous village sites in Potter Valley and vicinity, 1908. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Figure 9. Approximate contemporary distributions of plant communities in lands
historically frequented by the Potter Valley Pomo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Figure 10. Foothill (valley oak) woodland, North Coast Range, California, 2012. . . . . . . . .24
Figure 11. Riparian wetland, North Coast Range, California, 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Figure 12. Mixed conifer succession, North Coast Range, California, 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Figure 13. Chaparral in regrowth after fire, North Coast Range, California, 2011. . . . . . . .35
Figure 14. Agricultural field in Ukiah Valley, circa 1880s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Figure 15. Potter Valley Tribe cemetery, Potter Valley, 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Figure 16. Grace Hudson illustration of Potter Valley, 1893. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Figure 17. Aurelius and Helen Carpenter with family, circa 1873. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Figure 18. Fire drill apparatus made from buckeye.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Figure 19. Baby brush made from angelica root fiber with iris cordage.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Figure 20. Dogbane wedding bag with shell beads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Figure 21. Rolls of sedge basketry fibers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Figure 22. Soaproot brush.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Figure 23. Ash smoking pipes and bag of tobacco.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Figure 24. Grace Hudson illustration of small wooden grinding bowl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Figure 25. Elderberry flutes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Figure 26. Child’s sleeveless tule garment.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Figure 27. Man using pump drill, Yokayo Rancheria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Figure 28. Barbed fish spear points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Figure 29. Woman parching seeds for pinole, Pinoleville Rancheria, 1901.. . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Figure 30. Closed plain-twined conical burden baskets, 1899.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Figure 31. Hulling and drying acorns in the sun, Yokayo Rancheria, 1892.. . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Figure 32. Woman pounding acorns.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Figure 33. Red earth (ma-po’) collected by John W. Hudson in Potter Valley.. . . . . . . . . . .143
Figure 34. Basketry weft materials: tule, willow (stripped), willow, and redbud.. . . . . . . . .149
Figure 35. Open-twined utility basketry, 1899.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Figure 36. Closed plain-twined baskets, 1899. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Figure 37. One-rod coiled baskets with feather ornamentation, 1899. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Figure 38. Wormwood game counters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Figure 39. Women’s gambling staves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Figure 40. John W. Hudson illustration of “Robin’s signature” design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Figure 41. Magnesite cylinder (po’).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Figure 42. “Firelog Joe” wearing armor, Hopland Rancheria, 1892. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Figure 43. Men’s sweathouse, Yokayo Rancheria, 1897.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Figure 44. Agricultural project on land purchased in 2006 by the Potter Valley Tribe,
Potter Valley, 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Figure 45. Potter Valley, California, 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177