|
The Southeastern Pomo Tribes Lake County, California was a united sovereign fishing and gathering nation that consisted of four main villages; • Elem (aka Rattlesnake Island, Elem Indian Colony, Sulfur Bank Rancheria, town of Clearlake& Oaks, CA) • Cigom (1ndian Island, town of Clearlake, CA) • Koi (Lower Lake, CA. controlled the headwaters at Cache Creek) • Komdot (Buckingham Island, town of Rivera) was the Traditional Chiefs Village. The Elem village survived the Euro-American land invasion and genocide of its people and society. Today it remains the only Southeastern Pomo tribe that is a federally recognized tribal government. "The Koi Nation, In the early 90's applied for federal recognition that is still pending reinstatement". Note: Currently there are 102 federally recognized tribes in California and another twenty tribes awaiting recognition since the late 1980's.
The Southeastern Pomo Nations (Cigain, Elem, Koi & Komdot) were governed under a traditional "matriarch society", this tribal council system governed the natural resources, social, economic, political, and religious activities of the Southeastern Pomo Nation. Its council leaders were comprised of family chiefs, matriarchs, religious and community leaders that were appointed and/or elected by from tribal clans. The Council had authority and responsibility for law & order of the people; aboriginal lands resources and had established it with monitory system "Carbon dated native artifacts have validated southeastern tribes occupation in the clear lake region from 4,000 to 8,000 years old. The Southeastern Pomo had clearly established tribal territories, substantial commerce and alliances with other neighboring tribes i.e. the Winton Tribes (Cartoon, & Cache Creek) Patwin tribes (Grindstone & Stony ford) Mewuk tribes (Gwnoch & Putah Creek) and the Eastern Pomo Tribes (Kelseyville, Lakeport, Upper Lake and Lucerne) Most importantly, participated in the same culture and religious ceremonies.
• ownership, and control of over fifty miles of pristine (see map) lakeshore including the outlet at Cache Creek (Lower lake) • Mined, traded and sold Indian Gold or "Megnasite't (Cache Creek/Lower Lake) • Traded, sold and Borax Lake 'Konocti Obsidian (Clearlake Next to Pomo School) • Long standing religious ceremonials and practices The Southeastern Pomo tribes once controlled over one million acres of land and fifty miles of waterways. Today the Elem tribe has only 50 acres of tribal lands remaining and less than one 1/2 mile of lakeshore in Lake County. Note:: Elem lost 99% of their traditional homelands from Burns Valley Creek in the City of Clearlake to Paradise Cove) and occupy only a fifty acre parcel of aboriginal Elem lands, Identified today as the Elem Indian Colony or the Sulfur Banks Indian Rancheria (near Clearlake Oaks). As the demand for more tribal lands increased, tribes barley survived the holocaust imposed upon them by three different foreign governments i.e. Spanish, Mexican and American governments. These groups used religious persecution as the foundation to declare tribes uncivilized allowing forced removal, displacement and denial of religious practices and civil rights, that allowed individual, settlements and towns to take over lands, by murder, indenturing and enslaving Indian men, women and children.
1492 - 1787 "Treated tribes as independent nations" 1787 - 1828 "Tribal agreements were formed" 1828 - 1887 "Begins the removal of tribes" 1887 - 1928 "Brings a period of assimilation" 1928 - 1953 "Indian Reorganization, termination and relocation 1953 - 1968 "Relocation and termination continues" 1968 - 1983 "A period of Indian rights (1968 Indian Civil rights act, 1975 Indian Self-determination and Education act 1978 Indian Child Welfare act, Religious Freedom Act. 1983 - 1998 "National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act" and Prop 5 2000 - Proposition 1A
The Elem Indian Tribe of the southeastern Pomo people is located on the shores of Clear Lake, California. The population from them is 250 citizens with 80 currently living on 50 acres of traditional lakeshore lands. Documented Pomo history tells us that previous to the occupation of Tribal lands by the European invaders, the Pomo civilization populated, managed and controlled over 2 million acres of land and waterways including 50 miles of lake shoreline. The Southeastern Pomo Nation since time immemorial was a traditional fishing and gathering society. Human bones found on the Clear lake shoreline have been carbon dated and have been shown to be over 8000 years old. These are to date the oldest human remains ever discovered in California. For thousands of years the Southeastern Pomo Nation consisted of three main groups: the Elem, the Koi, and the Koridot. These are of the Athabaskan Hokan linguistic family. The Pomo Tribes have used plants and animals that historically flourished in and around the Tribal waters of Clear Lake and surrounding areas for; food, shelters, baskets, boats, shoes, clothes, rope, medicine and items used in sacred ceremonies. Many plants and animals still hold sacred ceremonial significance. The Elem Tribe is one of the oldest Tribes in Native America and the Clear Lake ecosystem will always be a very important link to the survival of the Tribal Culture and Environment. During the 1840's these Tribes suffered a tremendous departure from peace and harmony and instead were subjected to violent human rights abuses. During the 1850's a total of 18 treaties were signed with Tribes in California. The Treaties were never ratified by the State of California thus allowing for the illegal and immoral occupation of Tribal lands. Due to the Gold Rush '1land grab'1 of 1849, there were large amounts of Tribal lands that were illegally set aside by the State of California. These lands were later to be given away by the State to any immigrant American who wished to claim it. During the same period cash bounties were offered by the government for Indian scalps. The 1'land grab" of 1849 also resulted in Native people being viciously forced off their valuable lands and resources. Indian slavery, indenture, kidnapping, rape and murder of Indian families by local ranchers, miners, and individual land grabbers, horrendous activities that were all supported by the United States, and State of California Governments. During the twenty year period of 1840 to 1860 over seventy per cent of the California Indian population vanished. Indians that once legally held clear and obvious title to traditional Tribal lands had been killed or displaced. Most Tribal lands were stolen and lost forever. In 1949, one hundred years later, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, (BIA) Agent, did with malicious intentions falsely represent the Elem Tribal leadership in a federal court. The (BIA) Agent pursued a land claims and brought them to the attention of the court stating "he was the Agent representing the Elem Tribe", unfortunately the (BIA) Agent did not notify the Elem Tribal Leadership in writing of the land claim court action, nor did he offer to any Tribal Member, the opportunity to be there in Federal Court as a witness, so as to verify the (BIA) Agent's Claims to Tribal lands, Mineral and Water Rights and boundaries. As a result of the BIA activities the Elem Tribe lost claim to over 80,000 acres of land including the Elem Island Tribal Ceremonial Grounds. It is now known as Rattlesnake Island. Ultimately, the BIA allowed the Hem Tribe to live on a mere fifty acres held in a Trust for the Tribe. It was soon discovered and understood that the BIA was pressured to falsely quantify the Elem Tribal lands and Waters due to the fact that there existed significant sulfur and mineral deposits of great commercial value that were located on Tribal Lands. For many, many decades The BIA allowed mining companies such as the Bradley Mining Company, and others to mine rich ore on Tribal lands. Vigorous Sulfur and Mercury mining operations destroyed the landscape and created a pollution disaster resulting in long term exposure to hazardous contaminated mining wastes (i.e. Mercury,arsenic) . Ironically, the BIA renamed the Elem Tribe " The Sulfur Bank Rancheria" a name the Federal Government continues to use to identify the Elem Indian Tribe with. In 1960 the Tribe received electricity on the Reservation and in 1969 after a group of students from the Bay Area (Berkeley) visited the Reservation, they were appalled by the poor living conditions that included no sanitation facilities. They took the story to the media and as a result by 1971 the BIA instituted a housing program and forced a template of the "Indian Reorganization Act" (IRA) Constitution and bylaws on the Tribe. Tribal members were pressured with the threat from the BIA, of, that Elem members might loose the new homes and sanitation if they did not adopt the IRA Constitution. The IRA Constitution was adopted in reluctance in 1972. Since the adoption of the IRA Constitution. the Tribe has spent the majority of it's time in dispute with each other over the contents of the IRA Constitution. One issue induced recall of elected officials based on personal vendettas and creating long standing family divisions that are still in place to date. The Elem people believe that the IRA Constitution is not a true and just representation document of the Tribe, and it is viewed upon as the BIA's intent to destroy our traditional matriarchal form of tribal government that had served the Tribe so well since time immemorial. During the 1980's the Elem people became more concerned over published reports of Mercury contamination of the fish in Clear lake as the tribe has been dependent on fishing as a staple food in their diet. The tribe initiated a Mercury task force resulting in the Sulfur Bank Mine being nominated and designated as a U.S.E.P.A. Superfund Hazardous Waste Site. The E.P.A. however unfairly neglected to include the Tribe as part of the Superfund Site. This has resulted in prolonging the exposure to hazardous levels of contamination to our people and environment. LINKS:
HOME | CULTURE | GOVERNMENT | TRIBAL MEMBERS |NEWS | GAMING | PROGRAMS | CONTACT ELEM| |
||||||
