Table of Contents
How was the Serrano tribe organized?
Within villages the people were organized into patrilineal clans, with each clan having a hereditary chief and assistant chief. Dwellings were wickiups (wigwams), circular domed structures of willow branches covered with tule (rush) thatching.
Which Native American group was the largest?
Population: 819,105 Cherokee is the biggest of the biggest Native American tribes. Before European settlers arrived, the Cherokee lived in an area of the Southeastern United States which is now North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
What happened to the Serrano tribe?
The Serrano people were decimated by the diseases brought by the invaders and subjected to atrocities. Following the short-lived Garra Revolt (1851) those who survived were forced on to various reservations.
Where did the Serrano people originally come from?
The language family historically extended from Mexico along the West Coast and into the Great Basin, with representation among tribes in Mesoamerica. They were a branch of the Takic languages speaking people who arrived in Southern California around 2,500 years ago.
When did the Serrano Indians move to the missions?
With the Cahuilla and Quechan tribes, in 1812 the Serrano revolted against it and other local missions practicing Indian reductions. In 1834 the Mexican Alta California government forcibly relocated many Serrano to the missions. They suffered devastating smallpox outbreaks in 1840 and 1860, as they had no immunity to the Eurasian disease.
What kind of food did the Serrano tribe eat?
The food that the Serrano tribe ate varied according to the natural resources of their location. Their food included staple diet of acorns which they ground into acorn meal called Wiic to make soup and bread. Nuts were a valuable food source and were stored in granaries built of willow poles and covered with tule reeds.
What kind of shelter did the Serrano tribe use?
The Serrano tribe lived in a type of shelter called a Kiich. A Kiich was made using willow poles and long sticks to create a frames that were covered in brush and yucca fiber. A typical dome-shaped kiich measured about 12 – 14 feet in width and length and was often dug about 2 feet into the ground.