Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 066-4 - October 2012 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 6 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2014-03-26 08:20:06 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:32 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:32

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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NCHS Bulletin October 2012 occupies a lovely Victorian building, originally built as a firehouse in 1861. a ak “ty saaeme N It houses several historically significant oh cam ree exhibits: Victorian era items, examples Chimarko SEB oa of Chinese culture, Donner Party arti. ae aks 7 i facts and the Nisenan exhibit. The mueet th? 9 Bie a ree Waite 0 2550 100km seum endeavors to strengthen the fragile _ a pie £ ee Needs voice of the Nisenan people by keeping . py ane — County on display the tribe’s historically and culturally important relics. In fact, many of Lake t Morden % Valleyreas * ‘ Yokyts_/ Esselen ‘Tubatuiabat at Map of California Indian linguistic groups. (Adapted from Handbook of North American Indians by Robert F. Heiser, as published in Surviving Through the Days, edited by Herbert Luthin, UC Press Berkeley, 2002) Chuniaish 2g ay , ay Senta Bate By studying the large number of newspaper articles published beginning in the early 1850s and continuning for a hundred years, along with the Federal Population Census (taken every ten years) and a special Census of Non-Reservation California Indians in 1906, the Nisenan descendents living here today can document their lineage to the original indigenous people. In addition to the stories and traditions handed down to the families living here today along with photographs there is an opportunity to view the rich cultural history that was left behind. On display in a museum in Nevada City is a collection of Nisenan tribal artifacts. There are watertight baskets made by the hands of women long ago., There is sacred regalia worn by the warriors of a time long past; there are stone artifacts even older. This small exhibit contains most of what remains locally of a decimated culture that once thrived in the foothills. The Nevada County Historical Society’s Firehouse No. 1 Museum £& > : Kitanemyj } C . m: i +” Los Arqoies *-" Gabrielino the items on display are the only known examples that remain. But, who are the Nisenan? What is their history; and their legacy? If we could turn back time and imagine Nisenan life before the Gold Rush, we would capture a glimpse into a rich and ancient culture and observe a people who had survived the ebbs and tides of time. While not a technologically advanced people, the Nisenan were complex and ingenious, and they lived as part of a perfectly balanced ecosystem. The people were one with the land in the greatest sense. Everything needed in life was provided in nature: food, clothing and medicine; from the most menial daily item to the most intimate and sacred ceremonial object. Life then was truly “green living,” taking advantage of the bounty provided here in the foothills environment and wasting nothing. Salmon, deer, Serrano Sey Borbrding. Watertight baskets woven by skilled Nisenan women are on display at the Historical Society’s Firehouse No. 1 Museum in Nevada City.