History of Native Americans in California

This course examines the political histories and cultural themes of Native Americans in California, 1700s1950s. Throughout the semester we will focus on: demographics, diversity of tribal cultures; regional environmental backgrounds; the Spanish Era and missionization; the Mexican Era and secularization; relations with the United States Government and the State of California, including the gold rush period, statehood, unratified treaties, origin of reservations/rancherias, and other federal policies, e.g., Allotment Act, Indian Reorganization Act and termination.