The UAIC is the successor to the Auburn Band, largely Miwok Indians. These indigenous communities of California Indians resided near Auburn, California and survived
the depredations of the 19th century. This territory offered UAIC ancestors abundant year-round food sources. Food gathering was based on seasonal ripening, but
hunting,
gathering and
fishing went on all year, with the greatest activity in late summer and early fall. Seasonal harvests were only for those with personal property and much activity and social behavior centered on them. Status, sharing, trading, ceremonies and disagreements were important adjuncts to the gathering and distribution of food. Grasses, herbs, and rushes provided food and material for clothing and baskets. Seeds were gathered by the use of a
seed beater and tray. They were then parched, steamed, dried, cooked into a mush or dried for storage. Bear hunts were ceremonial.
Black bears were usually hunted in winter, where lighted poles were used to drive them from their dens.
Grizzlies that lived on the valley floor were greatly feared and rarely hunted. The historic existence of the Auburn Indian Community is documented in the
Bureau of Indian Affairs' correspondence dating back to the early 1900s. In 1917, the
United States government purchased of land near Auburn, California, that was put in trust for the Auburn Band and formally established a reservation, known as the Auburn Rancheria. However, with the passage of the
Indian Reorganization Act (“IRA”), 25 U.S.C. § 671 et seq., in 1934, a dramatic shift in Federal Indian policy occurred, whereby Congress moved away from assimilationist Indian policies towards policies of self-governance. The governmental structure allowed by the IRA placed the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in charge of elections among Indian tribes to allow each tribe to accept or reject the tribal reorganization provisions of the IRA. In 1935, the 36 adult members of the Auburn Band voted 16 to 5 to reject the IRA. The
United States Congress enacted the
Rancheria Termination Act in 1953, which terminated federal trust responsibilities to the Auburn Band, among many other California Indian tribes. Only a parcel of land with a park and a
church remained after the government sold the Auburn Rancheria land. In 1967, the United States terminated their recognition of the Auburn Band. ==Programs==