The Wiyot and Yurok are the westernmost people to speak an
Algic language. Their languages,
Wiyot and
Yurok, are distantly related to the
Algonquian languages. The Wiyot people's traditional homeland ranged from
Mad River () through Humboldt Bay (including the present cities of
Eureka and
Arcata) to the lower
Eel River basin. Inland, their territory was heavily forested in ancient redwood. Their stretch of shoreland was mostly sandy, composed of dunes and tidal marsh. They recognized three divisions based on dialect and geography (from north to south): • the
Patawat Wiyot,
Batawat Wiyot,
Mad River Wiyot about Mad River (
potawot) • the
Wiki Wiyot,
Humboldt Bay Wiyot or
Wikigadakwi' ('poor folks') about Humboldt Bay (
wiki) • the
Wiyat Wiyot or
Eel River Wiyot about Eel River delta (
wiyat) The Wiyots were among the last Indigenous people in California to encounter white settlers. Spanish missions extended only as far north as
San Francisco Bay.
Russian fur traders in search of
sea otter arrived in 1806 but were driven out. During the
Gold Rush the
Josiah Gregg party came upon Humboldt Bay and skirted the shore. Ships set out to explore northern California's unknown coast. The schooner
Laura Virginia located the bay, and in April 1850 made its way in through the dangerous entrance. Among the miners, farmers, ranchers and loggers pouring into California, many settled at what is now Eureka. Relationships between the Wiyot and the white colonizers became hostile, marked by raids and vigilante justice.
Massacre On February 26, 1860, the Wiyot experienced a massacre which devastated their numbers and has remained a pervasive part of their cultural heritage and identity. Three days before the massacre, on Washington's birthday, a logging mill engineer from Germany named Robert Gunther bought property on "
Indian Island".The day before the massacre, 25 February, the
Weekly Humboldt Times editorialized: "The Indians are still killing stock of the settlers in the back country and will continue to do so until they are driven from that section, or exterminated"; meanwhile prominent local residents had already formed a vigilante committee to deal with the problem, and were sworn to never reveal their membership. on Indian Island less than a mile offshore from Eureka in Humboldt Bay. Up to 250 Wiyot participated in the ceremonies. Gunther had been asleep on the mainland across Humboldt Bay from the Island and had awakened to what he thought were screams, but went back to sleep. The next morning he was awakened by the Justice of the Peace who went with Gunther to inspect the Island following reports that Indians had been killed. He was appalled by what he saw, recalling " …what a sight presented itself to our eyes. Corpses lying all around, and all women and children, but two. Most of them had their skulls split. One old Indian, who looked to be a hundred years old, had his skull split, and still he sat there shivering". Gunther initially desired to bring the guilty to justice, but learned "We soon found that we had better keep our mouths shut." Major
Gabriel J. Rains (sometimes spelled "Raines"), commander of
Fort Humboldt, reported on the massacre to his superiors that "Captain Wright's Company [of
vigilantes] held a meeting at
Eel River and resolved to kill every peaceable Indian – man, woman, and child." The vigilantes were also known as the "
Humboldt Volunteers, Second Brigade," reported to have organized at
Hydesville (the town called "Eel River" by Major Rains is now named
Rohnerville). Gaines reported that around five men had formed a volunteer squad to murder the sleeping women and children on the island. In his army reports, appalled at the massacres and at the openly discussed aims of the local white settlers to kill the Wiyot, he stated there were 55 killed at Indian Island, 40 on South Fork Eel River, and 35 at Eagle Prairie. South Fork Eel River became
Rohnerville and was later annexed by
Fortuna; Eagle Prairie is now the site of the town of
Rio Dell. Meanwhile,
The Humboldt Times newspaper editorialized, "For the past four years we have advocated two—and only two—alternatives for ridding our country of Indians: either remove them to some reservation or kill them. The loss of life and destruction of property by the Indians for ten years past has not failed to convince every sensitive man that the two races cannot live together, and the recent desperate and bloody demonstrations on Indian Island and elsewhere is proof that the time has arrived that either the pale face or the savage must yield the ground." The
Times apparently represented the mainstream opinion in the area at the time. An investigation failed to identify a single perpetrator, although those who did the killing were rumored to be well known. Although a grand jury summoned witnesses and held hearings, no one was indicted. Survivors were herded mostly to Round Valley, established as an
Indian reservation within California, but they kept escaping and returning to their homeland.
Population decline By 1850, there were about 2,000 Wiyot and
Karok people living within this area. After 1860, there were an estimated 200 people left. By 1910, there were fewer than 100 full-blood Wiyot people living within their ancestral territory. This rapid decline in population occurred due to
disease,
slavery, murder, protection, being herded from place to place (survivors' descendants describe this as "death marches"), and massacres. Memorials have been held annually at Tuluwat village, on what is now known as
Tuluwat Island, since 1992, and a major cultural and environmental restoration project is underway there. "Table Bluff Reservation – Wiyot Tribe" is the current designation. ==Culture and religion==