Re: amerindian assimilation in california

Eric Brunner (brunner@mandrake.think.com)
9 Aug 1996 04:41:54 GMT

Gerold Firl (geroldf@sdd.hp.com) wrote:

Umm, Gerold, "Colusi County"?

...
: Mary Beth had also claimed that any children produced by a white/indian
: liason would not be accepted by white society, but would instead be
: considered indian. I haven't seen any discussion of the status of such
: children in pioneer society, but here is an interesting passage from
: _tortilla flat_, john steinbeck (1935):

Geeze. I grew up here, Woody is a Salinian for DoG's Sake! You think JS
wrote "history"? One Mega-ACK!
...
: streetlights, the old inhabitants of monterey are embattled as the
: ancient britons are embattled in wales. These are the paisanos....
: what is a paisano? He is a mixture of spanish, indian, mexican, and
: assorted caucasian bloods. His ancestors have lived in california for a

It was considered good prose in the 30's. It made (inpart) our area rich
on tourist money, and after the Guise overfished the sardines (after running
out the Gold Rush Chinese fisheries), there really isn't a lot of economic
raison d'etre for the Peninsula. Don't leave San Diego with just this as a
historical guide.

: You might call them "outlivers", these paisanos, and while I have
: absolutely no idea how much of their cultural or genetic makeup is
: derived from the california indians, they certainly constitute a
: plausible destination for the descendants of the squaw men and their
: indian "princesses".

Well Gerold, I _do_. I know more than half of the Esselen and Rumsen
and (tip of tongue SJBapt. mission group, rats) families in the North
Monterey County -- as neighbors -- and _none_ are Steinbeckian Paisanos.

: surprised at just how normal most of the day-to-day interactions
: between indians and whites actually were. They generally appear to have
: related as individuals, rather than as representatives of a race or a
: culture. On that frontier, diffusion appears to have occured in both
: directions.

Umm, Gerold, ever hear of the Bounty Period? Have a thought on what that
just could refer to? Hint: How many times does $3,000,000 divide into $5
units of ... benefice?

--
Kitakitamatsinohpowaw,
Eric Brunner