The Miwok By Paige Lambert

Where they lived? The Miwok were consisted of smaller tribes :the Eastern Miwok, the Lake Miwok, and the Coast Miwok. The Eastern Miwok lived in the Nevada mountains, Sacramento , and Compton. The Lake Miwok lived from Clear Lake to Pope-valley. The Coast Miwok lived north of San Francisco.

Homes The Miwok had different homes depending where they live. The Lake Miwok lived in round multi-family homes. The Eastern Miwok homes were made out of long strips of bark. They had fire pits in the center of the home to make the food warm to eat. They made their beds from tule and made their pillows from grass. They use pine needles to cover the floor.

Food The Miwok ate many different kinds of food. They gathered acorns and hunted deer, rabbits, and elks. They ate black bears and grizzly bears. They got their food by fishing fish and kelp. They pounded acorns into meal which could be made into mush or bread. They ate greens plants to eat fresh.

Jobs The Miwok men and women had different jobs that were important. The men hunted and fished. The women butchered the animals that the men killed. Women also gathered the Miwok food. Women made tule skirts and jewelry. In the winter men would make foot drums, rattles, reed flutes, and bone whistles.

Clothing The Miwok wore certain kinds of clothes in certain seasons . In the summer they wore very little clothing. Men and women tattooed their chins. In the colder months they wore fur robes to keep warm. Women wore dresses from deer hide.

Celebrations and Ceremonies The Miwok had many different celebrations and ceremonies. They had a Uzumati or grizzly bear ceremony. When a marriage happens the man has to give the woman a gift but the woman has to accept the gift to have a marriage. Some dancers were held for fun and entertainment.

Interesting Facts! Here are some interesting facts about the Miwok myth. They had a myth called Old Man Coyote. The Miwok people believed that Old Man Coyote created people and land. The myth is that Old Man Coyote took some mud and then took his tule blanket and shook it to the North, West, East ,and South. In a flash the mud grew into land . Since he had land he stuck sticks in the ground and named them and they became people.