American Canyon Wetlands
Three different tribes lived in the Napa Valley and along the lower Napa River for thousands of years. They were the tribes of (Patwin, Coast Miwok, and Wappo). They relied on hunting elk, deer, and bear. They hunted small mammals like ducks, geese, and waterfowl. One of the things we discussed as a class was how most Native Americans regularly hunted ducks. The way of life for the tribes that lived in the wetlands would be changed by the arrival of Spanish and Mexican explorers in the late 1700s. With the establishment of the nearby Mission in Sonoma, most Native Americans were forced to work on ranchos and were treated poorly. Many Native Americans also suffered from the smallpox epidemic in the 1830s. With California's transfer to becoming an official state of the United States in 1848, most Native Americans left on their ancestral land were forced off of their homes and were sent to reservations.