 Wintu basket, c. 1890s, Cleveland Museum of Art | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,500 (three major groups)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States Northern Sacramento Valley, California | |
| Languages | |
| English, formerly Wintu | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Native religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Wintun (Nomlaki and Patwin), Yokuts |
| Person | Wintʰu |
|---|---|
| People | Wintʰun |
| Language | Wintʰuh |
| Country | Wintʰu Pom |
The Wintu (also Northern Wintun) are Native Americans who live in what is now Northern California.[2] They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as the Wintun (or Wintuan). There are three major groups that make up the Wintu speaking people. The Wintu (Northern Wintun), Nomlaki (Central Wintun), and Patwin (Southern Wintun). The Wintu language is part of the Penutian language family.
Historically, the Wintu lived primarily on the western side of the northern part of the Sacramento Valley, from the Sacramento River to the Coast Range. The range of the Northern Wintu also included the southern portions of the Upper Sacramento River (south of the Salt Creek drainage), the southern portion of the McCloud River, and the upper Trinity River. Today, many Northern Wintu still reside on or near their traditional homelands in Trinity and Shasta counties.
- ^ "Wintun Indians". California Indians and Their Reservations: An Online Dictionary. San Diego State University Library. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
The Wintun Indian people have three divisions: the Wintu, Norel Muk (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern). Their traditional territories are located in the greater Sacramento Valley, with the Sacramento River a major feature of all the regions. Their lands vary from the Wintu mountain rivers in the north, through the Nomlaki plains, to the marshes, valleys, and hills of the Patwin. Their languages are of the Penutian family. Their diet came from the semiannual runs of king salmon up major rivers, to acorns and other vegetable foods, to game. In the early 1800s, there were approximately 12,000-15,000 members of the Wintun Tribe. Spanish settlers arrived in Wintun territory by 1808, and the Hudson Bay Company trappers arrived sometime before 1832. Tribal unity was destroyed by the taking of land and the destruction of traditional food and material-gathering areas. Due to the introduction of cattle, hogs, and sheep, the construction of dams, and the Copper processing plants in the 1880s and early 1900s, the Wintun suffered a heavy toll on their health and survival. Today there are over 2,500 people of Wintun descent. Many live on the Round Valley Reservation, and on the Colusa, Cortina, Grindstone Creek, Redding, and Rumsey rancherias.
- ^ "Indigenous Historic Tribe". Wintu Tribe Of Northern California. Retrieved June 9, 2018.