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Tübatulabal
Indian Tribe
Tübatulabal. A Shoshonean word meaning "pine-nut eaters." Also
called :
Bahkanapul or Pahkanap]l, own name, said to refer to all those who speak
their language.
Kern River Indians, popular name.
Pitanisha, the usual Yokuts name, from Pitani-u, the place-name of the
forks of Kern River.
Wateknasi, by Yokuts, meaning "pine-nut eaters."
Connections. Under the name of Kern River Shoshoneans, the Tubatulabal are
given a position as one of the major divisions of the Shoshonean branch of
the Uto-Aztecan linguistic family.
Location. In the upper part of the valley of Kern River.
Subdivisions.
Bankalachi, on west slopes of Greenhorn Mountains. Palagewan, on Kern
River above mouth of South Fork. Tubatulabal, on lower reaches of South
Fork of Kern River.
Villages.
E. W. Voegelin (1938) gives the following:
Palagewan sites:
| Holit, near mouth of Bull Run Creek, SW. quar., sec. 4, T. 25 S., R. 33 E. |
| Pashgeshtap, at hot spring on east edge of Hot Springs Valley, SE. quar.,
sec. |
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31, T. 26 S., R. 33 E. |
| Tcuhkayl, at hot springs in foothills, SE. quar. sec. 26, T. 25 S., R. 33
E. |
Tubatulabal sites:
| Hahalam, South Fork Kern River, NW. quar., sec. 16, T. 26 S., R. 34 E.
Kolokum, near springs on Fay Creek, NE. quar., sec. 22, T. 25 S., R. 34 E.
Omomfp, |
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(1) on north bank of South Fork Kern River, NW. quar., sec. 3, T.
26 S., R. 35 E. |
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(2), north bank of South Fork of Kern River, SW., quar.,
sec. 4, T. 26 S., R. 35 E. |
| Padazhap, below and above spring, in
foothills south of South Fork Valley, |
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SW. quar., sec. 31, T. 26 S., R. 34 E. |
| Tcebunun, south bank of South Fork of Kern River, SW. quar.,
sec. 35, T. 25 |
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S., R. 35 E. |
Tushpan, on floor of South Fork Valley, SW. quar., sec. 14, T. 26 S., R.
34 E.
Umubflap, below spring on flat, near west end of South Fork Valley,
SE. quar., |
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sec. 12, T. 26 S., R. 33 E. |
| Uupulap, on flat west side of South Fork of Kern River, NW. quar., sec.
24, |
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T. 25 S., R. 35 E. |
| Yftiyamup, at springs in foothills, north edge of South Fork Valley, SE.
quar., |
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sec. 35, T. 25 S., R. 34 E. |
Yowolup, at spring on floor of South Fork Valley.
Name unknown, on South Fork of Kern River, NE. quar., sec. 18, T. 26 S., |
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R. 34 E. |
History. From the specialization of their language, Kroeber (1925)
inferred that these people had occupied their country for a long time
but later researches by Whorf (1935) make this less certain. The first
white person to visit them was Father Garces in 1776 and during the next
50 years they were brought in contact with the San Buenaventura Mission,
founded in 1782 near Ventura. By 1846 white settlers had established
ranches in South Fork Valley, and in 1857 the Kern River gold rush began
in Palagewan territory. During 1862 a few Tubatulabal joined the Owens
Valley Paiute in hostilities against the Whites, and about this time a
group of Koso Indians settled in the Tubatulabal area, intermarrying
chiefly with the Kawaiisu, however. In 1863, 35–40 Tubatulabal and
Palagewan men were massacred near Kernville by American soldiers. Between
1865 and 1875 the Tubatulabal began to practice agriculture and in 1893
the majority of them and a few Palagewan survivors were allotted land in
South Fork and Kern Valleys.
Population. Kroeber (1925) makes an estimate of 1,000 Tubatulabal for the
year 1770 but Voegelin (1938) regards this as "probably too high." Henley
in 1854 gives a figure of 100 which seems to apply to the Tubatulabal and
Palagewan Bands, but Voegelin points out that it may be necessary to
double this on account of a band temporarily absent from the country, and
the same writer estimates that Henley indicates a band of perhaps 50 which
may have been the Bankalachi. A village site estimate obtained by Voegelin
(1938) from native informants suggested a total about 1855–60 of 228
Tubatulabal, and 65 Palagewan, or 293 combined. An estimate for 1863 based
on the total of adult males indicates a population of 220. The United
States Census of 1910 returned 105 and a field census taken by Voegelin in
1832 including all mixtures, 145.
Indian Tribes of California
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