Graduation Date
1998
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Sociology
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Jack Norton
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Victor Golla
Third Committee Member Name
Dr. Patrick Wenger
Fourth Committee Member Name
Dr. Ronald A. Fritzsche
Keywords
Sociology
Subject Categories
Sociology
Abstract
This thesis is an interpretive ethnography using a heuristic approach in reconstructing the history of the Wiyot people through analysis of pertaining historical and anthropological literature, broadened with information from ethnographic interviews done in the last ten years with Indian and non-Indian community members. Batawat is the northern Wiyot district, located on the Mad River in Humboldt County, California, interrupted and eventually destroyed by American colonization in the 1850s and 1860s. The surviving Batawats returned after removal, to live in far more sparse and restricted circumstances in McKinleyville, the site of Batawat sacred and residential areas. Some Batawats remained on the river until 1950. The story of Batawat is significant in the general anthropology of colonialism because the Wiyot experienced not only dislocation and indenture, but also the phenomena of genocide occurring in a relatively recent period, the effects of which are well remembered by descendants.
Recommended Citation
Lavalle, Dorothy, "Batawat by the Sea: The Wiyot in McKinleyville, California" (1998). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2436.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2436