In 1916, while conducting a census of Indian people, an agent of the Department of the Interior discovered Indians living along the Sacramento River. By 1913, only 17,000 Indian people remained in the area.ĭespite these harrowing obstacles, Miwok and Southern Maidu “Nisenan” Indians survived the 19th century. In 1769, an estimated 310,000 native people lived within the borders of the modern-day California. The impact of the gold rush era is revealed in population statistics. As a result of the gold rush, Indians in northern California lost the use and control of their aboriginal territories, which forced whole tribes to scatter. Gold Rush Brought Devastating and Sustained GenocideĪlthough early encounters between Indians and Spanish colonizers in the late 1700s resulted in some violence and spread of disease, it was not until the California gold rush of 1849 that the Miwok and Southern Maidu “Nisenan” Indians experienced devastating and sustained genocide.

The members of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians are descendants of the Miwok and Southern Maidu “Nisenan” Indians who thrived in California’s fertile central valley for thousands of years before contact with Europeans. The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians is a federally recognized Tribe located in El Dorado County, California.

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