CHIMARIKO

The Chimariko occupied one of the smallest homelands, if not the smallest, of any distinct linguistic group in North America, a 20-mile stretch of the Trinity River near the mouth of the New River in present-day northern California. Seven villages are part of the historical record. The tribe’s language, known as Chimarikan or Chimarikoan, is considered an isolate, part of the Hokan phylum. Their closest linguistic relatives are the neighboring KAROK and SHASTA, fellow CALIFORNIA INDIANS who lived to their north. HUPA bands lived downriver from them, and WINTUN bands, upriver. The name Chi-mariko, pronounced jim-MAR-ee-ko, is derived from the word chimar or djimar for “person.”

The Chimariko covered their circular dwellings with bark and earth. Salmon and eel from the Trinity River were important food sources, as were deer and acorns. Men wore deerskin trousers, and women, deerskin aprons. Deerskin robes were also worn for warmth. Blankets were made from rabbit and fox skins. Woodpecker scalps, dentalia (tooth shells), clamshell cylinder beads, bear claws, and condor and eagle feathers were used as ornamentation. Tools were made of wood, horn, and obsidian. Containers included twined baskets and clay and soapstone bowls.

Non-Indian trappers first entered the Chimariko homeland in the 1820s. With the California gold rush, starting in 1849, tribal members and miners clashed. In 1871, miners organized a raid on the Chimariko at which time some tribal members took refuge among the Shasta, returning to the Trinity River only after the miners had departed. By the early 20th century, only a few Chimariko remained, some of them living among other tribes. Some individuals of part-Chimariko ancestry may survive, although the tribe is extinct as a political entity.