California is a land of varied landscapes, climates, and cultures. Before Europeans arrived in North America, more than twenty independent American Indian groups lived in this region. Their cultures were as diverse as the areas they called home. Along the coast, in the mountains, and in the desert, these nations developed ways of life shaped by their surroundings. • Every fall, the Miwok gathered acorns for food. They held a special festival to celebrate the harvest. • The Cahuilla held bird song ceremonies that lasted for days. Birds are said to tell the people's history through their singing. • The Yurok used mollusk shells called dentalia as money. Many twenty-first century American Indians still call California home. Find out what these nations have in common and what makes each of them unique.

The untold history of slavery and resistance in California, from the Spanish missions, indentured Native American ranch hands, Indian boarding schools, Black miners, kidnapped Chinese prostitutes, and convict laborers to victims of modern trafficking"A searing survey of '250 years of human bondage' in what is now the state of California. . . . Readers will be outraged."--Publishers Weekly California owes its origins and sunny prosperity to slavery. Spanish invaders captured Indigenous people to build the chain of Catholic missions. Russian otter hunters shipped Alaska Natives--the first slaves transported into California--and launched a Pacific slave triangle to China. Plantation slaves were marched across the plains for the Gold Rush. San Quentin Prison incubated California's carceral state. Kidnapped Chinese girls were sold in caged brothels in early San Francisco. Indian boarding schools supplied new farms and hotels with unfree child workers. By looking west to California, Jean Pfaelzer upends our understanding of slavery as a North-South struggle and reveals how the enslaved in California fought, fled, and resisted human bondage. In unyielding research and vivid interviews, Pfaelzer exposes how California gorged on slavery, an appetite that persists today in a global trade in human beings lured by promises of jobs but who instead are imprisoned in sweatshops and remote marijuana grows, or sold as nannies and sex workers. Slavery shreds California's utopian brand, rewrites our understanding of the West, and redefines America's uneasy paths to freedom.

For thousands of years, the Kumeyaay people of northern Baja California and southern California made their homes in the diverse landscapes of the region, interacting with native plants and continuously refining their botanical knowledge. Today, many Kumeyaay Indians in the far-flung ranches of Baja California carry on the traditional knowledge and skills for transforming native plants into food, medicine, arts, tools, regalia, construction materials, and ceremonial items. Kumeyaay Ethnobotany explores the remarkable interdependence between native peoples and native plants of the Californias through in-depth descriptions of 47 native plants and their uses, lively narratives, and hundreds of vivid photographs. It connects the archaeological and historical record with living cultures and native plant specialists who share their ever-relevant wisdom for future generations. Book jacket.

Easy-to-read text and colorful illustrations and photos teach readers about Kumeyaay history, traditions, and modern life. This book describes society and family structure, hunting, fishing, and gathering methods, and ceremonies and rituals. Readers will learn about Kumeyaay homes, clothing, and crafts such as baskets and pottery. A traditional myth is included, as is a description of famous Kumeyaay leader Jane Dumas. Wars, weapons, and contact with Europeans are discussed. Topics including European influence, assimilation, missionaries, the formation of reservations, and federal recognition are also addressed. In addition, modern Kumeyaay culture and still-celebrated traditions such as bird songs are described. Kumeyaay homelands are illustrated with a detailed map of the United States. Bold glossary terms and an index accompany engaging text. This book is written and illustrated by Native Americans, providing authentic perspectives of the Kumeyaay.

A photographic and professional archaeologic survey of the La Rumorosa rock art style. Nearly all of the half, full page and double page photographs have never been published previously. The text is contributed by regional archaeologists who add context to the images.