Nisenan

Nisenan

Herbert Young (Mountain Maidu/Mechoopda Maidu), George Nye (Nisenan Maidu), and Dewey Conway (Mechoopda) in Big Head dance regalia, Chico, California
Regions with significant populations
north-central California
Languages
English, formerly Nisenan
Related ethnic groups
other Maidu peoples

The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California^[1] and the California Central Valley. According to a 1929 archeology and ethnology press release by University of California, Berkeley, the Nisenan people are classified as part of the larger group of Native Americans known as the Maidu, though some dispute the accuracy of this relationship,^[2] including the Nisesan themselves. According to the Nisenan website, the United States' claim that they are Maidu is a misclassification and is inaccurate. As the Nisenan put it,

"Like many other Tribes throughout the United States, the Nisenan have been misidentified and mislabeled. The Nisenan have been lumped together under inaccurate labels such as "Maidu", "digger" and "southern Maidu". However, the Nisenan are a separate Tribe with their own Cultural lifeways, their own leaders and holy people, a distinct geographic territory and their own ancient and unique language."^[3]

The Nisenan have been delineated by their geographical location, and so in many texts they are further subcategorized as the Valley Nisenan, Hill Nisenan, and Mountain Nisenan.^[4] Because of these geographical barriers, the people of each region have distinct and unique customs and cultural practices. Although they have existed in these regions prior to European encounter, the people are not recognized as a tribe by the US government. The Nisenan previously had federal recognition via the Nevada City Rancheria. Some Nisenan people today are enrolled in the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, a federally recognized tribe.^[5]