Luis Thompson
ANTH 252
Doctor Hemphill
Yokuts v. Cherokee
I. Introduction This paper is a basic introduction to two native North American tribes; the Yokuts of the
California cultural area and the Cherokee of the Southeast cultural area. First I we will delve in to the general backgrounds of these two tribes, followed by an in depth examination of Religious beliefs practiced by each tribe, as well as the Life cycle rituals of the Yokuts and Cherokee. Directly proceeding this we will then contrast the former in depth examinations with that of the Tlingit tribe who resided in the Northwest culture area and also we will contrast The
Yokuts and the Cherokee with the Zuni tribe who reside in the
Southwest cultural area. General Background: Yokuts The Yokut tribe is a group of native North Americans found in the California culture area. The Yokut tribe inhabited the San
Joaquin Valley of California. The Yokut tribe has been broken up into three main groups based on the area that their territory encompassed. The are the Northern Valley Yokuts who inhabited the region beginning in the northern most San Joaquin valley, present day Stockton, to the area where the San Joaquin
Valley turns northward toward the Calaveras and Mokelumne rivers, or present day Modesto. The Next division is known as The Southern Valley Yokuts. This group of
Yokuts lived in the Southern San Joaquin Valley from the upper forks of the Kings River, present day
Fresno, to the area of the Tehachapi Mountains, present day Fort Tejon (Wallace 1978). Therefore it is safe to say that 500 hundred years ago, if I were standing in the spot where I am typing this paper; then it is possible that I might be staring down a Southern Valley Yokut. The Final Area division of the Yokut tribe is the Foothill Yokuts; the Foothill Yokuts lived in the foothills of