Who Are the Wailaki?
The Wailaki are an indigenous people of northwestern California, traditionally inhabiting the upper Eel River and its tributaries in present-day Mendocino and Trinity counties. They speak Wailaki, an Athabaskan language related to neighboring Hupa and more distantly to Navajo and Apache. The name "Wailaki" comes from the Wintun language and means "north language," referring to their position relative to Wintun-speaking peoples. Before contact, the Wailaki numbered perhaps 2,000-3,000 people living in villages along the Eel River's numerous forks. Today, Wailaki descendants are enrolled primarily in the Round Valley Indian Tribes, a confederation of several peoples forcibly relocated to the Round Valley Reservation in the 19th century.
Eel River Country
Traditional Wailaki territory encompassed the rugged, heavily forested canyons of the upper Eel River system—some of California's most remote and inaccessible terrain. Salmon runs in the Eel River provided crucial food; the river was named by settlers for the Pacific lamprey (resembling eels) that also spawned there. Acorns from tan oaks supplemented salmon; deer hunting and plant gathering completed the subsistence economy. Villages occupied river terraces; houses were semi-subterranean structures covered with bark or earth. The rough terrain limited contact between Wailaki and neighboring peoples, creating relative isolation. This isolation initially protected the Wailaki from Spanish colonization but provided little defense against American invasion.
Round Valley Removal
American settlement of northern California brought devastating violence to the Wailaki. Ranchers and settlers invaded the Eel River country from the 1850s; California militia and federal troops conducted campaigns against indigenous peoples. Massacres, kidnapping, and forced labor devastated Wailaki communities. Survivors were forced to Round Valley Reservation, established in 1856 as a concentration point for indigenous peoples from throughout the region. At Round Valley, the Wailaki joined Yuki, Concow, Little Lake Pomo, Nomlaki, and other peoples, all confined together regardless of language or traditional relations. Reservation conditions were harsh; labor was forced; cultural practices were suppressed. Population continued declining into the 20th century.
Contemporary Wailaki
Modern Wailaki descendants are enrolled members of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, which gained federal recognition in 1934. The reservation encompasses approximately 30,000 acres in Mendocino County, including portions of traditional Wailaki territory. Round Valley Tribes operates various enterprises and services for members of its constituent groups. Cultural revitalization is complicated by the multi-tribal nature of the reservation—different peoples brought different languages and traditions, most now severely endangered or extinct. The Wailaki language has no fluent speakers remaining, though documentation efforts have preserved vocabulary and grammatical knowledge. Contemporary Wailaki identity persists within the broader Round Valley community, maintaining connections to ancestral places along the Eel River despite centuries of displacement and loss.
References
- Goddard, P. E. (1923). Wailaki Texts
- Elsasser, A. B. (1978). Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Lassik, and Wailaki. In Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 8
- Patterson, V. P. (2016). Genocide and Resistance in the Round Valley Indian Tribes