California Native

Between 1846 and 1873, California's Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. Benjamin Madley is the first historian to uncover the full extent of the slaughter, the involvement of state and federal officials, the taxpayer dollars that supported the violence, indigenous resistance, who did the killing, and why the killings ended. This deeply researched book is a comprehensive and chilling history of an American genocide.

Most California histories begin with the arrival of the Spanish missionaries in the late 18th century and conveniently skip to the Gold Rush of 1849. Noticeably absent from these stories are the perspectives and experiences of the people who lived on the land long before European settlers arrived. Historian William Bauer seeks to correct that oversight through an innovative approach that tells California history strictly through Native perspectives.

John Muir was an early proponent of a view we still hold today—that much of California was pristine, untouched wilderness before the arrival of Europeans. But as this book demonstrates, what Muir was really seeing when he admired the grand vistas of Yosemite and the gold and purple flowers carpeting the Central Valley were the fertile gardens of the Sierra Miwok and Valley Yokuts Indians, modified and made productive by centuries of harvesting, tilling, sowing, pruning, and burning.

A historical non-fiction book set in California during its transformation from indigenous tribes to American statehood. Discover the rich tapestry of California's past in "Tribes and Priests Early California." This captivating exploration takes you from the ancient traditions of indigenous tribes through the tumultuous changes brought by Spanish colonization and the American gold rush. Experience the vibrant history that shaped California's unique identity, filled with ambition, cultural clashes, and the relentless pursuit of economic prosperity. The narrative intricately weaves together ...

Before there was such a thing as "California," there were the People and the Land. We Are the Land is the first and most comprehensive text of its kind, centering the long history of California around the lives and legacies of the Indigenous people who shaped it. Beginning with the ethnogenesis of California Indians, this book recounts the centrality of the Native presence from before European colonization through statehood—paying particularly close attention to the persistence and activism of California Indians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. 

From a New York Times bestselling author, a masterful history of the American West—from the California Gold Rush to the settling of Oklahoma and beyond. "Epic in its scale, fearless in its scope, this is a bravura performance from one of our master historians." —Hampton Sides, bestselling...

A retired heart surgeon falls to his death from a remote desert peak. What was he doing there, and what was he desperately trying to tell Chemehuevi Joe in his final garbled whisper? As Joe tries to decipher that final message, long-time readers of the Smoke Tree series will discover a side of the enigmatic Native American they have never seen before.

One of the most groundbreaking and highly acclaimed titles that Heyday has published, The Ohlone Way describes the culture of the Indian people who inhabited the Bay Area prior to the arrival of Europeans. Recently included in the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Top 100 Western Non-Fiction” list, The Ohlone Way has been described by critic Pat Holt as a “mini-classic”.

Nick Neely chronicles his 650-mile trek on foot from San Diego to San Francisco, following the route of the first overland Spanish expedition into what was soon called Alta California. Led by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769, the expedition sketched a route that would become, in part, the famous El Camino Real. It laid the foundation for the Golden State we know today, a place that remains as mythical and captivating as any in the world.

They walked a thousand miles to find a harbor that didn't exist. They found San Francisco Bay instead. They didn't want it. In 1769, a Spanish expedition of sixty-four men left San Diego under orders to locate the harbor of Monterey. Their engineer, Miguel Costansó, kept a diary of measurements: distances, latitudes, the depth of every pool, the height of a dead grizzly bear. He did not record feelings. He recorded facts. The facts are these: the men walked for six months through canyons and mountains and fog. They ate their mules when the food ran out. Seventeen soldiers were crippled by ...

A historical fiction book set in California during the 16th to 19th centuries. Step into the vibrant and tumultuous world of early California in "California Gold," a sweeping historical fiction that captures the spirit of exploration, ambition, and survival against a backdrop of heart-wrenching beauty and conflict. As cultures clash and dreams are forged in the fires of gold fever, the story invites readers on an unforgettable journey through a land shaped by the hands of both settlers and native tribes. "California Gold" masterfully unfolds over centuries, beginning with the Spanish ...

New paperback version with color pictures: www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ9NF2MN From San Diego to Sonoma, the 21 California Missions tell the story of early California—faith, growth, resilience, and communities that still shape the state today. In this updated edition of California Missions, Visiting All 21, Paul Rallion shares the highlights of his family’s journey to every mission and distills what visitors most want to know: a quick history of each site, distinctive features to look for, and practical details to make your trip smooth and memorable. What’s inside: ✅ At-a-glance visiting ...

California’s transformation into the most populous state in America and the home of some of the country’s richest citizens spread amongst Silicon Valley and Hollywood, was certainly no accident. California has always been one of the most diverse and multicultural states in the United States, way before it was a state at all, and even before the arrival of the Europeans.

This beautiful and devastating book - part tribal history, part lyric and intimate memoir - should be required for anyone seeking to learn about California Indian history, past and present. Deborah A. Miranda tells stories of her Ohlone Costanoan Esselen family as well as the experience of California Indians as a whole through oral histories, newspaper clippings, anthropological recordings, personal reflections, and poems. The result is a work of literary art that is wise, angry, and playful all at once, a compilation that will break your heart and teach you to see the world anew.

A beautiful, half-Indian girl raised by the Californios finds her fate intertwined with an American frontiersman haunted by his past in 1850 California. As California comes to statehood amidst the madness of the gold rush, Isabella Vasquez must wed a buckskin-clad American who wins her in a card game. Though their union is passionate, Isabella soon finds herself abandoned in a brothel, where she rises to fame as a singer known as the Bluebird. Yet because of her Indian blood, the Bluebird will always be bought and sold in the white man’s world. When more is demanded of the Bluebird than ...

Modern biographies of Richard Nixon have been consumed with Watergate. All have missed arguably the most important perspective on Nixon as California's native son, the only U.S. president born and raised in California. By shifting the focus from Watergate and Washington to Nixon's deep, defining roots in California, Paul Carter boldly challenges common conceptions of the thirty-seventh president of the United States.

She rang the bell. And everything changed. Twelve-year-old Finley is the kind of kid who notices everything and says almost nothing. While her loud, fearless little brother Liam makes friends everywhere they go, Finley hangs back — watching, cataloging, disappearing into the walls. So when her family drags her to Fort Ross State Historic Park on the California coast instead of letting her go to a sleepover, she's furious. Then a park guide named Maddie leads her to a small, tarnished bell inside a two-hundred-year-old chapel. One pull of the rope, and Finley wakes up in 1820. Fort Ross is...

Collecting over twenty-five essays written by more than twenty California Indian authors, Know We Are Here surveys many of the ways California's Indigenous communities are resisting the legacies of genocide. Focusing on the particular histories, challenges, and dynamics of life in Native California—which are often very different from elsewhere in the United States—the book collects essays from writers across the state. It encompasses the perspectives of both elders and the rising generation, and the contributors include activists, academics, students, memoirists, and tribal leaders.

When art conservator Chloe Harper is called to examine vandalized paintings of Seabrook's historic lighthouse, she expects a routine case of mindless destruction. Instead, she discovers the first thread in a century-ole mystery that will test her skills far beyond art restoration. The lighthouse is being renovated by wealthy developer Marcus Parker, whose family has dominated Seabrook for generations. But when the vandalism reveals connections to Parker's great-grandfather and a mysterious mermaid lamp, Chloe realizes someone is desperately trying to either expose or protect secrets hidden ...

Private Investigator Sharon McCone goes undercover to investigate the murders of two Indigenous women in remote Northern California in this gripping, atmospheric mystery in the New York Times bestselling series. "Muller's series remains a gold standard for female detective stories.'' —Kirkus...