"MIWOK (ME-WUK, MI-WUK, MEWUK) - There are three main Miwok groups - the Coast Miwok, the Lake Miwok, and the Sierra Mewuk, with homelands in north-central California. The coast Miwok lived along the Pacific Coast from present-day Sausalito to Duncan's Point, including Bodega Bay, Tomales Bay, and San Pablo Bay, inland to the area near Sonoma; the Lake Miwok lands were located to the east and south of Clear Lake; and the Sierra Mewuk lands were located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of the central part of the state. These groups spoke Hokan languages, related to other California languages from the north along the coast and extending into Mexico and the Great Basin. The coast people depended on tideland gathering of fish and shellfish, with secondary use of acorns and game; the lake people used fish, waterfowl, and other lake foods, as well as acorns and game; and the Sierra people depended on king salmon in the major river valleys, with increasing use of acorns and game in the foothills. Today many Coast Miwok people live in their traditional area, but they have no recognized tribal lands; in 1992 they formed an organization to pursue federal recognition. The Lake Miwok people live today on the Middletown Rancheria. Many Sierra Mewuk people still live on their traditional lands, either on the Jackson, Shingle Springs, and Tuolumne rancherias (which have federal trust lands) and the Sheep Ranch, Buena Vista, and Chicken Ranch rancherias (which have little or no trust lands), or in surrounding areas. There are about 3,500 Miwok people living today."

It is our goal to have a history and display museum at the Mi Wuk Village Inn. Pictured here is an umacha which we have on display in the forest built by a member of the Mi Wuk tribe. The covering is made of stripped cedars supported by cedar poles. Come and sit inside to get a feel of another way of life and time.