• https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/indian-tribes/miwok-tribe.htm
  • The Miwok are a fascinating tribe that inhabited what is now known as Mariposa County. The Miwok utilized the sweat lodge as a means of purifying themselves physically and spiritually.
• The Gold Rush Impact on Native Tribes | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
  • There is such a stark contrast between the goals of the native American tribes and that of the white settlers who developed the land across the west during the 19th century. This site outlines some fascinating features of the effects of the gold rush on native American tribes.
• https://historytogo.utah.gov/paiute-indians/
  • Once while on a backpacking trip in the Eastern Sierras I came across obsidian arrow heads. After inquiring as to whom they originally belonged, I learned that it was likely a paiute trading caravan who traveled all the way from Utah to California to trade various goods with other friendly tribes.
• Gold Rush History
  • The history of the gold rush is intrinsically tied to the history of California. Prior to 1848, California was not really a state, rather the land belonged to Mexico. Only after gold was discovered did the powers that be suddenly trend a monumental shift toward acquiring California and all it's treasure.
• https://westernmininghistory.com/mine-state/california/
  • The sheer volume of gold encased in quartz across the range of the Sierra Nevada mountains is astonishing. Thankfully the forest service and national parks long ago banished the destructive and explosive gold mining across much of this range. Were it not for these measures, it is likely the landscape would look drastically different today.
• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3177/3177-h/3177-h.htm
  • Mark Twain's Roughing It is a fascinating primary source available for free and in totality on this website. What I like about this book is Twain's ability to maintain a sense of humor through the various fiascos he encounters on his journeys. Fun fact from this book: Twain's brother was appointed Secretary of the Nevada territory with a salary of... 1800 dollars a year!
• https://www.nps.gov/cali/learn/historyculture/california-gold-rush.htm
  • The national park service has always maintained a strong focus on the historical value of the parks. Placing the history of the gold rush in the context of the history of the United States is important. This site features the largest migration in American history.
• https://www.nps.gov/places/000/chumash-on-santa-rosa-island.htm
  • Although far from the mountains, the Chumash were affected by the gold rush in a tragic way. In most cases by 1848 the Chumash tribe had been marginalized and pushed out into the channel islands. A fascinating legend of this tribe is they would paddle across the channel from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz island at night lit only by bioluminescent algae. This journey was a right of passage.
• https://www.mariposamuseum.com/
  • The Mariposa museum is a treasure trove of information, featuring an amazing bookstore that ranges from topics of the history of San Quentin prison to children's books.
• https://www.clarkemuseum.org/humboldts-gold-rush.html
  • I went to undergraduate university at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt!) When I graduated with a history degree I did not know what to do (the history store wasn't hiring) So I volunteered at the local Fort Humboldt Museum wherein I was given the task of translating the scribblings of guys like Ulysses Grant and his ilk onto digital documents. I learned quickly that the handwriting of the 1800s was virtually unintelligible. I also learned the treatment of the local Yakut, and Klamath tribes was often brutal.