Whilkut

FOUR DIRECTIONS INSTITUTE

Whilkut

*Ethnie:*	WHILKUT (REDWOOD INDIANS)
*Language:*	Hupan
*Family:*	Pacific Coast Athapaskan
*Stock:*	Athapaskan
*Phylum:*	Na-Dene
*Macro-Culture:*	Northwest Californian

Speakers

None

The Whilkut were a relatively poor sedentary hunter/gatherer tribe. The Pacific Coast Athapaskans arrived in the area late in the first millennium from Canada. The Whilkut lived on the upper parts of Redwood Creek and the Mad River. They were devastated by the settler and miner influx during the gold rush. Their remote territories resulted in little of their history being recorded though it is known they were not on good terms with the Hupa, a formidable ethnie with whom they shared their language and who eventually absorbed some Whilkut remnants. They were also known to conduct raids against the Wiyot.

Aboriginal Locations

At least 4 villages

Present Locations

Remnants at HUPA RESERVATION, Hupa, others apparently absorbed into the local culture

Year	*History*
1850	Heavy encroachment during gold rush

Year	Population	Source
1700	500	NAHDB calculation
1770	500	Kroeber estimate
1800	500	NAHDB calculation
1900	50	NAHDB calculation
1910	50	Census
2000	100	NAHDB calculation

Other speakers of the same language:

Chilula, Hupan

Whilcut Sites

The Gold Rush Legacy: Greed, Pollution, and Genocide http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/spring98/sp98g_wr.htm

Humbolt - Del Norte http://www.cirhm.org/humboldt/index.asp

Hupa Language http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=HUP

Hupa Language http://www.logoi.com/links/nativeamericans/hupa_language.html

Hupa Linguistic Lineage http://www.ethnologue.com/show_lang_family.asp?code=HUP

Northwestern California Culture and Ethnobotany http://www.fourdir.com/northwest_california-oregon_culture.htm

Whilcut Hat http://www.americantrails.com/soldbaskets3.html