“Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” – Elie Wiesel
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The native peoples of Lake County were a hunting and gathering society for thousands of years.
It wasn't all work and no play for the Pomo, Miwok, Wappo, Patwin and Yuki Indians of Lake County.
There were many games played in times past. If you look across cultures throughout what is now the United States, you would be surprised at how many different cultures played similar games.
There were games of all description. Many games required much in the way of skill from a player. Materials for games all reflected the natural surroundings of a tribe’s location, whether it was wetlands, oak woodlands, coast, mountains or desert.
During one version of a game a player shuffled small pieces of deer bone wrapped with milkweed string. There were Indian footballs made of deer hide, which were stuffed with shredded soaproot.
One game included sunflower leaves bunched together to be used for archery practice. Games of dice were made from walnut shells that were filled with pine pitch. Grass games of many kinds were popular.
Games of chance were as popular then as they are now. The dice of various culture areas could be devised from reed, bone, animal teeth, wood or even fruit stones.
On Chapman University's Huell Howser Archive, you can view a demonstration of the game of shinny: https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2000/12/08/california-missions-california-missions-108/ .
This popular Native American game was filmed at Mission San Antonio, and is demonstrated by the Pala Indians; scroll the video to the 22:23 minute point.
The lively game of shinny resembles a variation of the modern-day game of field hockey. Indians from all over North America played versions of this game.
Many of the games played incorporated two teams with three to 10 players per team, and was enjoyed on an open field.
A goal would have been assembled on each side and players would have used a stick – one per player – to hit a ball or puck. The ball would have been designed from a mistletoe stalk, madrone root, animal bone or even an oak burl.
Not a lot is known about how the game was scored back then. Women were the primary players in the Nisenan tribe, and men competed in the game in most other areas. Villages in many Lake County and North American areas often played against their neighbors.
Many other games were played such as foot cast where a ball made from stone was thrown with the tops of the players' feet, Indian football was played using a buckskin-clad ball.
There was a form of racket ball which resembles lacrosse, along with the game of hoop and pole played by throwing a javelin into a rolling hoop.
The remarkable variety of olden-time games entices one to laugh and partake in a game that has endured the test of time.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
Lake County Time Capsule: The games native peoples enjoyed
- Kathleen Scavone
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