By McKenzie Neumann
Did you ever hear about
the Maidu? The Maidu is a
California Native American
tribe. Some Maidu live in
Sierra Nevada and others
lived in Northern central
California. Most Maidu also
lived along the tributaries
of Sacramento River. The
Maidu lived near rivers,
valleys, land near
mountains, and foot hills.
The Maidu is very fun to
learn about and I will tell
you about their homes,
food, jobs, clothing,
celebrations, children, and
some Interesting facts.
Have you ever heard of the
Maidu’s houses? The Maidu builT
different kinds of homes depending
on the seasons. In the Winter,
mountain Maidu lived in a barkcovered house. The Maidu who lived
in the foot of the mountains lived in
earthen homes and some Maidu
lived near the American Rivers.
The Maidu made doors out of animal
fur. They made homes by standing
four up right poles in the ground.
They lived in a circular fame of up
right poles. There homes were
party under ground.
Do you know what the Maidu
ate? The Maidu ate fish, acorns,
plants, oak trees, deer, elks,
squirrels, rabbits, ducks, geese,
and quails. The Maidu gathered
and ate insects. The Maidu caught
fish with hooks and Maidu men
made knives, spears, bow and
arrows, and knife blades. Maidu
women gathered acorns by hand.
What kind of jobs did the
Maidu have ? The Maidu men were
chosen for certain jobs for their
good judge ment and even tempers.
The girls made baskets for the
babies and the Maidu men made
weapons as axes and bow and
arrows. The Maidu women gathered
acorns and nuts by hand.
•
What did the Maidu
wear? In the Winter the
Maidu wore deer skin
leggings and fur robes,
and blankets. The Maidu
women wore baskets for
hats. In the summer the
Maidu wore aprons and
the Maidu men wore
breech clothes. Maidu
women and men had long
hair.
•
Maidu celebrations
were very inserting.
During celebrations, they
held special dance
ceremonies gizzy bears
and rattle snakes. Maidu
men wore a decorative
belts during dance
ceremonies. The Maidu
burned bodies with their
dead possions.
•
The children had very
interesting lives. Some times a
baby was named in honor of
their ancestor. The Maidu did
not name their babies inill
they were two or three.
Children often had foot games
and swimming contest. The
adults teach their children
the tribe languages.
•
Do you want to hear some
Interesting facts? The Maidu were one
of the largest tribes in California.
Today there are about 3,550 Maidu.
They live all over the world. Many
Maidu are trying to strengthen their
culture and restore their land. Maidu
tribes are funding these efforts with
money made from casinos. They
believed the creator made the stares,
Oak trees, birds, and many other
animals. The Maidu had great respect
of animals.
The Maidu was a
awesome California Native
American tribe. I only hope
the number of Maidu keep
going up and I hope their
culture is still alive.