Masters Thesis

An Examination of the Kashaya Pomo Community at the Haupt Ranch. Northwestern Sonoma County: A Case Study for Preservation and Planning

Purpose of the study: The Kashaya Pomo, also known as the Kashia Pomo, the Southwestern Pomo, the Stewart's Point Pomo, the Gualala Indians, and the Haupt Ranch Indians, moved from the Russian Fort Ross to the Haupt Ranch in approximately 1857-59 or 1868-70. Their community at Ross (ca. 1811-1859) and Haupt Ranch (ca. 1857-1919) adapted creatively to, but were not engulfed by, the introduced cultures of either. The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of how the People were able to accommodate introduced culture, yet retain clear cultural continuity. This study examines the available ethnographic and historical data, compares this data with oral accounts given by descendants, evaluates the potential archaeological data present at the Haupt Ranch, and presents strategies for preservation and protection of the site. Procedure: The sources for the written, oral, and archaeological record of the community and its capacity to retain cultural continuity while in close contact with foreign cultures was examined and compared. The potential for unrecovered introduced material culture at the Ranch to provide information about the complex interactions between the Kashaya themselves and with their neighbors was explored and research questions were posed. Findings: Pre-contact social fluidity of the Kashaya prepared them to adapt to and incorporate foreign language and traditions within their own cultural system without drastic modification of their own cultural identity. What is not known is how the Kashaya used and interpreted the items of material culture they acquired via contact with the Russians and ranchers. Archaeological data, however, holds the potential to answer questions about the use and manipulation of introduced material culture and to increase our comprehension of the uniqueness or commonness of this phenomenon through cross comparisons with similarly situated groups. Conclusions: Preservation of the Haupt Ranch archaeological site is necessary to protect the data potential necessary for understanding the use and adaptation of introduced material culture of the Russians and ranchers who became their neighbors from 1811-1919.

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