Cowboys & Indians

Both Cowboys' and Indians' festivals are important expressions of California's history & diverse cultures. Many are surprised when they research their own family history and learn they have Native American heritage--such information was often hidden by ancestors, and with good reason.   Back in 2002 Senator John L. Burton requested an investigation into State of California laws enacted that may have prohibited California Indians from practicing their religion, speaking their languages or practicing traditional ceremonies and customs--and the answer he got was shocking!

Just four months before California became the 31st state and declared itself a free, non-slavery state, a law was passed by California legislature permitting Indian children and women to be taken as slaves, sold to the highest bidder, and Indian men to be killed through "expeditions against the Indians". 

The 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians and related amendments;
· California militia policies and Expeditions against the Indians” during 1851 to 1859;
· The State of California's official response to federal treaties negotiated with California Indians during 1851 to 1852; and
· Early and current state fish protection laws that exempt California Indians from related prohibitions.
The 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians facilitated removing California Indians from their traditional lands, separating at least a generation of children and adults from their families, languages, and cultures (1850 to 1865).

This California law provided for apprenticing” or indenturing Indian children and adults to Whites, and also punished vagrant” Indians by hiring” them out to the highest bidder at a public auction if the Indian could not provide sufficient bond or bail.

The California Legislature created the laws that controlled California Indians' land, lives and livelihoods, while enforcement and implementation occurred at the county and local township levels. Some examples include:
· County-level Courts of Sessions and local township Justices of the Peace determined which Indians and Indian children were apprenticed” or indentured pursuant to the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians.
· Under the same act, Justices of the Peace, mayors or recorders of incorporated towns or cities, decided the status and punishment of vagrant” Indians.
· Under the California Constitution and state militia laws, California governors ordered local sheriffs to organize the men to conduct the Expeditions against the Indians.”

There's more...

From 1851 to 1859, the California Legislature passed 27 laws that the State Comptroller relied upon in determining the total expenditures related to the Expeditions against the Indians. Claims submitted to the State of California Comptroller for these Expeditions against the Indians was over $1 million. The California Legislature was involved in influencing the U.S. Senate's ratification process of the 18 treaties negotiated with California Indians during 1851 to 1852. These treaties were never ratified, and kept secret from 1852 until 1905.

 The California Legislature also enacted laws during the first fifteen years of statehood that accommodated Indian tribes' traditional fishing practices. California laws exist today that continue to protect fish and exempt California Indians from related prohibitions.

ABSENCE OF LEGAL RIGHTS In 1850 and 1851, the California Legislature enacted laws concerning crimes and punishments that prohibited Indians, or black or mulatto persons, from giving evidence in favor of, or against, any white person.” The 1850 statute defined an Indian as having one-half Indian blood. The 1851 statute defined an Indian as having one fourth or more of Indian blood.”