 A Wappo Woman from Edward S. Curtis Collection. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1770:1,000–1,650 1850:188–200 1910:73 1977:50[1] 2000:250 2010:291[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 California (Clear Lake,Napa Valley,Alexander Valley,Russian River Valley) | |
| Languages | |
| English, historicallyWappo[1] | |
| Religion | |
| traditional tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yuki people[3] |
TheWappo (endonym:Micewal[4]) are anIndigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are inNapa Valley, the south shore ofClear Lake,Alexander Valley, andRussian River valley.[3] They are distantly related to theYuki people, from which they seem to have diverged at least 500 years ago.[4] Their language,Wappo, has been influenced by the neighboringPomo, who use the termA'shochamai orA'shotenchawi (transcribed asAshochimi by some authors), meaning "northerners", to refer to the Wappo.[5]
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Prior to European colonization, the Wappo lived byhunting and gathering, and lived in small groups without centralized political authority, in homes built from branches, leaves and mud. Their woven baskets were so well-crafted that they were able to hold water.
When Mexicans arrived to colonize California, Wappo villages existed near the present-day towns ofYountville,St. Helena andCalistoga. Those on the south shore of Clear Lake were completely absorbed and dispersed to theSpanish missions in California. The mission accounted for at least 550 Wappo baptisms.[6]
The name Wappo is an Americanization of theSpanish termguapo, which means, among other things, "brave." They were known as brave for their stubborn resistance to Mexican domination, particularly their resistance to all military attempts fromGeneral Vallejo and his enlisted allies. In 1836 the warring parties signed a peace treaty.[7][8]
Alfred L. Kroeber put the 1770 population of the Wappo at 1,000.[9]Sherburne F. Cook (1976:174) raised this estimate to 1,650.[6]
By the early 1850s, the surviving Wappo were reported to number between 188 and 800.[10] However population dropped by 1880 to 50, and the 1910 Census returned only 73.[11]
TheWappo language is an extinct member of theYukian language family. A Wappo grammar has been written.[1]
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