Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point.

[1] It originally meant "those who live at red earth hole" and was once the name of a village in southern Potter Valley, near the present-day community of Pomo, Mendocino County.

Another theory places the Pomoan ancestral community in the Sonoma region,[5] where coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests met with inland valleys and mixed woodlands, bolstered by Clear Lake and its abundant natural resources.

[5] Another people, possibly Yukian speakers, lived first in the Russian River Valley and Lake Sonoma areas prior to being displaced by the Pomo, who subsequently took over the region.

[6] Modern archaeological analyses and discoveries have suggested that the local economy, which was based on women processing acorns by mortar and pestle,[7] and first observed by the Spanish upon their arrival in Central California, may have developed during the Mostin culture period (ca.

More than a thousand precontact charmstones and numerous arrowheads have been unearthed at Tolay Lake, southern Sonoma County, attributed to both Pomo and Coast Miwok people.

Bowls, mortars, and pestles appeared in this phase, probably used by women to pound acorns (as opposed to the milling stones used for seeds).

Numerous clamshell beads, a major currency among the peoples of Central California, were also found, also suggesting a vast trade network.

[13][14] The way of life of the Pomo changed with the arrival of Russians at Fort Ross (1812 to 1841) on the Pacific coastline, and Spanish missionaries and European-American colonists]coming in from the south and east.

The Pomo who remained in the present-day Santa Rosa area of Sonoma County were often called Cainameros in regional history books from the time of Spanish and Mexican occupation.

In the Russian River Valley, a missionary colonized and baptized the Makahmo Pomo people of the Cloverdale area.

The archeology surveyors of the Lake Sonoma region believe that European and Euro-American encroachment was the reason why Pomo villages became more centralized; the people retreated to the remote valley to band together for defense and mutual support.

[15] In 1837 a deadly epidemic of smallpox, originating in settlements at Fort Ross, caused numerous deaths of native people in the Sonoma and Napa regions.

During this time, two white settlers named Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone enslaved many Pomo people in order to work as cowboys on their ranch.

[17][19][20] Because of the deaths of Kelsey and Stone, United States lieutenant J. W. Davidson and captain Nathaniel Lyon sent an army to retaliate against the Pomo people.

[22] From 1891 to 1935, starting with National Thorn, the artist Grace Hudson painted more than 600 portraits, mainly of Pomo individuals living near her in the Ukiah area.

[30][31][citation needed] The Pomo Indian cultures are several ethnolinguistic groups that make up a single language family in Northern California.

Like many other Native groups, the Pomo Indians of Northern California relied upon fishing, hunting, and gathering for their daily food supply.

[32][33] The Pomo believed in a supernatural being, the Kuksu or Guksu (depending on their dialect), who lived in the south and who came during ceremonies to heal their illnesses, along with spirits from six cardinal directions, and Coyote as their ancestor and creator god.

In 1874, the Big Head cult grew out of Bole Maru, but with less of a focus on dreamers and their visions, which spread all the way north to the Shasta.

The Pomo usually covered a basket completely with the vivid red feathers of the pileated woodpecker until the surface resembled the smoothness of the bird itself.

[44][failed verification] Within this time period in addition to basket weaving, the Pomo also manufactured elaborate jewelry made from abalone and clamshells.

[40] Assembled during the winter, during the summer the Pomo would travel from various sites along the coast where they would fish and gather all of their materials needed to create their jewelry.

The Pomo Indians would create stunning, beautiful, and intricate forms of jewelry that were worn during celebrations and rituals, and even given as gifts.

Pomo today live normal modern lifestyles, but the basket weavers are still heralded and praised within the community for their artistic ability and skill.

Dyeing of the bulrush root takes about three to six months in a concoction of black walnuts, rusty metal and ashes in water.

Dealers and collectors may have exploited the lucrative basket market, but it still paid well enough to provide income to Pomo women where hunting and gathering were no longer feasible and money was needed for survival.

Due to the time and preparation necessary to weave these pieces of art; basket weavers today have more requests than they can fulfill, and many customers wait months before receiving orders.

Classified as "domestic dependent nations," these tribes are under the jurisdiction of the federal government, but with some autonomy from their respective states, including California.

Many Pomo were impacted by the California Rancheria Termination Acts and lost lands due to lack of understanding the tax system, along with predation by merchants who took advantage of land-rich but cash-poor tribal members.