The Salinan are a Native American tribe whose ancestral territory is in the southern Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Range in the Central Coast of California.

Today, the Salinan governments are now working toward federal tribal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Miguelino lived on the upper course of the Salinas River, and to the south near Slates Hot Springs, Junipero Serra Peak, and Soledad.

Salinans were Hunter-gatherers and, like most other California tribes, were organized in small groups with little centralized political structure.

Their main diet during the summer consisted of fish and shellfish, evidenced by the fine particles of shell present in the soil for a depth of several feet in areas where the Indians camped.