Maidu

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Maidu
Mojave
Paiute
Yurok
maidu basket Location
By Kenya
The Maidu lived in the northeast part of Calfornia in the Sierra mountains between the Feather and American Rivers.

Way of Life
By Genesee
The Maidu Indians were hunters, fishers, and gatherers. They weren't farmers because they had no need for farming. Their food was in the area they lived in. The Maidu ate roots, berries, seeds, nuts, fish, insects, meats, and grasses.
They hunted for rabbits, birds, deer, elk, geese, ducks, and sometimes bears. They didn't hunt for coyotes, or owls. They'd fish for salmon, crayfish, and eel.They gathered roots, berries, grasses, bulbs, tubers, acorns, and other nuts.
The Maidu made coiled baskets from willow and unpeeled redbud. They also made skirts and mats out of tule from the marshes. When they hunted bear, they would make blankets from the bear hide. Sometimes they would use bird feathers to make beds. They used shells, roots, and stems to make necklaces.They made buckskin aprons for the men. The buckskin would cover the front and back side of them. They would also make various kinds of buckskin skirts for the women and children.They made ceremony face paint out of white and red clay, charcoal, and the grindings of red stones.
They would make small dugout redwood canoes.They also made summer huts out of cut branches tied to small tree posts. The Maidu would trade roots, grasses, seeds, beads, tools, chips of obsidian, and baskets. They traveled by foot and canoe. They would travel to the Feather River that met with Indian and Spanish creeks, and other nearby places.
The Maidu women were skilled basket weavers and the women would do most of the cooking. Men would hunt and build the houses. The children helped gather.

Villages
By Jesus
The Maidu Indians built their homes close together which were connected by trails. Some built dome houses covered with earth. The Maidus that lived in the mountains built cone shaped houses. While hunting on a long trip, very often shelter was built out of twigs and grasses. Sometimes they would build underground houses with a hole in the top.The villages were as big as two to twenty or more groups. Sweat and ceremony houses could be found too. Arrows, slings, and baskets could be found also. Granaries were built on stilts head-high. They used the granaries to store away food for a rainy day.

Culture
By Jesus
The Maidu played a lot of games.They played kickball and running races.The tribe played a guessing game. They had a lot of bones. One bone was plain and the other had marks on them. They needed to guess which hand the plain bone was in.
When they buned their dead they covered the body with a bear skin.They burned the hair and covered it with pitch.

Legacies
By Kenya
One legacy the Maidu left was smooth rounded holes in rocks that were made by grinding acorns.

Similarities and Differences
The Maidu and the Mojave both used mud on their homes. They also played hand games.
The Mojave believed that if they had a good dream it would come true, but the Maidu did not. The Mojave were
farmers but the Maidu were hunters and gatherers.

HOME Chumash 1 Chumash 2 Chumash 3 Chumash 4 Maidu Mojave Paiute Yurok		Location By Kenya The Maidu lived in the northeast part of Calfornia in the Sierra mountains between the Feather and American Rivers.
	Way of Life By Genesee The Maidu Indians were hunters, fishers, and gatherers. They weren't farmers because they had no need for farming. Their food was in the area they lived in. The Maidu ate roots, berries, seeds, nuts, fish, insects, meats, and grasses. They hunted for rabbits, birds, deer, elk, geese, ducks, and sometimes bears. They didn't hunt for coyotes, or owls. They'd fish for salmon, crayfish, and eel.They gathered roots, berries, grasses, bulbs, tubers, acorns, and other nuts. The Maidu made coiled baskets from willow and unpeeled redbud. They also made skirts and mats out of tule from the marshes. When they hunted bear, they would make blankets from the bear hide. Sometimes they would use bird feathers to make beds. They used shells, roots, and stems to make necklaces.They made buckskin aprons for the men. The buckskin would cover the front and back side of them. They would also make various kinds of buckskin skirts for the women and children.They made ceremony face paint out of white and red clay, charcoal, and the grindings of red stones. They would make small dugout redwood canoes.They also made summer huts out of cut branches tied to small tree posts. The Maidu would trade roots, grasses, seeds, beads, tools, chips of obsidian, and baskets. They traveled by foot and canoe. They would travel to the Feather River that met with Indian and Spanish creeks, and other nearby places. The Maidu women were skilled basket weavers and the women would do most of the cooking. Men would hunt and build the houses. The children helped gather.
	Villages By Jesus The Maidu Indians built their homes close together which were connected by trails. Some built dome houses covered with earth. The Maidus that lived in the mountains built cone shaped houses. While hunting on a long trip, very often shelter was built out of twigs and grasses. Sometimes they would build underground houses with a hole in the top.The villages were as big as two to twenty or more groups. Sweat and ceremony houses could be found too. Arrows, slings, and baskets could be found also. Granaries were built on stilts head-high. They used the granaries to store away food for a rainy day.
	Culture By Jesus The Maidu played a lot of games.They played kickball and running races.The tribe played a guessing game. They had a lot of bones. One bone was plain and the other had marks on them. They needed to guess which hand the plain bone was in. When they buned their dead they covered the body with a bear skin.They burned the hair and covered it with pitch.
	Legacies By Kenya One legacy the Maidu left was smooth rounded holes in rocks that were made by grinding acorns.
	Similarities and Differences The Maidu and the Mojave both used mud on their homes. They also played hand games. The Mojave believed that if they had a good dream it would come true, but the Maidu did not. The Mojave were farmers but the Maidu were hunters and gatherers.