Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians of California

The Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Mono Native Americans. Cold Springs Rancheria is the name of the tribe's reservation, which is located in Fresno County, California.^[1]

Culture

The Cold Springs tribe is composed of Western Mono Indians, whose traditional homeland is in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills of California. The Mono language is part of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Acorns are a traditional staple food with great symbolic importance.^[2] Their oral history is included in Mono traditional narratives.

Government

They ratified their current tribal constitution on April 11, 1970 and last amended it in 2001.^[3] Their Tribal Council is democratically elected and includes a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary-Treasurer and three Council Members. Additionally all tribal members 18 years old or older form a voting General Council.^[3]

Enrollment

Tribal enrollment to the Cold Springs Rancheria is limited to those members listed on the 1960 Plan for Distribution of Assets of the Cold Springs Rancheria roles and their lineal descendants that have a blood quantum of at least one-quarter degree of Californian Indian blood.^[3] Approximately 159 to 193 people lived on the Cold Springs Rancheria, and there are 265 to 275 enrolled members of the tribe.^[4][5]

Reservation

The Cold Springs Rancheria occupies 155 acres (0.63 km²) in Sycamore Valley, located 45 miles (72 km) east of Fresno, California. The lands are close to Tollhouse, California, where the tribe is headquartered.^[5]

Mono tribes

Other federally recognized Mono tribes are the Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, the Big Sandy Rancheria of Mono Indians of California,^[1] the Northfork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, Big Pine Band of Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Indians of the Big Pine Reservation.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Pritzker, 137
2. ^ California Indians and Their Reservations. SDSU Library and Information Access. (retrieved 24 July 2009)
3. ^ ^{a b c} Constitution and Bylaws of the Cold Springs Rancheria. (retrieved 24 July 2009)
4. ^ Pritzker, 136-7
5. ^ ^{a b} California Indians and Their Reservations. SDSU Library and Information Access. (retrieved 24 July 2009)

References

• Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0195138771

External links

• Constitution and Bylaws of the Cold Springs Rancheria

Coordinates: 36°58′18″N 119°19′28″W / 36.97167°N 119.32444°W / 36.97167; -119.32444