Mattole (Mat-toal, Matole)

The Mattole Native American people, also known as the Mat-toal or Matole, were members of California’s southern Athapaskan family. Historically they inhabited a 170 square mile coastal stretch of northwestern California from Davis Creek to Spanish Flat along the coast and to the mouth of Upper North Fork River inland. The Mattole Native Americans shared many linguistic and cultural traits with their Athapaskan indigenous speaking neighbors, the Bear River Indians. Prior to Euroamerican contact in the 1850s, the Mattole are estimated to have numbered over 1,200; today there are 38 known descendants.

Name: Mattole: also known as Mat-toal, Matole.

Location: Mattole River in northwestern California.

Population: An estimated 1,200 before 1850, 38 known descendants today.

Language Family: Athapaskan.

Return to California Native American Indigenous Peoples Tribal List