Yana

The Yana Native Americans historically inhabited a region of California from Pit River in the north to perhaps as far south as Rock Creek. The western boundary of their homeland lay 10 to 20 miles east to the Sacramento River, and their eastern boundary extended into the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Like many Native American groups from California, the Yana had no tribal name; they referred to themselves as “Yana,” which means “person” or “people.” Anthropologists have divided up the Yana into four subgroups, principally based on linguistic differences: the Northern Yana, the Central Yana, the Southern Yana, and the Yahi. Prior to Euroamerican contact, it is estimated that 3,000 Yana Native Americans inhabited their traditional homeland.

Name: Yana

Location: The east section of the Sacramento River Valley in northern California.

Population: Around 3,000 prior to Euroamerican contact; today there is no official count of Yana Native Americans.

Language Family: Hokan

First Contact by Euroamericans: In the middle 1800s when Euroamericans began moving into Yana territory.

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