Coast Miwok Tribe Facts

Home region: Marin and southern Sonoma Counties

Mission affiliations: San Francisco de Asís, San Rafael, San Francisco Solano

Historical background: Speakers of the Miwok language in northwestern Alta California were divided into Lake Miwok and Coast Miwok. Both Francis Drake in 1579 and Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño in 1595 spoke of encountering the Coast Miwok. In addition to the Spanish missions, the Coast Miwok also were associated with the Russian colony around Fort Ross near Bodega Bay.

Interesting facts: The Coast Miwok were especially fond of sea animals for food, but unlike other coastal indigenous groups, they don’t seem to have hunted marine mammals.

Today: Today, the Graton Rancheria includes descendants of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people. The descendants of Camilo Ynitia, a leader of the Coast Miwok during Spanish and Mexican times who was one of the few indigenous people to receive a land grant, also still live in the San Francisco Area.