The Ahwahnechee (also known as Ahwahnees and Ahwahneechee) are a Native American people who traditionally lived in the Yosemite Valley. They are related to the Northern Paiute, Mono people, and even more closely to the Southern Sierra Miwok. The Ahwahnechee people's heritage can be found all over Yosemite National Park.

History

The Ahwahnechee lived in Yosemite Valley for centuries. It is believed that they may have lived in the area for as long as 7,000 years.

Initial contacts

European-American contact began after 1833. In 1850 a settler named James D. Savage set up a mining camp down below the valley, and spent most of his time mining for gold and trading with the few other white men in the area. He took several Indian wives and developed influential relations with the nearby natives. Later that year, Savage's camp and post were attacked by the Ahwahnees. They stole from him, raided his supplies, and killed two of his men. This, in turn, sparked the Mariposa Indian War of 1850 to 1851. In 1851, during the Mariposa War, California State Militia troops of the Mariposa Battalion burned Ahwahnechee villages and took their food stores.