The early California Indians played an influential role in California’s history and due to countless records and books, our world is one step closer to understanding that role. The only known reading of a stranger living with California Indians, Indian Summer: Traditional Life Among the Choinumne Indians of California’s San Joaquin Valley, provides a detailed and unique encapsulation of the Choinumne Yokuts. Transcribed from Thomas Jefferson Mayfield’s childhood memories, author Frank F. Latta, a self-defined historian of the San Joaquin Valley, successfully conveys Mayfield’s unique experience and admiration for the Choinumne Indians. In addition to Indian Summer, the essence of Latta’s work revolves around the San Joaquin Valley Indians, …show more content…
While traveling through the valley he recalls witnessing nature’s beauty all around him, “Several times we stopped to pick the different kinds of flowers and soon we had our horses and packs decorated with masses of all colors…My daddy had traveled a great deal it was not easy to get him excited about wildflowers, or pretty scenery. But he said that he would not have believed that such a place existed if he had not seen it himself” (Latta 34). Mayfield continues to express his admiration for the valley, “The two most beautiful remembrances I have are the virgin San Joaquin and my mother” (Latta 34). In addition to the valley’s beauty, Mayfield describes how the landscape played a chief role in the Choinumne’s lives. The Choinumne Indians spent a lot of their time in nearby rivers for leisure and hunting food. Mayfield recalls spending summers in the rivers and how babies learned how to swim immediately after they were born (Latta 50). Fish and ducks were trapped in the rivers and brought back to their homes to enjoy for meals (Latta 72). Animals, such as Deer and elk, lived amongst the San Joaquin Valley’s high grass and tall trees and were the Choinumne’s main source of food throughout the year. Mayfield describes how the men would go into sweat houses, known as “maws”, and then followed up with a thorough wash right before they went on a deer hunt (Latta 80). This ritual guaranteed a successful hunt for the Choinumne’s due to their lack of scent and it’s also what ultimately separated white hunters from Indian hunters (Latta 80). Mayfield describes another hunting technique as men wearing deer hides to disguise themselves. This was also a successful method because it allowed them to get closer to their prey without scaring them off (Latta