Early Yosemite Inhabitants
The earliest residents of the area were Native Americans who inhabited the Valley for at least 6,000 years.
Guide Sections
Use Early Yosemite Inhabitants's guide sections to understand how this stop fits into the larger park plan.
Early Yosemite Inhabitants Details
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Learn About the Park
The Ahwahneechee tribe was living in the valley when the first European settlers arrived in the middle of the 19th century. The 1848 gold rush in the Sierra Nevadas led to conflicts between prospectors and the tribe which has inhabited Yosemite for centuries, living off acorns and other native foods and living in cedar teepees. In 1851, the Mariposa Indian War saw the Mariposa Battalion enter the Yosemite Valley in pursuit of the tribe. The war ultimately forced the Ahwahneechee out of their valley home and onto reservations.