Everyone still with me? We’ll be climbing in elevation for the next little while. Ya know, it’s tempting to think that our national parks, before they were parks, were big empty pieces of land. But of course, that’s not really true! People have been living in Yosemite for thousands of years. 
When white settlers first showed up here, bands of Yokuts and Paiutes lived in the region. But, the people that lived in what is now the park mostly belonged to the Southern Miwok Tribe. 

And there was one particular tribe of the Southern Miwok culture that lived in Yosemite Valley. These are the Ahwahneechee.

The Ahwahneechee lived in Yosemite Valley for a long, long time. They called their enormous valley Ahwahnee, or ‘place of the gaping mouth,’ and lived a relatively isolated life. Like other tribes living in the Sierra Nevada, the Ahwahneechee had largely escaped pressure from white settlers. It’s just not that easy to colonize a mountain range, you know? But in the early 1800s, an illness, likely brought by settlers and carried by native traders, entered Ahwahnee. The Ahwahneechee abandoned their valley, fleeing to nearby tribes to escape a dreadful fate.

This brings us to young Tenaya, son of the Ahwahneechee chief and next in line to lead his people. Tenaya grew up among the Mono Lake Paiutes. His tribespeople described Ahwahnee as a beautiful and impregnable fortress. One elder even offered a prophecy: “so long as the entrance to the valley is protected, the Ahwahneechee will be safe from intruders. But if the entry is breached, then you, Tenaya, will be the last chief in Ahwahnee.” Years later, Chief Tenaya gathered his people and returned to their beloved home.

But as the Ahwahneechee reclaimed their valley, more settlers descended upon California. Gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada, and suddenly the mountains were on the menu. Natives, including the Ahwahneechee, resisted the threats to their land with raids and violence. Settlers were afraid for their lives, and begged the government to intervene. In response, the government established the Fresno River Reservation. Some tribes ceded their land and moved to the reservation, but not all, and not the Ahwahneechee.

In January 1851, the state of California created the Mariposa Battalion, a volunteer militia, to round up and relocate the tribes. The battalion camped near Wawona and dispatched the following message to the Ahwahneechee: surrender peacefully, or there will be war. Chief Tenaya, now an old man, appeared alone at the camp the following day. After some debate, he agreed to leave the valley.

But the militiamen were impatient. The battalion marched in the snow to Ahwahnee, the first white people to enter the valley. There, they burned the villages, and their precious food supply of acorn storehouses. But, those Ahwahneechee that had surrendered, escaped, and the rest hid in the mountains. It wasn’t until spring when the battalion returned and forcibly removed the tribe.

The Ahwahneechee didn’t take well to the reservation. Tenaya asked if they could return to Ahwahnee. After some time, his wish was granted, so long as they remained peaceful. But, back in the valley, there was a skirmish with, and possibly initiated by, a group of prospectors. In the end, the U.S. Army entered the valley looking for justice, killing five young warriors. The Ahwahneechee, including Tenaya, fled back to Mono Lake with the Paiutes.

Unfortunately, Chief Tenaya’s story ends with varying accounts of his death. But whatever the circumstance, it was as the prophecy predicted for Tenaya, the last chief in Ahwahnee. Tenaya Lake is named in his memory.
After his death, the remaining Ahwahneechee scattered. Some eventually returned to the valley, including Tenaya’s granddaughter Totuya, known by tourists as Maria Lebrado, to live in what had become Yosemite National Park. She passed away in 1931, the last who knew (the ancestral homeland of) Ahwahnee. 

Sometimes, the past isn’t very comforting is it? And because we can’t change it, some might say ‘why dwell on it?’ But we can always be considerate. Let’s think: what are some ways we can enjoy this marvelous natural beauty while recognizing its painful human history? How can we be good stewards of this land, now that it’s our responsibility to protect it? Well, just something to ponder on these long drives.

Okay, coming up next is the junction with Glacier Point Road. There’s also a bathroom if you need it. Have you decided whether you want to visit Glacier Point now, or later? Also, we’re gonna pass a sign for something called Yosemite West. This is just an area with rental condos and lodges. Nothing important… We can roll right past it.