Teepees that Rock at Indian Grinding Rock
In the Sierra Nevada foothills, eight miles east of Jackson, rests evidence of the peaceful life of the Miwok Indians. It is a valley with large open meadows and tall valley oaks that once provided the native Americans of this area with ample supplies of acorns. The attraction of this state park, the grinding rock, is an outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes — the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America. Although there is a fence around it, a wooden pier (for lack of a better word) allows you to walk over part of the rock to get a good view of the depth of the mortar holes.
Back toward the parking lot is a two-story museum that has been designed to reflect the architecture of the traditional roundhouse. From website pictures I understand there are displays of technology and crafts of the Miwok and other Sierra Nevada native American groups. At the time of our visit it was closed. As it turns out, there are plenty of other things to do and see here, but at some point I hope we can come back and check out the inside of this museum.
Immediately visible from the grinding rock is a small collection of teepees. A nice score after the five minutes of the kids’ interest in mortar holes had been used up. The teepees are made of bark and grapevines. They helped fill in the mental picture I was trying to create of a large tribe making this place where we stood a home. Then farther still were more teepees, and a hun’ge or roundhouse. The sacred hun’ge was the community center for dances, meetings, social gatherings, and religious ceremonies. A gate blocked our entrance into the hun’ge, but a small contained fire was burning in the middle of the room. Somehow the smell of the wood burning seemed to sharpen my mental image even more. Though this Miwok village was a recreation, the meeting house was well made and clearly could hold many large families. I pictured myself, part of a tribe, sitting in this room surrounded by the families that I grew up with. Perhaps I’d be watching my brother take part in a dance celebrating the great oaks and thanking them for their abundance of food. Somehow the crackle and smell of the fire, one of the few things that I and the inhabitants here would both be familiar with, made our similarities feel greater than our differences.
I watched the kids take off running to investigate some of the other teepees. Across from the hun’ge was a large field, used even today as a playing field during living history events. Two trails are available to lead you around the woods, one is a half-mile and one a mile long. At the head of the trails, you can pick up a brochure that identifies particular local plants and what they were used for by the indigenous people.
The kids loved running around and climbing on the fallen trees and rocks that lay about. The valley was flat and open, so it felt safe to watch them skitter from one place to the next. I wonder if any other Miwok mother would have felt just as content watching her little ones enjoy the freedom of playing on whatever was available.
I have since learned that you can even camp in the U’macha’tam’ma’ sites (bark houses to the north). Seven bark houses, each one suitable for up to six people, have been constructed in a secluded area of the park. I can’t wait to see if there is availability during the summer for us to camp here. My understanding is that it is indeed primitive, as in no running water available. Still, one can’t help but imagine that you’ve been invited into the home of someone who lived here – even if it was over a hundred years ago.
Thank you Miwoks for leaving evidence of your lives together here, and for preserving your culture so that it can be shared with us simple visitors. I cannot remember or relive stories of my ancestors, but I can imagine the life that you hoped to pass on to your children. Perhaps I can return to stay in your homes, so that my children will become familiar with the simple pleasures that the earth can provide. Mostly, thank you for providing us with a glorious day.
I am taking part in Photo Fridays hosted by Debbi at Delicious Baby. Check out the site for more travel stories and photos.
Looks like an interesting place to bring the kids
Love this post! What an interesting place to visit. Camping in the rough might be really fun at least for a night or two. If you are ever in Marin County, they also have a Miwok village. I used to visit it as a child.
This looks like a very cool place to spend a couple of hours. My kids enjoyed the teepees on display in Yosemite Valley, but this place looks like it has a lot more to offer. Thanks for sharing.
These bark houses look like they would crumple under a god storm, but I’m guessing they are pretty resistant. I like native villages, you get to see how things were laid out including where plants – edible and medicinal – grow and learn more than you would from a book.