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Native Californians spent over 10,000 years perfecting their hunting and gathering techniques. They had a deep understanding of their role as members of a living community and were cautious to never over-consume any resource that could not replenish itself. Native American writers and speakers who first came into contact with white society spoke eloquently and with passion about the circle of life. This circle was seen as a hoop or a web that wove together all life into a harmonious pattern, with natural rhythms that deserved respect.

The material interests of the whites – the importance placed on manufactured goods that could only be produced at the cost of destroying a natural resource, a race of people, or the environment to the point of extinction, was madness from the Native American point of view. What will the future hold if it is made empty by the endless greed of the white people they cried ?

It has taken many generations for the conquering society of California settlers, miners, merchants, industrialists, and working poor to realize the wisdom in the Native American world view. It is a view that measures our actions in terms of generations of time. How will what we do today effect the future ? They understand a heritage that takes responsibility for passing a healthy environment onto future generations … for the simple issue was obvious and logical : it ensured survival.

The geographic landscape and food web of California that we know today also influenced early native life. The first level of consumers, closest to the plant world, were those who gathered, grew, or collected plants for food, materials or medicines. The second level of consumers were those who hunted the animals that lived on the plants/producers, or one another. Our interest is in studying plant communities, so we will learn about the first level – gathering, growing, or collecting plant foods, materials, and medicine.

The ecological groups of the first Californians are seen as divided into these groupings :

• Foothill and Mountain hunters and gatherers

• Desert hunters and collectors, or agriculturists

• Coastal and Island tideland collectors, sea hunters and fishers, foothill hunters or gatherers

• Riverine fishermen

• Lakeshore fishermen, hunters and gatherers

• Valley and plains hunters and gatherers.