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The Hupa (also known as Hoopa) are an Athabaskan tribe which inhabit northwestern California.
Early history
Hupa are Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan linguistic stock. They believe that they lived in the Hoopa Valley for over 400,000 years, but their language suggests that they are relatively recent immigrants from what is now western Canada.
Modern history
In the 19th century, they occupied the South Fork of the Trinity River to the Hoopa valley to the Klamath River in California. Their redcedar-planked houses, dugout canoes, basket hats, and many elements in their mythology identify them with the Northwest Coast culture, of which they are the southernmost representatives; however, some of their customs, the use of a sweat house for ceremonies and the manufacture of acorn bread are not characteristic of that culture area. In 1864, the U.S. government sign a Treaty that recognized the Hupa Tribes sovereignty to their land. The Whites called the reservation (called Hoopa Valley), where they now reside next their neighbours, the Yurok who's territory starts at the connection of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers.
Language
The Hupa language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Na-Dené family. Phonologically, the language is interesting in being the only one known to contrast a voiceless lateral approximant from a voiceless lateral fricative, as well as contrasting three degrees of rounding in its velar fricatives. Morphologically, it is remarkable for having an extremely small number—perhaps less than one hundred—of basic (monomorphemic) nouns, as nearly all nouns in the language are derived from verbs.
References
- P. E. Goddard, Life and Culture of the Hupa (1903).
- Kixuh, Medil Xwe
External links
Endangered languages | Indigenous languages of California | Languages of the United States | Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages | Hupa | Hupa (langue) | Hupa | Hupa
"Hupa"