The Nicoleño language, now extinct, was once the vibrant tongue of a Native American tribe belonging to the Uto-Aztecan language family. These people inhabited the remote San Nicolas Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. San Nicolas Island, a windswept and isolated landmass, served as the ancestral home of the Nicoleño people for millennia.
Archeological investigations provide compelling evidence that San Nicolas Island, alongside its neighboring Channel Islands, has been populated for a considerable period, potentially spanning at least 10,000 years. While the occupation may not have been continuous, the enduring presence of human settlement on the island speaks to its significance as a habitable and resource-rich environment for early peoples.
Linguistic and anthropological studies suggest that the Nicoleño people shared close cultural and linguistic affinities with the inhabitants of Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands. These island communities were members of the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, indicating a shared ancestry and a network of interaction across the Channel Islands. Furthermore, these groups were related to the Tongva people, who resided in what is now Los Angeles County, highlighting a broader web of connections within the Southern California region.
The name "Nicoleño" has become the conventional designation for this island population, largely due to its adoption by the prominent anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber in his seminal work, Handbook of Indians of California. However, it is important to acknowledge that the Chumash people, another Native American group in the region, referred to the Nicoleño as the "Niminocotch" and called San Nicolas Island "Ghalas-at." Intriguingly, the Nicoleño’s own name for themselves remains shrouded in mystery, lost to the passage of time and the extinction of their language. The true name of the Nicoleño language remains a poignant unknown.
Nicoleño History
The first recorded encounter between the Nicoleño people and Europeans occurred in 1543, when the expedition led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sighted San Nicolas Island. However, the expedition did not land on the island, and consequently, no detailed observations about the inhabitants were documented.
In 1602, the Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno visited San Nicolas Island and bestowed upon it its current name. Unfortunately, the historical record remains largely silent regarding the Nicoleño people during the period between Vizcaíno’s visit and the early 19th century.
By the early 19th century, the Nicoleño population had experienced a significant decline, likely due in part to the efforts of Spanish missionaries to relocate Native Americans from the Channel Islands to mainland missions. This forced displacement disrupted traditional ways of life and contributed to the dwindling numbers of the Nicoleño people.
A particularly devastating event occurred in 1811, when a party of Aleuts from Russian Alaska landed on San Nicolas Island in pursuit of sea otters and seals. A violent conflict erupted between the Aleuts and the Nicoleño men, possibly stemming from disputes over hunting territories and women. The resulting massacre inflicted heavy casualties on the Nicoleño population, further accelerating their decline.
The tribe was decimated, and by the 1830s, their numbers had dwindled to a mere handful, estimated at around twenty individuals. Some sources even suggest that only seven Nicoleño remained: six women and an elderly man named Black Hawk. Black Hawk himself suffered a head injury during the massacre, a lasting testament to the brutality of the encounter.
Upon hearing of the Nicoleño’s plight, the Santa Barbara Mission on the mainland organized a rescue mission. In late 1835, Captain Charles Hubbard set sail for the Channel Islands aboard the schooner Peor es Nada. Most of the remaining Nicoleño boarded the ship, eager to escape their isolated and perilous existence. However, one woman, later known as Juana Maria, was delayed in reaching the ship before a sudden storm arose, forcing the vessel to return to port.
Unfortunately, Captain Hubbard was unable to immediately return for Juana Maria due to prior commitments to transport lumber to Monterey, California. Tragically, before he could resume the rescue mission, the Peor es Nada struck a submerged object in the mouth of the San Francisco Bay and sank. The lack of alternative ships is often cited as the primary reason for the failure of subsequent rescue attempts, leaving Juana Maria stranded on San Nicolas Island.
Many of the surviving Nicoleño who were successfully rescued chose to reside at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. However, they lacked immunity to the diseases prevalent in the mainland population, and succumbed to illness.
Black Hawk, for instance, lost his sight shortly after arriving at the mission and tragically drowned after falling into the water from a steep bank. It appears that the other rescued Nicoleño also perished by the time Juana Maria was eventually rescued.
After several unsuccessful attempts to locate her, Juana Maria was finally discovered by Captain George Nidever, who brought her to the mainland. However, none of the local Native Americans could understand her language, highlighting the unique and isolated nature of the Nicoleño language. Juana Maria was taken in by Nidever and his wife, who provided her with care and shelter.
Sadly, Juana Maria contracted dysentery and died only seven weeks after her arrival on the mainland. Her death marked the extinction of the Nicoleño language and the end of a distinct cultural heritage.
In 2012, a U.S. Navy archeologist announced the discovery of a site that may have been Juana Maria’s cave, offering a tangible link to the life of the "Lost Woman of San Nicolas Island."
Juana Maria, also known as the "Karana," was born before 1811 and was the last surviving member of the Nicoleño people when she died in 1853. Her story, immortalized in Scott O’Dell’s novel Island of the Blue Dolphins, serves as a poignant reminder of the resilience and tragedy of the Nicoleño people.
Nicoleño Culture
Much of our understanding of Nicoleño culture is derived from observations made of Juana Maria. When Captain Nidever found her, she was living in a round brush enclosure, approximately 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter and 5 feet (1.5 m) high, with a narrow opening on one side. She prepared her food over a fire inside her dwelling. Several similar enclosures were still standing at the time, along with another type of structure constructed from brush walls supported by whale ribs.
Juana Maria stored seal meat by hanging it from poles ranging from four to eight feet in length, which were placed around the structures, or from ropes stretched between the poles. This method of preservation highlights the Nicoleño’s reliance on marine resources for sustenance.
Like other Native American groups in California, the Nicoleño were renowned for their skill in basket weaving. Accounts of Juana Maria describe her crafting baskets in four distinct shapes, demonstrating the artistry and functionality of this traditional craft.
When she was found, Juana Maria was wearing a dress made of green cormorant skins, adorned with feathers, showcasing the resourcefulness and artistry of the Nicoleño people. She also possessed a number of items made from sinew and bone, reflecting the importance of these materials in their daily lives.
The first archaeological expedition to San Nicolas Island was conducted by Paul Schumacher for the Smithsonian Institution in 1875. His team unearthed numerous artifacts from surface sites, which were believed to represent a later period of Nicoleño culture. The island’s climate is not conducive to the preservation of organic materials, limiting the availability of older artifacts.
Artifacts collected by these early expeditions include grass matting and clothing fragments, bone knives and fishhooks, and soapstone fish and bird effigies. These items provide valuable insights into the material culture and subsistence practices of the Nicoleño people.
Nicoleño culture was profoundly shaped by its dependence on the ocean for survival. The island was home to only four types of land animals, none of which were significant sources of food.
However, the waters surrounding San Nicolas Island teemed with an abundance of fish, sea mammals, and birds, which the Nicoleño were adept at catching. Their intimate knowledge of the marine environment and their mastery of fishing and hunting techniques were essential to their survival. The Nicoleño language reflected this close relationship to the sea.
The Nicoleño language itself is now extinct, leaving behind only scant linguistic evidence. Alfred L. Kroeber classified it within the Shoshonean language stock, and it is generally accepted that it was closely related to the Tongva language spoken on nearby Santa Catalina Island and in what is now Los Angeles County.
However, a study conducted by University of California, Los Angeles linguist Pamela Munro, focusing on four words and two songs spoken and sung by Juana Maria, suggests that the Nicoleño language may have been most similar to the related languages spoken by the Luiseño people of Northern San Diego County and the Juaneño people near San Juan Capistrano.
Some scholars have questioned whether Juana Maria was actually a Nicoleño, suggesting that she may have arrived on the island later, perhaps with the Aleuts after the massacre. This theory, while controversial, underscores the complexities and uncertainties surrounding the history of the Nicoleño people and their language. The legacy of the Nicoleño language remains a subject of ongoing research and debate.