Nisenan

The Nisenan inhabited the watersheds of the Yuba and American Rivers, from California's Central Valley into the Sierra Nevada. Communities in the valley, foothills and mountains maintained their own local customs and leaders. The oak groves of the lower country supplied acorns, while rivers carried salmon from the valley towards the mountains. In 1833 a severe epidemic, believed to have been malaria, killed many Nisenan in the Central Valley; communities in the foothills were less affected.