Baskets were used throughout the stages of acorn processing, as well as for other tasks. There are many stages involved with making acorns suitable for consumption including gathering, sorting, storing, cracking, pounding, leaching and cooking. Other traditional activities practiced by the Me-Wuk were acorn processing and basketry. Clyde Domingo, Ruth Thompson-Wilson, Ethel Franklin-Geisdorff and Dorothy Domingo-Standage at Westside Flume and Lumber Company Dances are still held in the roundhouse as a way of giving thanks and respect for all that the Earth Mother gave to the people. It is typically 30 to 40 feet in diameter and is covered by earth, bark or shingles. The roundhouse was used for a variety of purposes by different groups. The ceremonial roundhouse was the epicenter of village life and should be respected as would any place of worship. The typical village consisted of umachas (cedar bark homes), chakkas (acorn granaries) and a hangi (ceremonial roundhouse). This diet was supplemented with various wild berries, seeds and nuts. The primary food staples were fish, acorns and deer meat. If the resources were not readily available on their land, the Me-Wuk would migrate in order to trade with others. The Me-Wuk have always been knowledgeable about the resources of the land, and hunted and gathered what they needed. However, the Me-Wuk people have a very long and rich history dating back for thousands of years. The first-known contact on record of the Native perspective of the Spanish Explorers was the Moraga Second Expedition to Central California through Tuolumne County in 1806. These committees are Business & Finance, Constitution & By-Laws, Planning & Development, Social Services Advisory, Personnel, Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Board, Enrollment, Elders, Tribal Housing Authority, Education & Recreation, Cultural & Historic Preservation and the Tribal Law Enforcement Commission. Recommendations are made by Tribal committees and are brought to the Community Council for approval. The governing body of the tribe is the Community Council, which is composed of 141 members. There are approximately 200 residents living on the Rancheria and an additional 200 non-resident members of the Tribe. Today, there are over 1,700 fee and trust land acres.

The original acquisition consisted of 289.52 acres. The Tuolumne Rancheria was purchased on Octoand established as one of two local reservations for landless Indians. The Tribe is one of the original unratified treaties of California. The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe located in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Tuolumne County, California.

Alec Thompson with horses Cody and Dolly – Tuolumne Rancheria, early 1920s

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