GUNTHER ISLAND

'Gunther Island', also known as 'Indian Island' or 'Bloody Island', is located in Humboldt Bay, Humboldt County, California, and is where an 1860 massacre of Wiyot Indians by European settlers took place. The site is a National Historic Landmark.

Contents

Geography

History

Early history

1860 massacre

European settlement

Modern era

References

External links

Geography

The island is the largest of three islands located in the northern portion of Humboldt Bay and consisted of tidal marsh. Over time, human habitation on the island changed the topography of the island.^[1]

History

Early history

The indigenous population of Wiyot people lived on Duluwat island (Gunther Island) in a village called Tutulwat. The Wiyot lived on this island for long enough to alter the topography, by the accumulation of shell fragments midden, and the island became tall enough to be visible on the horizon from several miles away.^[2]
L. L. Loud's 1918 archaeological excavation of the island showed evidence of inhabitation since around 900 AD. Loud's description of salient artifacts, (projectile points, burial accompaniments, etc.) would later become known as the 'Gunther Pattern' or 'Gunther Phase'. The term is used to describe the final phase of native dominance lasting until historic times.^[3]

1860 massacre

On February 26, 1860, about one hundred Wiyot men, women and children were massacred during a World Renewal Ceremony on February 26, 1860. The massacre was carried out by European immigrants who had settled in the area since 1850 as part of the California Gold Rush. The massacre was particularly grisly because the men who paddled over to the island only used hatchets, clubs and knives to murder their victims. They purposefully avoided using their guns so that local residents in the nearby town of Eureka (several hundred yards away across Humboldt Bay) could not hear the slaughter. Only one person, an infant named Jerry James, survived the event.
The island was known as Bloody Island for a significant period of time because of the massacre.

European settlement

Robert Gunther acquired the island in 1860, the same year of the massacre, giving it its modern name.^[4]
After nearby European settlement, the island was diked.^[5]
In the 1870s a shipyard repair facility was constructed. The shipyard operated until the 1980s.^[6]

Modern era

The island was designated National Historic Landmark 67 (National Register Number 66000208) on July 19, 1964.
In 1971 Caltrans built a series of bridges, and one bridge has a footing in Gunther Island.
Every year, since 1992, the Wiyot people and supporters come to the island on the last Saturday in February to heal the community, and remember the human lives lost at the time of the Massacre. Every year participation has increased at the vigil on a nearby island.
In June of 2004, 67 acres of land was repatriated back into Wiyot hands. The nearby city of Eureka, California transferred the area towards the Wiyot's goal to see the Wiyot dance the World Renewal ceremony again on the island.^[7]
The City of Eureka and the Wiyot Tribe have installed temporary erosion control system to mitigate erosion on the site.^[8]
Contamination from the shipyard activities will need to be cleaned up prior to the development of a new Wiyot dance facility.^[9]

References

1. [1]
2. [2]
3. [3]
4. [4]
5. [5]
6. [6]
7. [7]
8. [8]
9. [9]

External links

★ The Indian Island Cultural and Environmental Restoration Project