Does the above name ring a bell? This middle aged man lives in Santa Rosa, CA (north of SF) and says he is the great-great grandson of the real deal – “Old Chief Tenaya”. Yes, the same one we know and love. Albert plays a mean flute and I can refer you to his website for some pretty good stuff. He performs in native Indian garb and seems to hit minor events in the local area.
But my interest is in his name. Did the Indians have first and last names?….or just “Tenaya” – as in Chief Tenaya, the leader of the Ahwaneechee band of Indians who inhabited the Yosemite valley. Most of what we know about Yosemite and Half Dome came from the Chief himself – if not not directly and only in Lafayette Bunnell’s book – written 30 years after the events. Albert says he knows the history of the tribe of “Yosemite” Pauites and sings of them in his performances. His website has a section where he talks briefly about his ancestors. I do not question his credentials…but if this is true, why doesn’t the NPS make a real big deal about knowing were the descendants of Chief T. are? Correct me if I am wrong, but this would be big news. Why doesn’t the Sierra Club, Yosemite Assn or Le Conte Memorial Lodge promote him and the rich stories he could bring? What about his other relatives? I wonder – is there more (or less) to this story? Anyone got any G-2 on all this?
I live 2 hours south of Albert, but will contact him when I am up there – I’ll buy a CD and try for an interview on all this. His flute work is very soothing – and maybe the DNA string is intact.
*Carpe Diem Experience– Rick Deutsch–www.HikeHalfDome.com*
Albert Tenaya
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2 responses to “Albert Tenaya”
Albert Tenaya’s myspace page says he’s descended from Maria Lebrado Ydrte “To-tu-ya” (ca. 1840-1931), who is one of Chief Tenaya’s granddaughters. AFAIK, the Yosemite Indians just had one name, pre-contact. Later they adopted their father’s first name as a last name. Albert Tenaya probably changed his name to Tenaya, as Chief Tenaya’s sons were killed and had no descendants.
Thanks for the info. What does “AFAIK” mean?
I know that one of Tenaya’s son’s was killed by Capt Boling’s party, but I found no mention of the other 2. I assume they went on to the Fresno area reservation. The THREE BROTHERS formation is named in honor of Chief Tenaya’s 3 sons. I hope to get up to talk with Albert (and buy a CD) to ferret out all of this.
Rick D
http://www.hikehalfdome.com