The Essalen are a group who lived just to the south of the Ohlone, were dismissed as extinct in literature in the twenties and thirties, when in fact, following the secularization of the missions, they left Mission San Carlos and returned to their homeland. Linguistically related to the Hokan groups, they sometimes intermarried with the Ohlone. Recently the Essalen have joined efforts with the Amah-Mutsun Band and the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe to gain recognition of their existence, heritage and rights.

Back to Hokan

California Native American Language Map