People
Tamien
Dance
of Indians at Mission in San José, New California, between 1803 and
1807 The Santa Clara Valley is the homeland of the Tamien people, one of many tribal groups that are today often collectively referred to as Ohlone. The Santa Clara Valley provided a particularly abundant environment for them, thanks to the plants and animals found in and around the vast marsh created by the valley’s river and streams. The most important resource the Tamien gathered from Dairy Hill appears to have been chert, used for their arrows, tools, and axe blades. The hill did not have rich vegetation, though springtime perennials might have provided seeds for harvest.
Creeks like the Arroyo Tulares de los Canoas at the foot of Dairy Hill were especially important to the Tamien. These waterways provided the tule reeds with which they built their homes and canoes. Villages were often located near the larger creeks, and because the Arroyo Tulares rarely ran dry, it likely provided a good summer home site. Creek beds served as easy trails to follow from bayside to the hills. Archaeological digs along the north edge of Dairy Hill in the 1970s revealed some Tamien burial sites and tools associated with village life, but the extent of Tamien residence on the land is not clear.
