The Native Americans of the what is now known as the San Joaquin Valley were known as Yokuts. They inhabited the valley from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (“the delta”) south to the Tehachapi Mountains and the adjacent foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which lies to the east.

 

The word “Yokuts” mean people and were among the first groups that settled in California. A few Valley Yokut tribes remain today, the most prominent tribe among them being the Tachi Yokut.