The Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California descended from the Shodakai Pomo. Shodakai means "Valley in the East." In 1850, before Lake Mendocino existed, the land belonged to the Shodakai Pomo. This land was also a major Indian trail from Ukiah Valley to Potter Valley and Lake County.
The Pomo Indians, who are not one tribe but rather a group of more than 70 different tribes, have ties to the Alexander Valley, located along the Russian River between Healdsburg and Cloverdale in northern California, that date back as far as 12,000 years ago. Some of the descendants of these early inhabitants are now members of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians.
The Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians is the only Southeastern Pomo indian tribe that is a federally recognized tribal government. The Southeastern Pomo Tribes of Lake County, California were a united sovereign fishing and gathering nation that consisted of four main villages. Today, there are roughly 20 Pomo rancherias in northern California.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs bought a 15-acre tract near Graton to be the "village home" of the Marshall, Bodega, Tomales and Sebastopol Indians in 1920. The government consolidated these neighboring groups into the Graton Rancheria thus establishing them as federally recognized tribes of American Indians, known today as the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. They are Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok peoples.
The federally recognized Guidiville Rancheria of California is a Pomo tribe located in Mendocino County, California. During the California Gold Rush, an influx of non-Indian settlers drove the Guidiville Pomos from their ancestral lands near Lake County, California into Mendocino County.
The federally recognized Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake have lived in central and northern California since before recorded time.