Folsom Zoo Language Trip

We will host our third annual language outing to the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary in April 2025!

SSBMI Tribal Members and SSBMI TANF families who participate in this year's Folsom Zoo Language Trip will be able to tour the zoo and learn Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok language with the help of animal flashcards that we provide and language signage that we post around the zoo. Paricipants will also receive a language bag and custom enamel pin; this year's pin features a bobcat (tolomá in Nisenan and tóllomma in Northern Sierra Miwok). Finally, participants will enjoy various drinks provided by the SSBMI Exhibits & Collections Center and participate in demonstrations hosted by the SSBMI Language Department, SSBMI Environmental Department, and SSBMI Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Department.

Here, you can listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok language that we shared on zoo signage, including names for animals who live at the zoo and names for more animals and plants that you may see at the zoo. You can also check out our zoo language map.

You can also learn more about the Folsom Zoo Language Trip, where the language we share comes from, and our language materials.

The SSBMI Community has ancestral ties to the Valley and Southern Hill dialects of the Nisenan language through the Tribe's Matriarchs, Pamela Cleanso Adams and Annie Hill Murray Paris. Pamela spoke the Valley dialect and she, her brother Tom Cleanso, and her daughter Lillie Williams are responsible for passing on most of the knowledge we have of Valley Nisenan today. We have less direct information about Annie’s language; based on where she was from and documented language from her relations and associates, she likely spoke Southern Hill Nisenan.

Folsom is part of the Tribe's ancestral Nisenan homelands in the Sacramento Valley. The Nisenan language has been spoken in Folsom since time immemorial, and we are proud to be able to share the Tribe's heritage languages with you at the Folsom Zoo.

Jane Winn Lewis, a Nisenan woman from the Folsom area, called this place Poló Oo, which means "Buckeye Rock" in Nisenan. Today, you can see this name on the Polo ’Oo Boat Launch at Black Miners Bar in the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.

Nisenan

Poló Oo

'Folsom' (literal "Buckeye Rock")


Animal names

The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary is home to a wide range of both native and non-native animals. Here are the Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok names for some of the animals who live permanently at the zoo, which you may have seen on zoo signage that we shared.


Barn Owl

Nisenan

Wɨɨt

Miwok

Wíicikiisɨ



Black Bear

Nisenan

Emúl

Miwok

Úyyemɨ

Heads-up: You may have also heard the words kapá (Nisenan) and ɨsɨ́ɨmaṭi (Miwok) used to talk about bears before. Those names refer to all types of bears in a generic sense as well as to grizzly bears as a species (this is like how English speakers use "bluejay" both in a generic sense and as a species name). The names emúl (Nisenan) and úyyemɨ (Miwok) are specific to black bears.



Bobcat

Nisenan

Tolomá

Miwok

Tóllomma



California Kingsnake

Nisenan

Táyaman

Miwok

Láanakassa



Common Raven

Nisenan

Kook

Miwok

Káakulu

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) The names kook (Nisenan) & káakulu (Miwok) are two of many onomatopoetic bird names, meaning that they resemble a call that the bird makes. You can learn more about onomatopoeia in Nisenan and Miwok bird names here.



Coyote

Nisenan

Olé

Miwok

Olé’cu

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) The word olé is from the Valley and Southern Hill dialects of Nisenan. In the more northern dialects of the Nisenan language, speakers call coyotes dáppe. While all Northern Sierra Miwok speakers call them olé’cu, some speakers have also shared the name aséeli as an alternate form; this may be a dialect variant or a borrowing from another language.

Nisenan

Dáppe

Miwok

Aséeli



Deer

Nisenan

K’ut’

Miwok

Ɨwɨ́ɨya



Dog

Nisenan

Sukkú

Miwok

Cúku



Donkey

Nisenan

Wudúu

Miwok

Cékkesse



Fox

Nisenan

Haw

Miwok

Wáccihha



Goat

Nisenan

Oom K’ut’

Miwok

Cíiwa



Golden Eagle

Nisenan

Pey

Miwok

Wíppayaakɨ



Gray Wolf

Nisenan

Lollá

Miwok

Húŋŋu



Great Horned Owl

Nisenan

Hɨmhɨ́m

Miwok

Túkkuuli



Horse

Nisenan

Kawaayú

Miwok

Kawáayu

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) Some of the animals at the zoo, like goats and horses, were introduced to California only in the last few centuries. To name some of these animals, Nisenan and Miwok speakers borrowed their Spanish or English name and adapted it to the sounds of their language. Both names for "horse" are from the Spanish word caballo, which is why they sound alike!



Mountain Lion

Nisenan

Hilít’

Miwok

Híiliica



Peregrine Falcon

Nisenan

Weekwék

Miwok

Wékwekɨ



Raccoon

Nisenan

Əək

Miwok

Pátkayɨ



Tarantula

Nisenan

K’awím Kapá

Miwok

Kúttuulu

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) The Nisenan name k’awím kapá literally means "ground bear" or "ground grizzly bear", coming from the words k’aw (ground) and kapá (bear, grizzly bear). Why do you think that is?



Turkey Vulture

Nisenan

Hɨɨs

Miwok

Hú’’usu



Western Screech-Owl

Nisenan

Kónda

Miwok

Ṭukúmmu


More zoo language

Here are Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok names for some other animals and plants that you can find at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary:


Honeybees and other bees

The Folsom Zoo hosts two colonies of honeybees, but did you know that honeybees are an introduced species? At the Folsom Zoo Language Trip, we shared signage highlighting two families of native bees (bumblebees and yellowjackets) and their Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok names.

Bumblebee

Nisenan

Múlka

Miwok

Mɨ́ɨlaṭi



Yellowjacket

Nisenan

Eepén

Miwok

Mélŋayɨ

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) Roasted yellowjacket larvae is a traditional food source. According to Nisenan and Miwok speakers who were interviewed in the 1930s, adult yellowjackets were baited using a grasshopper leg painted white or with grass tied to it (which could be seen while the yellowjacket is in flight) and followed back to their nest.



So what do you call a Honeybee? When a new species is introduced to an area, speakers have many options for naming it. Sometimes speakers come up with a new name for that species, and sometimes they borrow or adapt the name from another language (like English or Spanish).

William Joseph (a.k.a. Bill Joe), a Nisenan man from Amador County, adopted the first of these strategies and called honeybees woolém eepén. This name literally means "European yellowjacket", reflecting his knowledge of the origin of this species.

Northern Sierra Miwok speakers adopted the other strategy by adapting the English word honey and calling honeybees háne in their language.

Honeybee

Nisenan

Woolém Eepén

Miwok

Háne


Butterflies

The Folsom Zoo hosts a couple of butterfly nesting boxes. Here are the Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok words for "butterfly":

Butterfly

Nisenan

Koowáwa

Miwok

Hóllokkiṭiwwa


California condors

You may have noticed a metal statue honoring California condors when you were visiting the Folsom Zoo. While Folsom is no longer home to any condors, these massive birds once soared throughout California. Here are their Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok names:

California Condor

Nisenan

Móllok

Miwok

Mólloku


Native plants

The Folsom Zoo is home to many kinds of plants. Here are Nisenan and Miwok names for a few of the native plants that you may see at the zoo:


Acorn

Nisenan

Uutí

Miwok

Ṭeléeli



Blue Oak

Nisenan

Pikí

Miwok

Mólla




California Buckeye

Nisenan

Poló

Miwok

Úunu

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) Buckeye balls, which are called the same name as the tree in Nisenan and Miwok, are a traditional food source for many Native people in Central California. They contain poisonous neurotoxic glycosides which must be removed prior to eating; you can learn more about how buckeyes can be processed and made edible at our buckeye ball processing page.



Deer Grass

Nisenan

Piitó

Miwok

Cɨ́ɨlɨpɨ

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?) Nisenan and Miwok basketweavers use deer grass, among other plants, to make baskets. In fact, the Miwok name cɨ́ɨlɨpɨ is probably related to the verb cɨ́ɨlɨ- (to weave baskets) and the noun cɨ́lleenɨ (basketweaver).



Mint

Nisenan

Hiisá

What do you call "mint" in Miwok? We draw most of our language from historical documentation, and sometimes there are 'gaps' where our records do not contain certain names. We have not found a name for "mint" in Northern Sierra Miwok yet.



Poison Oak

Nisenan

C’ítok’

Miwok

Nɨkɨ́ɨsɨ



Seep Monkeyflower

Nisenan

Puusáam

What do you call a "monkeyflower" in Miwok? We draw most of our language from historical documentation, and sometimes we find that our records do not contain certain names. We have not found a name for "monkeyflower" in Northern Sierra Miwok yet.


Bedrock mortars

You may have seen a replica bedrock mortar at the zoo. Bedrock mortars are used to ground acorn and other foods, and they are an important part of traditional lifeways in Central California. The grinding holes grow deeper through use over many, many generations; the depth of these holes reflects the presence of Native Peoples in California since time immemorial. Please respect bedrock mortars by leaving them alone.

Bedrock Mortar

Nisenan

Aa

Miwok

Cóose


Do you want to know more?

About the event: The Folsom Zoo Language Trip is an annual event hosted by the SSBMI Language Department for SSBMI Tribal Members and SSBMI TANF families since 2023. We meet at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary to tour the zoo and learn and use language with one another.

Participants of the 2025 Folsom Zoo Language Trip received a custom soft enamel pin featuring the words for "bobcat" in Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok (pin design by Skye Anderson, SSBMI Language Department).

Nisenan

Tolomá

Miwok

Tóllomma

About the language: The Nisenan language that we share is from speakers of the Valley dialect like SSBMI Matriarch Pamela Cleanso Adams & her brother Tom Cleanso as well as speakers of the Southern Hill dialect including William Joseph, Ida Hill Starkey, & Charlie Hunchup. We also adapted names for "donkey", "goat", & "mint" from the Central Hill dialect because we have not found names from the Tribe's heritage dialects.

Valley Nisenan and Southern Hill Nisenan are very similar to one another in their words and grammar, and they are more similar to one another than either one is to the other dialects of the Nisenan language (Central Hill Nisenan and Northern Hill Nisenan). To the best of our knowledge, speakers of both dialects would understand the language that we share here.

The Northern Sierra Miwok language that we share comes from many speakers like Eph Cummings and others who worked with C. Hart Merriam in the early 1900s, and Queenie Miller, Elena McCauley, & Nicolas Villa Sr. who worked with linguist Catherine Callaghan on the Northern Sierra Miwok dictionary (1987). The word for fox which we share here is specific to the northern dialects of Northern Sierra Miwok spoken by Queenie Miller and others. Otherwise, to the best of our knowledge speakers of all dialects of Northern Sierra Miwok share these words and phrases.

About the website: This website is maintained by SSBMI Language Department staff in order to share Nisenan and Miwok language learning resources with the Tribal Membership and other learners. Our current team consists of: Jonathan Geary, Skye Anderson, and Richenda Ervin. Unless otherwise specified, the Nisenan and Miwok audio recordings that you will find on this website are of Jonathan, Skye, and Richenda.

We are all learners of the Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok languages, and we hope that you will join us in learning Nisenan and Miwok too!

If you have questions or want to know more about either language, you can reach out to us at Language@ssband.org.

Webpage last updated: 2025-04-02