Editing Madera County, California (section)

====Native People====
[[File:Photograph with text of a Mono couple living near Northfork, California. This is from a survey report of Fresno and... - NARA - 296289 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Mono couple living near Northfork, California, ca. 1920]]
The region now known as Madera County was originally the territory of several Native American tribes, notably the [[Mono people|Mono]], [[Yokuts|Chukchansi]], and [[Miwok]]. The Mono inhabited the upper [[San Joaquin River]] region, encompassing areas around [[North Fork, California|North Fork]] and [[Bass Lake (Madera County, California)|Crane Valley]]. The Chukchansi tribe lived in what are today the communities of [[Oakhurst, California|Oakhurst]], [[Coarsegold, California|Coarsegold]], [[Ahwahnee, California|Ahwahnee]], and the lower foothills extending to the [[San Joaquin Valley]]. Meanwhile, the Miwok were located in the vicinity of Ahwahnee, [[Wawona, California|Wawona]], [[Mariposa, California|Mariposa]], and the [[Yosemite Valley]].<ref name="Dwight 2001">{{cite book |last=Barnes |first=Dwight H. |date=2001 |title=Miners, Lumberjacks and Cowboys: A History of Eastern Madera County. |publisher=Sierra Historic Sites Association |isbn=0-9707605-0-7}}</ref>{{rp|8}}

Following the [[California Gold Rush]], many Native American communities were displaced, a situation exacerbated by the [[Mariposa War]] and institutionalized by the [[Act for the Government and Protection of Indians]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Freeman |first=Marcia Penner |date=2013 |title=Willow Creek History: Tales of Cow Camps, Shake Makers & Basket Weavers. |url=https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/ |publisher=The History Press |pages=23–29 |isbn=978-1-60949-644-9}}</ref> Despite these adversities, several communities persevered in their traditional lifestyles. However, the creation of the [[Sierra National Forest]] in 1897 introduced a citizen-only land use permit system, effectively excluding Native Americans until they were granted citizenship in 1924 through the [[Indian Citizenship Act]].<ref name="Dwight 2001"/>{{rp|13}}