Have you ever wondered about the people who lived here for hundreds if not thousands of years before Europeans and their descendants came to Hayfork Valley and the surrounding region? These were the people of the Wintu nation. They were the ancestors of many people still living here. Some of them have established the Wintu Educational and Cultural Council of Northern California to preserve the cultural ways and wisdom of their past, while also respecting the ways of others. Another important mission of theirs is to protect and preserve ancient sacred sites here.