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In the 20 years that followed the discovery of gold, 80 percent of the state's Native American population was wiped out—victims of displacement, disease and agenocide wrought in the sake of power and gold. John Sutter had set the stage for their destruction—but his cruelty was just the beginning
The gold rush of 1848 brought still more devastation. ... Violence, disease and loss overwhelmed the tribes. By 1870, an estimated 30,000 native people remained in the state of California, most on reservations without access to their homelands.