Mattole people

extinct Athabaskan language

The Mattole, including the Bear River Indians, are a group of Native Americans in California. Their traditional lands are along the Mattole and Bear Rivers near Cape Mendocino in Humboldt County, California. A notable difference between the Mattole and other Indigenous peoples of California is that the men traditionally had facial tattoos (on the forehead), while other local groups traditionally restricted facial tattooing to women.