Clarence Atwell Jr. (November 30, 1945 – February 28, 2013) was an American TachiYokuts tribal leader and politician. He served as the Chairman of the Tachi Yokuts of Santa Rosa Rancheria from 1967 until 2009.[1][2] Atwell has been widely credited with improving the standard of living on the Santa Rosa Rancheria reservation during his 42-year tenure as Chairman of the Tachi Yokuts.[1]
Atwell was born on Tachi Yokuts land, under a tree, on November 30, 1945.[1] His father was a medicine man.[1] He was raised by his grandmother, who only spoke the Tachi language.[1] She taught Atwell indigenous Tachi Yokuts traditions and hunting techniques.[1] Clarence Atwell would later become a medicine man like his father. As an adult, Clarence Atwell Jr. held bear dances and sweat lodge throughout California.[1]
Clarence Atwell died from cancer at Adventist Medical Center in Hanford, California, on February 28, 2013, at the age of 67.[1] His first wife, Audrey, died in 2000.[1] He was survived by his second wife, Jeanette, whom he married in 2002. He had two children from his first marriage: Kaya Atwell, and Rufus Atwell.
