More commonly refereed to as the “Lone woman of San Nicolas island, Juana Maria (native name unknown) was the last surviving woman of a tribe called the Nicoleño.
She lived on the channel islands, a small series of island off the coast of California with her family and several others. They lived peacefully on the island for an unknown amount of time, as this tribe didn’t keep any historical records of any kind, though the channel islands are known to have been inhabited for around 10,000 years when the Native American colonisation began.
Everything was going well for the tribe until one day in 1814 when a group of Native Alaskan otter hunters came onto the island and killed everyone they could find. This attack was supposed to be in retaliation for the killing of one of their own hunters, though there is no evidence to support the Nicoleño were responsible.
Juana Maria along with 3 others managed to hide from the hunters and waited until they left, emerging from their hiding place to find everyone they’d ever known dead.
The incredible thing about her story is that not only did she survive as the only woman on the island, she did so for the next 18 years. People who have lived all their lives in primitive environments or have been forced to live off the land are unmatched when it comes to survival skills and Juana knew everything she needed to in order to stay alive.
The most incredible thing about their story isn’t so much that they managed to find food, water and shelter, but that they stayed alive for so long on their own. Human beings aren’t meant to be left in isolation for extended periods of time, often ending up going mad to some degree or depression from being in their situation causing them to give up or end it, but Juana not only didn’t go mad, she also kept up her spirits.
She was discovered by a man named George Nidever who was a fur trapper that had heard of the story of the people on the island and decided to launch his own expedition to the find them. In Autumn of 1853 one of his men found foot prints on the beach and some seal blubber that had been left out to dry.
Juana Maria and the 3 she was with were finally found and taken off the island at their own will to the Santa Barbara mission in California. Various records made at the time of her arrival note how she was constantly smiling and seemed thrilled to see things such and horses and European clothing and food, fascinated by all the things she’d didn’t know existed.
All attempts to communicate with her failed though as no one spoke anything even close to her language and she was only able to actually speak to the 3 others rescued with her.
Sadly just 7 weeks after arriving on the mainland she died from a severe case of dysentery thought to have been brought on by her interest in all the new foods she discovered there. For someone who was used to eating nothing but sea creatures and the occasional root, an iced cherry cake or even a loaf of bread seems spectacular. It is noted numerous times in the records mentioning her how happy she was to be on the island and how she loved to try new foods.
Its believed that her poor diet of nothing but seafood for 18 years was the cause of her dysentery as her system went from processing fish and seals to sugar, grain and fruit. The sudden change in diet is believed to have been the cause of her illness, but it cannot be said for sure.