The Hokan /ˈhoʊkæn/ language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families that were spoken mainly in California, Arizona and Baja California.

Who spoke Hokan language?

Some linguists feel that Hokan may have been the language first spoken by American Indians 20,000 years ago. According to one hypothesis, Hokan speakers may have originally inhabited the great intermountain basin north of the Grand Canyon.

What language did the Esselen tribe speak?

Introduction. The Huelel language, usually known as Esselen after one of the villages or tribelets that spoke it, was the native language of the interior, mountainous part of Monterey County, California (Milliken 1990), and its speakers were not numerous in historic or protohistoric times.