Shortages due to this event inspired a law under which any Native American found drunk could be arrested and indentured out at auction, usually to employers who paid them in alcohol. Groups taking advantage of this event fought the Ahwahneechee (“ah-wah-nee-chee”) people as part of the Mariposa Battalion and killed over 150 Wintu people in the Bridge Gulch Massacre. This event began at a settlement that enslaved hundreds of Nisenan and Miwok people, which was named New Helvetia by its Swiss proprietor. The event, sparked by the actions of carpenter James W. Marshall, rapidly accelerated the genocide of natives in areas such as the San Joaquin Valley, for which Gavin Newsom apologized. For 10 points, a discovery at Sutter’s mill sparked what event that brought “forty-niners” to the Golden State? ■END■
ANSWER: California gold rush [prompt on gold rush or gold rush of 1848/1849; prompt on answers referring to a discovery at Suttter’s mill until “Sutter” is read; prompt on California genocide by asking “what major event which contributed to that genocide?”] (The lead-in refers to the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians, also called the Indian Indenture Act.)
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= Average correct buzz position