Northern Pomo is one of seven mutually unintelligible languages belonging to the Pomoan language family. It is spoken in present-day central Mendocino County and Lake County in California. Historically, there was no single Northern Pomo tribe or language. Rather, there were at least nine independent communities that each spoke their own variety of what would come to be called 'Northern Pomo'. They are: ma:tʰoʔ, mitʰom, kʰatsa:, masut̪', baloʔxay, sho:daxay, k'omli, shinal, and bowal. The communities would refer to their language/variety according to their community name (e.g. baloʔxay jano 'Sprout/Potter Valley speech').

There are seven federally recognized tribes that present-day Northern Pomo communities are centered around. They are: Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Guidiville Rancheria, Pinoleville Pomo Nation, Potter Valley Tribe, Redwood Valley Little River Band of Pomo Indians, Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and Round Valley Indian Tribes. Community members include enrolled members of these tribes, members enrolled in tribes not listed here, and non-enrolled descendants of tribe members. This course is intended to serve all Northern Pomo community members.

Following colonization of California by European and American settlers, Northern Pomo communities were forcibly displaced or dissolved. The number of Northern Pomo speakers of all varieties declined. Speakers worked with linguists and anthropologists from the mid-19th century to the 2000s to document our language. This course is dedicated to speakers Edna Campbell Guerrero (pictured below), Annie Lake, and Elenor Stevenson Gonzales whose recordings are heard in many of the lessons.

Edna Campbell Guerrero (baloʔxay/masut̪'/shibaldano pʰoʔmaʔ): "I want people to know we had a language. I feel that the things that pertain to my people [are] very important. I think we should hang on to that."