Indian Valley, Northern California

Indian Valley is a beautiful valley located in the northern Sierras about 3-1/2 hours from Sacramento.  There are three very small towns in the valley.  The nearest “major” towns are Quincy and Chester, both about 30 miles away.  The population of the valley is about 3,000, half of whom are of native American descent.  About half of the valley residents receive some form of public assistance, mainly because of unemployment.  With the decline of the timber industry, the economic base of the area as crumbled.  (There once were eleven lumber mills in the valley; today there are none.)

There is a very small rancheria in the valley and a small tribe.  Most native Americans in the valley, however, aren’t members of any recognized tribe.  We have been invited to work in the community by the Roundhouse Council, an organization that provides a variety of services to native American residents.  We’ve also been invited by the local United Methodist Church, and we’ll be living in their facility for the summer.  We’ll shower at the local high school and live, cook, sleep and do program at the church.  We’ll be using their education building for sleeping (and there is a nice lawn area for outside sleeping, too.)  With the exception of needing to bring in port-a-potties, the living conditions will be fairly comfortable.

There is plenty of work available for us in the valley area and we shouldn’t have to drive more than about 15 minutes to the work sites.  The local folks, both Indian and non-Indian, seem to be truly excited about Sierra Service Project coming to their community.  We’ve never worked there before.  The elevation is only about 4,000, so the days are going to be hot.  I’m told that it normally cools off nicely at night.

Location.  Greenville is located on Highway 89 about three hours from Sacramento.  From Sacramento, take Highway 99 north and the continue northeast on Highway 70.

Accommodations.  We will stay in the education building of the Greenville United Methodist Church.  We will cook in their kitchen and eat in their Fellowship Hall.  We will shower at the local high school.  Because the church is small, we will being in port-a-potties!  We will sleep inside the education building and outside in a fenced play area.

Learn more about Indian peoples...

Climate conditions.  You can expect warm-to-hot days with temperatures in the 90's and cooler nights.

Type of work.  We will be doing plenty of roof repair, porches, wheelchair ramps, weatherization projects and painting.

Site Emergency Phone Number:  (530) 284-7283

Mailing Address:  Send all mail to:

    Camper Name

    Sierra Service Project

    General Delivery

    Greenville CA 95947

Driving Directions: Google Maps does a good job of providing directions to this site; click on this link for a map.  From the Sacramento and San Francisco areas, the quickest route is to take Highway 70 from Oroville and then Highway 89 north to Greenville. Because this area is quite mountainous, you should allow at least 4 hours for the drive from Sacramento, so please plan your trip accordingly.

The Greenville United Methodist Church is on the corner of Pine St. and Church St. and is less than one block off of Highway 89, which doubles as the main street through the very small town of Greenville. 

View the Google Map of this location

Sierra Service Project

PO Box 992, Carmichael, CA 95609    Phone: 916-488-6441    Fax: 916-484-0917

Copyright © 2007 Sierra Service Project
Last modified: June 10, 2008