The Kashaya, the first people known to have lived in the area that is now Fort Ross, still live in this region. The local native people consider their name to be "People From the Top of the Land." The name Kashaya, which means "expert gamblers," was given to them by a neighboring Pomo group. The Kashaya are one of seven individual groups of people who speak what linguists have labeled as the Pomoan languages.

Today many Kashaya still reside on the reservation and in areas surrounding Fort Ross. Although the majority live and work in the principal cities of Sonoma County, many have gone on to continue their careers in the greater Bay Area. Presently a growing number of Kashaya occupy positions of political and educational leadership among the Indian and non-Indian communities of this region.

Although today the Kashaya are contemporary California Indians in a modern and fast moving world, they still retain their strong feelings of attachment to their ancestral land and the way of life that was so long enjoyed by their ancestors.