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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Salinans of the United States

The Salinans of the United States, numbering approximately 800 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous people of central California, whose ancestral territory spans the southern Salinas Valley, the Santa Lucia Range, and the Pacific Coast in what is now Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties and can also be known as Ennesen, Tepotaha. They are an Indigenous people, in the North American Indigenous people cluster of the North American Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak English.

Salinans in the United States photo
Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Salinan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: the United States
People Cluster: North American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): English (eng)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Population: 800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG050637
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Pray for the Salinans of the United States

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Folk Catho… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: English
Language Family:

%
English Speakers

Media Resources in English:

Films:

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Bible Resources in English:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the English bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Salinans

The Salinans are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Salinans

The Salinans are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Salinans

The Salinans are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Salinans of the United States

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or?rulers?or authoritiesóall things were created through him and for him.
readColossians 1:16

Pray for those who are lost among them, that they will come to know the One who created all things and holds all things together.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
readPsalm 22:27-28

Pray that entire families will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and that they will worship Him and declare His righteousness to the nations.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Salinan (ROP3 - 117615) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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