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Tribal Groupings |
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CAHUILLA INDIANS
These people were traditionally located in the inland areas of southern California,
generally south of the San Bernardino Mountains. The Cahuilla refer to themselves as
Iviatim. The word Cahuilla is thought to have come from the tribal word Kawiya, meaning
"master." They were divided into small groups or tribelets in the foothills,
mountain regions, and partly in the desert lands east of the Sierra divide, into two broad
groups called the Coyote and the Wildcat. They lived in about 50 villages aboriginally.
The Cahuilla population may have numbered as many as 10,000 in the 17th century, with
about 5,000 remaining by the late 18th century. Their language is from the Cupan subgroup
of the Takic division of the Uto-Aztecan language family, which extends into the Southwest
and central Mexico. Today Cahuilla people live on the reservations of Agua Caliente,
Augustine, Cabazon, Cahuilla, Los Coyotes, Morongo, Ramona, Santa Rosa, Soboba, and
Torres-Martinez. These are all bands of Mission Indians. In 1990, the total Indian
population of all reservations on which Cahuilla lived was 1,276.
CHEMEHUEVI INDIANS
The southernmost group of the Southern Pauites, closely related to those of southern
Nevada. Their traditional language is from the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language
family. They made their living either by desert hunting and gathering or by desert farming
along the Colorado River in the Chemehuevi Valley. Today they live primarily on the
Chemehuevi Reservation, with some also living on the Agua Caliente, Cabazon, Colorado
River Indian Tribes, and Morongo reservations.
CUPEÑO INDIANS
Cupeño is Spanish for "a person who comes from Kupa." These people
traditionally occupied land where the present-day Warner's Ranch is located - 50 miles
inland and 50 miles north of the current Mexican border, in the foothills of the Coast
Range, in the mountainous area at the headwaters of the San Luis Rey River and the San
Jose de Valle Valley. Their language belongs to the Cupan subgroup of the Takic family of
the Uto-Aztecan languages, and is closely related to the Cahuilla language. Some people
still speak the language today. Fewer than 750 Cupeños lived in their region in the
mid-18th century. Today, most Cupeño people live on the Pala Reservation while some also
live on the Morongo Reservation. By 1973 fewer than 150 people claimed Cupeño descent.
Cupeño customs were derived from neighboring Cahuilla, Luiseño, and Ipai over the past
800 years or so. Around the turn of the 20th century, the Cupeños (250 or so) were forced
by the government of California to move from their homes at Warner's Hot Springs to the
Pala Reservation (which was Luiseño), awarding title to the Cupeño homeland at Warner's
Springs to a man who was once governor of California. In 1903 a 3,438-acre ranch was
purchased for the Cupeño at Pala Valley, now known as New Pala.
KUMEYAAY
Also called the Diegueño, or Tipai-Ipai, these Indians' traditional lands are now known
as San Diego County and northern Baja California. The Kumeyaay land extended from 50 to 75
miles both north and south of the present Mexican border, as well as from the California
coast almost to the Colorado River. Theirs is a Hokan language of the Yuman branch. They
are divided also by two dialects: Ipai (the northern dialectical form) and Tipai (the
southern dialectical form). They depended on a variety of foods, from marine resources
along the coast to vegetable foods such as acorns, to dry farming. In the 18th century,
there were around 50 bands of Kumeyaay. The Mission San Diego was the first Spanish
mission in California, established in San Diego in 1769 to convert the Kumeyaay, among
other goals. The Spanish called them Diegueños because they lived near the San Diego
river. In the late 18th century there were between 3,000 and 9,000 Tipai-Ipai, or
Kumeyaay/Diegueño/Kamia. Before 1870, the southern and interior Kumeyaay largely avoided
repression by the Mission San Diego, while the northern and coastal Kumeyaay had early
contact with the missions, and fell under Spanish domination. After 1870, American
immigrants moved into the area, taking the Kumeyaay land. Until 1910, the Kumeyaay largely
starved on inadequate reservations or found menial labor on area ranchers or in local
homes. Today, there are around 1,200 Kumeyaay living on their reservations of Barona,
Campo, Capitan Grande, Cuyapaipe, Inaja-Cosmit, La Posta, Manzanita, Mesa Grande, San
Pasqual, Santa Ysabel, Sycuan, Viejas (Baron Long), and the Jamul Indian Village. Another
2,000 more live off-reservation. Various spellings of Kumeyaay may be found in older
documents, such as Kumei, or Cumeyaay.
LUISEÑO INDIANS
These people traditionally occupied land extending approximately 50 miles along the
southern California coastline, including the northern part of San Diego County and lands
south of Los Angeles. Historically, the Luiseño occupied the territory south of Mt. San
Jacinto extending to the Pacific coast. Their lands extended inland for about 30 miles,
north of the Kumeyaay lands. The Spanish named them after the Mission San Luis Rey, and
the San Luis Rey River. The Luiseño were associated with the Mission San Juan Capistrano,
also, and were often referred to as Juaneno Indians. Both the Luiseño and Juaneno are
included among the groups of so-called Mission Indians. The Luiseño and Juaneno languages
belong to the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Many people still speak
Luiseño. Their foods were marine resources along the coast and vegetables gathered in the
foothills of the Coast Range to the east. They lived in semi-permanent villages, with some
seasonal movement. The Luiseño were organized into roughly 50 patrilineal clan tribelets,
each with an autonomous, semipermanent village led by a hereditary chief. Each village
group also had its own food resource area. In the late 18th century, there were
approximated 10,000 Luiseños. The 1990 population of Luiseños on their reservations
stood at 1,795. Today, Luiseño people live on the La Jolla, Pala, Pechanga, Pauma,
Rincon, Soboba, and Twentynine Palms reservations. They are also called the Luiseño Band
of Mission Indians.
MOJAVE (MOHAVE)
This group of Indians traditionally occupied about 200 miles of land along the Colorado
River from present-day Hoover Dam down to the city of Blythe, as well as a large inland
region to the west of the river. Their language belongs to the Yuman branch of the Hokan
family. The Mojave made their living as desert farmers, using the floodwaters of the
Colorado River. They depended on fishing, hunting, and trapping, and on the mesquite bean
for food. Today there are around 1,000 Mojave people living on or near the Fort Mojave
Reservation, which is located along the Colorado River in the states of California,
Arizona, and Nevada. Several thousand more live on the Colorado River Reservation.
PAIUTE INDIANS
There are three main groups of Paiute people. The Northern Paiute and Owens Valley Paiute
lived in what is now California, occupying the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, from the northern border with Oregon south to Owens Valley. The third group of
Paiute people are the Southern Paiute. Their languages are Uto-Aztecan. They made their
living by hunting and gathering, along with some irrigation of lands supporting plants
with edible seeds and roots. Today there are around 2,200 Owens Valley Paiutes living on
the Benton, Bishop, Big Pine, Lone Pine, and Fort Independence reservations, and about 150
Northern Paiutes living in the Bridgeport Paiute Indian Colony, on the Cedarville
Rancheria, and on the Fort Bidwell Reservation.
QUECHAN
The Quechan people are a desert river tribe. They are one of the Yuma language groups and
share many cultural roots and necessities from the desert O’Odham (Pima and Papago)
and from some of the Pueblo people of New Mexico. In alliance with their neighbors in the
lower Colorado River, the Quechans successfully won independence from the Spaniards at
Fort Independence in 1781, only to lose their freedom to the Americans in 1850.
SHOSHONE
The Shoshone Indian people (or, Newe) traditionally lived on lands in the east-central
area of California to the east of the Sierra Nevada range, including Owens Valley and the
lands south of it, which includes Death Valley. The Shoshone language belongs to the
Uto-Aztecan language family and is closely related to Paiute. These people lived in small,
extended-family groups, and made a living by desert hunting and gathering. There are less
than 2,000 Shoshone people today in California, living mainly on the Big Pine, Bishop,
Timbi-Sha, and Lone Pine reservations.
SERRANO
The Serrano Indian people traditionally lived in the Mojave Desert and the
San Bernardino Mountains, in southern California. Their language belongs to the Takic
branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. They hunted and gathered in the desert areas
and relied on acorns and game in the foothills, where their settlements were more
permanent. The term "serrano," meaning mountaineer, was initially used by the
Spanish to designate "unnamed" Indians in the mountainous regions of southern
California. Later the name came to refer only to that band of Indians whose territory
extended roughly from Mount San Antonio in the San Gabriel Mountians to Cottonwood Springs
in the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Traditionally, the Serranos were divided into two
groups, or moieties, and marriage was only allowed across group lines. Communities were
usually villages of 25-100 people. Few people still speak the Serrano language, and few
ancestral rituals survive. Some continue to sing traditional Bird Songs on special social
occasions. Today around 85 Serrano people live on the San Manuel Reservation. Many of the
1,000 or so residents who live on or near the Morongo Reservation are also of Serrano
descent. And, other Serrano people live on or near the Soboba Reservation.
Adapted from
CALIFORNIA INDIANS AND THEIR RESERVATIONS:
An Online Dictionary
With permission from Phillip White, Librarian, San Diego State University
The content of this file (http://libweb.sdsu.edu/sub_libs/pwhite/calinddict.html) is maintained by Phillip White (pwhite@mail.sdsu.edu).
Major Sources Used:
- Veronica E. Velarde Tiller, "California," In American Indian Reservations and Trust Areas (Albuquerque: Tiller Research, 1996), 227.
- A. L. Kroeber, Handbook of the Indians of California (Washington, DC: Bulletin 78 of the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, 1925; reprt. N.Y.: Dover, 1976), back cover.
- Barry M. Pritzker, "California," In Native Americans: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Peoples (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1998), 150.
- Pritzker, 150.
- Pritzker, 151.
- Edward D. Castillo, "California," In The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Vol. IV. (Detroit: Gale, 1998), 1.