Kawaiisu

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kawaiiasu
Nuwa
A Kawaiisu family
Total population
2010: 60 alone and in combination[1]
Regions with significant populations
 United States ( California)
Languages
English, Tehachapi[2]
Religion
traditional tribal religion, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Utes, Chemehuevis, and Southern Paiutes

The Kawaiisu (pronounced: ″ka-wai-ah-soo″[

Tule River Indian Tribe.[2]

Language

The

Tübatulabal to the north spoke the Tübatulabal language. The Yokuts (Monilabal) to the west were non-Uto-Aztecan. Because they also spoke a Southern Numic language, the Chemehuevi
to the east are the closest linguistic relatives to Kawaiisu.

The Kawaiisu have been known by several other names, including the Caliente, Paiute, Tehachapi Valley Indians, and Tehachapi Indians, but they called themselves depending on dialect Nuwu, New-wa, Nu-oo-ah or Niwiwi, meaning "The People." The tribal designations as "Kawaiisu" or "Tehachapi Indians" are both English adoptions of the

Yokutsan words used by the neighboring Yokuts. Today the Kawaiisu identify themselves as "Paiute" and the self-identification term Nüwa ("People") is commonly used by themselves and in the newspapers and media.[3]

History

Before European contact, the Kawaiisu lived in permanent winter villages of 60 to 100 people. They often divided into smaller groups during the warmer months of the year and harvested

California native plants
in the mountains and deserts, and animals, for food and raw materials. They were divided in two regional groups: the "Desert Kawaiisu" and the "Mountain Kawaiisu".

The Kawaiisu are related by language and culture to the

Southern Paiute of southwestern Nevada and the Chemehuevi of the eastern Mojave Desert of California. They may have originally lived in the desert before coming to the Tehachapi Mountains
region, perhaps as early as 2000 years ago or before.

The Kawaiisu maintained friendly relations with the neighboring Kitanemuk and also participated in cooperative antelope drives (driving herds of antelope into traps so they could be more easily slaughtered) with the Yokuts, another group living in the San Joaquin Valley.

The Numic-speaking peoples of this area (Kawaiisu, Timbisha/Panamint Shoshone (Kohozi – "Koso/Panamint people"), Southern Paiute, Owens Valley Paiute (Pagazozi – "water people"), and Coso people) are famous for their petroglyphs and Rock art.[4]

In 2011, The Kawaiisu Project received the Governor’s Historic Preservation Award for its efforts to document the Kaiwaiisu language and culture, including "the Handbook of the Kawaiisu, language teaching ... the Kawaiisu Language and Cultural Center, [and] the Kawaiisu exhibit at the Tehachapi Museum."[5][6] A local newspaper noted in 2010, "There are also several hundred living Kawaiisu descendants, even though a pervasive misconception believes them to be all gone."[6][7]

Population

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially.

Alfred L. Kroeber proposed the combined 1770 population of the Kawaiisu as 1,500. He estimated the surviving population of the Kawaiisu in 1910 as 500.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "2010 Census" (PDF). census.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-09.
  2. ^ a b c California Indians and Their Reservations: Kawaiisu Archived 2015-07-06 at the Wayback Machine San Diego State University Library and Information Access. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  3. ^ Sprague, Jack; Garfinkel, Alan. Handbook of the Kawaiisu – via www.academia.edu.
  4. ^ "Petroglyphs.US – Rock Art Gallery – pictographs & petroglyphs". Archived from the original on 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  5. ^ Jon Hammond (2011-11-29). "Kawaiisu Project receives Governor's Historic Preservation Award". TehachapiNews.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  6. ^ a b Jon Hammond (2010-04-06). "The original Tehachapi language: new grant funds new grant funds two-year Nüwa (Kawaiisu) project". TehachapiNews.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  7. ^ "Jon Hammond: Handbook of the Kawaiisu: ground-breaking book ..." TehachapiNews.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  8. ^ (See Population of Native California.)
  9. Kroeber, Alfred L (1925). Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin. Vol. 78. Washington, D.C. p. 883.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )

References

External links

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