Kawaiisu Indians
The Kawaiisu were of Shoshonean lineage who spoke the Southern Numic subgroup of the Uto-Aztecan language. Migrating from the Great Basin, they had made the Tehachapi area their home for two to three thousand years. They were a peaceful, gentle people with a great respect for their surroundings, living and working in small family units. Being hunter-gatherers, the Kawaiisu roamed their territory in search of food. They traveled from the valley into the mountains and even the desert to gather supplies for everyday use and to prepare stores for the winter. Young girls learned to gather and prepare food early in life, and the young boys started hunting for the family at about 9 years of age. The very young would play games to sharpen their hunting skills. Dolls were made from clay or small rodent skins with the head attached and stuffed with grass. A game of hide and seek was also very popular.The Kawaiisu are noted for their very finely woven baskets of intricate and colorful design. Girls would learn the complex task of gathering and preparing materials for the beautiful baskets they would make. Boys learned the art of making cordage and creating rabbit skin blankets.
Spring was a time for the young men and women of other tribes or families to meet and marry. Birth and death were also times to gather, with feasting and dancing lasting several days.
During the winter months the Kawaiisu made the Sand Canyon area their home. Women would work on baskets, and prepare the food. Men would knap arrow points and knife blades from chert and obsidian, straighten arrow shafts from willow branches and prepare the foreshafts for the arrows. Dice games were played by adults. Stories were told usually by an elder in the family and the children would receive very important lessons to be used throughout their lives. They were taught respect for each other, for the land, the plants and for the animals that lived there.
The Kawaiisu Culture
History
There is evidence that Native Americans lived in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains as ...Language & Homeland
The Kawaiisu language base is of the Southern Numic division of the Uto-Aztecan ...Contact with Others
All native groups of the region had knowledge of resources to be ...Social Organization
The name Kawaiisu is taken from the language of the Yokuts, ...Shelter
Dwellings were fifteen to twenty-five feet in diameter. Smaller structures were ...Diet
The Kawaiisu were primarily a hunter/gatherer subsistence culture. Although they ...Food Preparation
Although some greens, seeds and berries were eaten ...Basketry
On warm winter days the women sat beneath the willows at ...Tools and Implements
Tools for hunting, harvesting, building, food preparation, tanning and sewing were made from ...Clothing and Adornments
Made from skins, pelts, bark and tule, clothing was simple and ...Recreation
Kawaiisu children's activities were similar to games played by ...Stories and Myths
Stories were, and still are, told usually by an elder in the ...Rock Art
Kawaiisu rock art consists of pictographs ...
Kawaiisu Indian Territory
Kawaiisu territory
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