Two 20th century California Indian ethnographies By: Chia Wang and Terisha Gamboa

Heart is Fire by Debora Dozier - Cahuilla Indians of Southern California - Interviews 6 Cahuilla Indians

The Cahuilla Their way of life Identity Family Land Food and Medicine Bird Songs Rock Art Basketry Pottery Their way of life “What you give will come back to you. If you give good it will come back to you. If you give bad it will come back to you. So you always have to give in every part of your life…” – JoMay Modesto

Identity You were told you are Cahuilla, through oral tradition, customs, and way of life learned from ancestors “Every time somebody came here and changed our ways there was always something taken away from us and little by little we have lost it” – Katherine Saubel

Family Family was very important, children were the ultimate importance in the family Made sure to teach children their customs and traditions “Every time somebody came here and changed our ways there was always something taken away from us and little by little we have lost it” – Katherine Saubel

Land “…was given to us by our Creator, to take care of it, to live here in harmony with it, and that’s why we were put here –to protect it. – Katherine Saubel “People don’t realize that there is change, there is progress. Nothing stays the same. It is always changing, ever changing. You have got to be able to go with that. – JoMay Modesto

Food and Medicine Plants for food, housing and clothing, especially medicine. “Before the Europeans came and there were conveniences or modern tools, all the Indians had were their minds” – Anthony Andreas

Bird Songs, Rock Art, Basketry, and Pottery Bird songs survived longest- “social songs sung at a time where lineages or the tribes get together for a festive occasion, for whatever reason” – Anthony Andreas Rock Art mostly done for religious markings, and protection of the land Baskets used for gathering, storage, and cooking Pottery used to make utensils, Cahuilla one of two tribes to use pottery

We Are Still Here Spanish came; had to adapt Then Anglos invaded the land and took Indians by force. Cahuilla’s say their culture and identity is fading, no more in 500 years. Started Malki Museum, name of Cahuilla reservation in Morongo

Delfina Cuero by Delfina Cuero told to Florence Shipek -an autobiography of Delfina Cuero -one of the few surviving Diegueno Indians

Life of a Diegueno Delfina Cuero was born in Xamca (Jamacha) - always moving due to the growing populations of the non Indians never paid with money but with food Indians ate everything possible such as abalone, shellfish, cactus plants, rabbits, pine nuts, acorns, octopus, white part of starfish, seaweed, wood rat, raccoon, opossum, anything Childhood games- hockey, shot bows and arrows and threw rabbit sticks at targets.

Dances Keruk dances- the mourning ceremony for all the dead Image dance was done with a bunch of deer hooves in the old days, now they use gourd rattle

Customs and Traditions be respectful and kind to visitors that come to your house and always offer them something to eat. bad luck if you don’t share, never make fun of others, can never kill a snake or spider because more will come back to kill your friend or relative

Customs and Traditions cont. boys have to be "cleaned" by some kind of age in order to grow up and hunt; boys’ noses were pierced to make them clean men should stay away from a women menstruating and pregnant or else it would ruin their eyesight; bad luck if a woman touched weapons such as the bows and arrows and guns, it would ruin the sight of the gun and the bow pregnant women and menstruating women will ruin all the plants if they go in to the garden tattoos all around women's mouth and chin to avoid getting wrinkles early and to have good hearth and good babies (the tradition was stopped by the time Delfina became a woman) the reason a young man or woman was tattooed or nose pierced was that it was needed when you died. It helps you to go on the straight road- or get sting by the red ants to avoid sickness

Connections Heart of Fire – Cahuillas way of life and encounter with white settlers (general) And Delfina Cuero – personal account of a Diegueno (specific) Progression of California Indians up to the 20th century, with changes of the Europeans Interview of personal accounts Similarities between the two Southern California Indians: Cahuilla and Diegueno Oral tales of values and traditions similar struggles- i.e. mobilizing, hunt and gather food, work similar practices – medicine man, rituals Overall message: the importance of the Indian culture and the preservation of it for the future. We recommend reading them!

The End! Thank you for listening to our final presentation and to Professor Thorne for lending the books!