Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley

The Big Pine Band of Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Indians of the Big Pine Reservation are a federally recognized tribe of Mono and Timbisha Indians in California.

The Big Pine Reservation is located 18 miles (29 km) from Bishop, at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. The tribal headquarters is in Big Pine, California. The tribe has 462 enrolled members.

Language

The Owen Valley Paiutes traditionally spoke a dialect of the Mono language, which is part of the Western Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. While there are extremely few speakers left, the language is still living today. Their name for themselves in their own language is Numa or "People." The so-called Shoshone in the community spoke the Timbisha language, which is part of the Central Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family

Traditional culture

The Owens Valley Paiute were several Paiute groups that cooperated and lived together in semipermanent camps. They mediated between Californian and Great Basin culture. They irrigated crops along the Owens Valley, a highly arable and ecologically diverse region in the southern Sierra Nevada. Their name for themselves was Numa or "People."

The tribe participated in round dances and held annual harvest festivals. Girls had elaborate puberty ceremonies. Mourning was expressed through a ceremony called, "The Cry," which was Yuman in origin and included ritual face washing after a year of mourning. The tribe had both medicine men and women. Hereditary chiefs led the tribe's communal activities. Irrigator was an elected tribal position.

Indian ricegrass and pine nuts were important crops. Hunting supplemented farming, and the tribe hunted rabbits, quail and deer, especially in the summer. The tribe fished for suckers, minnows, and pupfish, as well as brine shrimp. Caterpillar larvae was eaten after being baked and dried. Wild foods were gathered, such as acorns, cattails, and berries.

Popular traditional games include shinny, the four-stick game, hoop and pole, dice games, and handgame, the last of which is still very popular today.

History

In the early 19th century, European-Americans, such as trappers and gold prospectors encountered the Owens Valley Paiute. US military surveyors explored the region in the mid-19th century, planning to establish a reservation for the local Indians. Non-Indians settled in the valley in 1861. Increasing numbers of European-Americans fought with the local tribe for water and farmlands. A military outpost, Camp Independence was built in 1862, and the non-Indians fought with the tribes, destroyed their crops, and were able to seize the best lands.

In the early 19th century, the Paiutes numbered 7,500, with about 1,500 to 2,000 Owens Valley Paiutes. In the 1990s an estimated 2,500 Owens Valley Paiutes lived on reservations.

Meanwhile, the Timbisha (Panamint or Death Valley Shoshone) Native Americans relocated from ancestral homelands to be with the Owens Valley Northern Paiute. A reservation was not established until 1912.

In order to provide water needs for the growing City of Los Angeles, water was diverted from the Owens River into the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. The Owens River Valley cultures and environments changed substantially. From the 1910s to 1930s the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power purchased much of the valley for water rights and control, effectively destroying the local economy. In the 1940s the US federal government developed the Indian lands with housing and water systems.

Big Pine Reservation

The Big Pine Reservation was established in 1912 and is 279 acres (1.13 km²) large, located along US 395 in the high desert town of Big Pine, California. Much of the area houses were built by the Indian Housing Authority. There is a school, with classes from kindergarten to 12th grade adjacent to the reservation. A 1,500-volume public library is located within the school. Tribal members raise horses on the reservation lands.

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