How the Cahuilla Indians Lived in Their Land

by Anthony Madrigal

The land of the Cahuilla Indian people lies in the valleys of the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains, the foothills and the desert below the mountains in Southern California. The Cahuilla have lived here for many hundreds of years.

The Cahuilla have a close relationship with the natural world around them. They have always believed that the land, the mountains, rocks, plants, animals, trees, and hot springs have power of their own and should be treated with the proper respect. They have never thought they had the right to change the land any more than was necessarily to live. This belief has led the Cahuilla to create many practices to help them preserve and protect the natural world around them, both in the past and today.

In the past, every Cahuilla person knew stories of how their land came to be. Some Cahuilla elders told the story of Bear, Coyote, and the Three Sisters. In the beginning of time, Coyote became jealous of Bear and the Three Sisters. So Coyote killed Bear and cooked him. Coyote invited the Three Sisters to a meal and served them Bear. The Sisters ate the Bear, but when they found out the evil thing Coyote had done they left earth, taking Bear with them to the sky. We still see all of them as stars in the night sky. Coyote searched and searched for them. One night, he came to a great lake and looked into the water and there he could see a reflection of the Three Sisters. He ran around and around the lake looking for a way to get at the Three Sisters. As he did, he kicked up the earth around the lake and created the mountains of Southern California. In frustration, Coyote dove in after the Three Sisters and drowned. This is just one story about how the mountains around the lakes in the land of the Cahuilla came to be. The Cahuilla tell many different stories about the origins of their land.

Many Native Americans in Southern California share rich oral stories about land, plants, and animals. The story of Bear, Coyote, and the Three Sisters is one example of a story about the natural world - the mountains, stars, and animals that the Cahuilla knew. The songs and stories of the Native Americans also tell of how people should use the land and other natural things.

In the past, the natural world provided the Cahuilla and other Native Americans in Southern California with everything they needed. Cahuilla people built their homes in small villages located near water sources and food gathering areas. Cahuilla tingavish (doctors) and puvulam (religious leaders) used some plants as medicines. Hot springs were sources of healing power. Cahuillas often named places in their land by describing natural features, such as "place of acorn trees" or "place of palm trees." When a plant was eaten, an animal hunted, or something taken from the land, every Cahuilla knew that it must be done in the right way, and that appreciation should be shown.

Plants were very important to the Cahuillas and other Native Americans in Southern California. Those used for food included agave, pinyon, mesquite, and acorn. The most important food for the Cahuilla was weewish, a porridge made from acorns taken from oak trees. But plants did not only provide the Southern California Indians with food. They also gave the materials needed to make baskets, houses, and other important things. The people believed that plants were placed on earth to serve people, but it was not just a one-way relationship. Plants had to be used correctly. When people collected plants, a part of the plant was usually left behind so it would not die and could grow back. In this way, the Cahuilla used plants for their needs, but still helped to keep the balance of the natural world. The plants were conserved for people and animals to use again and again.

The Cahuilla way of hunting rabbits also shows how Cahuilla traditions helped to conserve their environment. When they hunted, the Cahuilla helped keep the number of rabbits down, so that they would not eat all the plants. At the same time, the Cahuilla did not kill more rabbits than they could use and they did not waste any part of the animal. They ate the meat, used the skin to weave blankets, and even crushed the bones to eat. By hunting some rabbits, the Cahuilla helped to conserve plant life. By hunting only what they needed, the Cahuilla did not endanger the rabbit population.

Today the Cahuilla know that it is more important than ever to protect the land and water. The land is now used by many more people, and in a much greater variety of ways. Although the Cahuilla still live on their land, some of the land today is used to run businesses. There are gas stations, casinos, and sand and gravel operations. The Cahuilla have founded tribal environmental programs, run by Cahuilla people, to protect the land. Some Cahuilla are learning modern ways of managing the environment. They map the land using satellites and computers, and they use modern scientific methods to test for pollution. The Cahuilla believe that these modern techniques cannot do the whole job of protecting the land, though. They still believe they were taught by their stories and songs long ago how to use the land in the right way.

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