The Kumeyaay Indians

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The Kumeyaay Indians
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Who were the Kumeyaay Indians?

• What did the Kumeyaay eat?
• What kind of shelter did the Kumeyaay live in?
• What kind of activities did the Kumeyaay
  participate in?
• What was the Kumeyaays religion?

• What land did the Kumeyaay inhabit?
• What were Kumeyaay ceremonial occasions like?
• Where are the Kumeyaay today?
• What is the Kumeyaays future?

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KumeyaayThe First Americans

• Food
• Shelter
• Activities

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Food

• Kumeyaay were a hunting and food gathering
  society
• Kumeyaay harvested plants
• Kumeyaay hunted on land
• Kumeyaay caught sea life

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FoodHarvesting

• Acorns and pinon nuts were collected in the fall
  from the Laguna mountains and the mountains of
  Baja California.
• Flowers, fruits, grain, seeds, stems, bulbs and
  roots were gathered in the spring and summer from
  the valleys, canyons and foot hills.
• Kumeyaay also ate the agave plant, prickly pear,
  manzanita berries, elderberries, and pine nuts

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Harvesting Acorns

• Acorn meal was a basic food for the Kumeyaay.
• Acorns were gathered and crushed into powder with
  a mortar and pestle.
• The powder was then washed over with water in a
  leeching basket to remove the bitterness.
• It was then cooked into a cake and eaten.

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Harvesting Acorns

• This is what the grinding tools used to
  create acorn meal looked like

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HarvestingAgave Plant

• Also very important in the Kumeyaay diet was the
  agave plant
• The agave plant was dug up and the root cooked
• It tastes like a sweet potato and was very popular

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FoodHunting

• Kumeyaay hunted rabbit, small rodents, birds
• They also hunted large animals such as mountain
  sheep, antelope, and deer
• The Kumeyaay hunting was done year round

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Hunting Tools

• The Kumeyaay used bows and arrows to hunt deer,
  antelope, and big horned sheep
• When hunting the big game the Kumeyaay attached
  the arrows made of obsidian
• For smaller game, such as rabbit, only a
  sharpened point of the arrow shaft was needed

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FoodSea Life

• The Kumeyaay collected oysters, lobster, and
  abalone
• The pieces of shell were used for making hooks to
  catch fresh and salt water fish
• After the fish and mollusks were caught they
  could be eaten then or dried

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Shelter

• Kumeyaay built their homes from the willow trees
  that grew so abundantly in the area
• The dwellings were circular domed structures
  woven from willow branches that still had the
  leaves attached
• Many of these homes scattered along the streams
  and valleys would be a part of the village

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Shelter Dome Shaped Home

• The dome shaped home had a small door opening
• A large basket or woven mat would be pulled over
  it at night to keep the cold air out
• Sometimes a small fire was built within the
  structure for warmth
• Often a rabbit blanket was also used as a soft
  warm covering and grasses were used to soften the
  floor
• Cooking was done outside in fire pits

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Activities

• Kumeyaay activities included
• Music and Dance
• Basketry
• Pottery
• Games and Recreation

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Activities Music and Dance

• Music and Dance were a part of Kumeyaay
  ceremonies
• The songs were a way to tell stories about their
  history and creation
• To create music the Kumeyaay used the rattle and
  the flute

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Activities Basketry

• Kumeyaay created coiled baskets
• Kumeyaay baskets were tightly knit in all
  different shapes and sizes
• The baskets could be used to carry water or
  intricately designed and given as a gift

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Activities Basketry

• The materials used to make the baskets included
  Bunch grass, deer grass, juncus and three leaf
  sumac
• Many baskets were detailed and colored from beige
  to black

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Activities Pottery

• Kumeyaay used pottery to store food, water, and
  cremated remains
• Kumeyaay also used pottery to cook in
• The pottery was made from clay collected from
  river banks and cliffs

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Activities Games and Recreation

• The Kumeyaay took pride when playing games
  showing endurance
• Kumeyaay also enjoyed playing games of chance
• Kumeyaay still play a game today called Peone

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KumeyaayThe First Americans

• Religion
• Land
• Ceremonial Occasions

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Religion

• The religious year was observed by solstice and
  equinox ceremonies, all managed by the kuseyaay
  or shaman
• The kuseyaay were the healers of the village
• The kuseyaay were also astronomers
• Personal ceremonies such as marriage and death
  were performed by the kuseyaay only after certain
  star movements

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Land

• The Kumeyaay inhabited what is now San Diego
  County and Baja California
• This land includes coastal, desert, and
  mountainous areas

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Ceremonial Occasions

• Ceremonies took place to provide for good hunts,
  seasons, and health of the people.
• Personal ceremonies also took place for naming,
  puberty rites, marriage and death

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Ceremonial OccasionsDeath

• When a Kumeyaay died the body was cremated
• The body was stored in a pottery jar and buried
  at a special death ceremony
• It was a Kumeyaay tradition to cut your hair when
  someone died

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KumeyaayThe First Americans

• Today
• San Diego
• Future

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Today

• After the Civil war, about 1865, Americans
  started to flood California, looking for new land
  and new opportunities
• The new settlers forced the Kumeyaay into
  reservations
• The Kumeyaay people now live in many different
  reservations

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San Diego

• Today in San Diego, the Kumeyaay are well known
  for their casinos
• The Kumeyaay and many other native people are
  using the profit from casinos to benefit their
  communities as a whole.

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Future

• The Kumeyaay are working to shape policy, create
  better homes and health services, and provide for
  themselves and their community
• By remembering the past, the Kumeyaay move into
  the future, by educating young Kumeyaay on where
  they come from
• The Kumeyaay are able to continue helping many
  non-gaming tribes in Southern California from the
  money brought by the casinos