Native Americans of the Mojave Desert

1. By: Lauren Van Dyke and Tripp Brockway Native Americans of the Mojave Desert

2. Paleo-Indians • Band level society: • Hunting and foraging • Nomadic, few material possessions • Egalitarian • Wisconsin Glaciation • Used spears to hunt (artifacts) http://blogs.sltrib.com/sheena/uploaded_images/Giant-Ground-Sloth-sm-785857.jpg

3. Changing Environment • As the glaciers retreated, the environment changed : • Playa Lakes evaporated • Forests retreated into mountains • Large game animals migrated • Desert plants and animals moved northward into drying basins, drought set in http://www.nature.com/climate/2008/0805/images/climate.2008.34-i1.jpg

4. Desert Archaic Period • As the environment changed, the people and culture adapted • Shelters- rock overhangs, caves, poles and brush http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1007/images/cave2.gif

5. Diversified desert hunting and gathering with seasonal movements to follow food sources Plants dominated diet Continued use of spears and snares Meat supplemented diet Desert ArchAic Diet http://inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/desert/images/bhsheep.jpg

6. 5,000 years ago: domestication of corns, beans, and squash • Farming became more intense as time progressed • less hunting/gathering • population increase • sedentary villages • more complex social organization • material wealth • trade. • Not all groups in Mojave adopted agriculture Desert Archaic- Agriculture

7. Petroglyphs • Religious rock carvings done by shamans and medicine men • Proof of existence of people in Mojave • Often mark ritual sites

8. Petroglyphs • Possibility one: Geometric shapes • Entoptic motifs • light images created within a human optical system when in a trance or altered state of consciousness. • Hallucinations allow shaman to “enter another world”

9. Petroglyphs • Possibility 2- Animals: represent shaman’s helper • Possibility 3- family symbol • Possibility 4- symbols for rain and sun • Possibility 5- directional symbols • Possiblity 6- People: Shaman, spirits, fertility prayer http://parkerlab.bio.uci.edu/pictures/photography%20pictures/Zion/IMG_7672_petroglyph%20canyon.jpg

10. Predominant Mojave Desert Tribes • Mohave • Chemehuevi • Cahuilla • Serrano • Kitanemuk • Kawaiisu • Southern Paiutes

11. 1500s: Mohave is largest concentration of people in Southwest • Yumanlinguistic stock • 3 Mohave groups: • Northern Mathalyathum • lived from Black Canyon to the Mojave Valley • Central Hutto-pah • inhabited the central Mojave Valley • Southern Kavilyathum • territory extended from the Mojave Valley to below Needles Peaks. History of the Mohaves

12. The Mohave live in a patrilinearclan system • Each clan is named for something above the Earth • Sun • Clouds • Bird • Only women use clan name • Children take name of father’s clan • Originally 22 clans, now only 18 • Governed by the “aha macavpinata’ahon” a hereditary Chief • This chief worked with leaders from each of the three regional groups to govern the people Organization and Government

13. Creation Myth http://mojavedesert.net/mojave-desert-indians/320-mojave-indians-464.jpg

14. Su’mach (dreams) viewed as source of knowledge Believed that a dreamer could return to the time of creation The Mohave relayed their dreams to their tribe through Song and Storytelling History and legends of the people were also shared through this method Dreams

15. People receive superior skills through “sumacha’hot” required an individual to go through fasting and other trials to receive such a gift. Funerals were very spiritual The deceased were cremated with their belongings and gifts offered by grieving family members Names of the dead were never spoken of again Values

16. River central to existence “aha macav” Dry farming Relied on overflow of Colorado River for irrigation Farming supplemented with wild seeds and roots Used trapping and nets to find game and fish Food http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YZF8hY__8ck/RxVlnFlF9KI/AAAAAAAADvU/6jpN9bswy1Y/s400/DSC_4223+the+colorado+river+with+green+on+the+banks+dgn+az.jpg

17. Men normally remained nude • Women wore beaver and rabbit skins • Tattoos were very important to the Mohave • Adorned themselves with blue cactus ink tattoos Clothing and Appearance www.mojaveindian.com/pics/mojave_girl.jpg

18. Housing was simple Lived in “wikups” constructed from upright logs covered with brush Housing http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/aep/az/aep-azs12.jpg

19. Skilled potters Clay and crushed sandstone Decorated with geometric designs Women made pottery dolls for children Also proficient traders They exchanged surplus crops and pottery with coastal tribes Trading and Art http://content.foto.mail.ru/mail/chetan71/24/i-60.jpg

20. Interaction with Whites • 1770’s- Father Francisco Garces lives with Mohave (“Jamajab”). Finds them nice • Violence between Mohave and trappers • 1858- Major William Hoffman and 700 men demand surrender of Mohave. • Hoffman sets up Ft. Mohave • “Wipe out the Mojave”: James Carleton sets up Camp Cady to exact revenge on Mojave http://www.bpl.org/research/print/graphics/gardner.jpg

21. Reservation • 1865- Some Mojave Natives sent to Colorado Indian Reservation • “assimilation” • 1911- Ft. Mojave Reservation created.

22. Ft. Mojave Reservation today: • 50% Native American • Land leased to companies for farming • Casinos Reservation http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/archdb/images/AviPB215752.jpg

23. http://www.nps.gov/archive/moja/mojahtm2.htm http://www.mojaveindian.com/creation.htm http://mojavedesert.net/mojave-indians/ http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/228628 http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/du_peo_past.html Bibliography