 A Kawaiisu family | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2010: 60 alone and in combination[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States ( California) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Kawaiisu[2] | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous religion, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ute, Chemehuevi, and Southern Paiute |
The Kawaiisu Nation (pronounced: "ka-wai-ah-soo"[needs IPA]) are a tribe of indigenous people of California in the United States. They have never signed a treaty or given up their territorial rights to any of their ancestral land in the United States. The Kawaiisu Nation had preexisting treaties with Spain and then was recognized by Mexico until 1849 when California was becoming a State. Tribal members lived in a series of villages in the Tehachapi Valley and to the north across the Tehachapi Pass in the southern Sierra Nevada, toward Lake Isabella and Walker Pass. Historically, the Kawaiisu also traveled eastward on food-gathering trips to areas in the northern Mojave Desert, to the north and northeast of the Antelope Valley, Searles Valley, as far east as the Panamint Valley, the Panamint Mountains, and the western edge of Death Valley. -
They are well know for their rock art/Po-o-ka-di that exists throughout it's territory including on the Chana Lake Naval Weapons Center. Kawaiisu complex basket weaving was recognized as the finest in the Americas. Much of inventory of the Kawaiisu baskets are held and hidden by UC Berkley in a private collection.
- ^ "2010 Census" (PDF). census.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-09.
- ^ California Indians and Their Reservations: Kawaiisu Archived 2015-07-06 at the Wayback Machine San Diego State University Library and Information Access. Retrieved 30 June 2013.