Kawaiisu
The Kawaiisu are a Native American group originally inhabiting the Tehachapi Mountains region in California. Historically, they were hunter-gatherers, relying on a diverse omnivorous diet that included deer meat, various roots, tubers, nuts, berries, and seeds, with acorns being a significant food source. The Kawaiisu processed acorns in granaries to remove tannic acid before consumption. European contact began in 1776, which led to significant changes in their way of life; by the early 1850s, their territory faced encroachment from farmers and prospectors, resulting in conflict and violence. The introduction of diseases further devastated their population, shrinking it from an estimated 500 individuals to about 150 by 1910. By the 1960s, many aspects of Kawaiisu cultural life had diminished as they faced forced assimilation into mainstream American society. The 1990 U.S. Census recorded only two individuals identifying as Kawaiisu, highlighting the drastic decline in their population and cultural recognition.
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Kawaiisu
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Great Basin
Language group: Kawaiisu
Primary location: Sierra Nevada, Piute, and Tehachapi mountains, California
As hunters and gatherers, the Kawaiisu were omnivorous in their diet, though deer meat was a favored food. They collected and stored a wide variety of roots, tubers, nuts, berries, and seeds. Acorns were stored in granaries; before eating, the tannic acid was removed by leaching. Most animals were hunted or trapped, and fishing, though minimal, supplemented their diet.
In 1776, Francisco Garcé became the first European to record contact with the Kawaiisu; John Frémont traversed their region in 1844. By the early 1850s, farmers, trappers, and stockmen occupied Kawaiisu territory, along with prospectors—all of which led to ongoing conflict. In 1863, after reports of an intertribal grouping of American Indians, a contingent of soldiers under Captain Moses McLaughlin killed thirty-five unarmed Indians. The introduction of disease also reduced the Kawaiisu population from an estimated 500 to about 150 by 1910. Anthropologists believe that, by 1960, all aspects of tribal life were gone, and the Kawaiisu completed the process of forceful assimilation into American society. In the 1990 U.S. Census, only two people identified themselves as Kawaiisu.