Cahuilla Tribe Colonization - Essay Example

First 8 December 2009 Cahuilla Tribe In 1542, the present of California was discovered by J.R Cabrillo who was a Portuguese navigator and was in the Spanish service. Sir Francis Drake, in the year 1578 landed at drake's Bay and communicated with the natives of the country and took its possession in the name of England and named it New Albion. In 1602, Spaniard S.Viscayno explored it, however there was no effort made to colonize it, until a mission was established by the Franciscan Fathers in 1978 at San Diego. Twenty one missions were founded and twenty thousand Indians were gathered within the next fifty years by them. However there was a continuous fall in the number of the neophytes and there was a decline in the power of the mission due to this, more over due to the reason that the Mexican government was taken over by the Spanish government. The situation of the Indians deteriorated even more due to the transfer of the country to United States of America and with the discovery of gold in the country in 1848 caused immigrants to rush to the country which had a negative effect on the Indians, even the states that had not been reached by the Spaniards were effected. Since this period the history of Indian of United States had changed completely and they had faced termination and depravity. Though reservations were made for almost all tribes, most of the survivors still live all around the country on land that they have bought or as squatters. As a result of ethnological investigation rather than the facts recognized by them, the tribal concept in most of the areas of the country is the one that is imposed on them. Rather than a ceremonial or governmental base it has a dialectic base; however this is the best option unless each village group is treated as a tribe which is not a practical alternative. From an ordinary point of view it is to be understood as to what constitutes a tribe, the method that is used as of now is highly artificial. Under such situation it is not quite suitable to follow a strictly alphabetic system, in order to enter tribes that were defined by their names under more widespread names as part of bigger groups and their names, they got certified names such as Norther, Yuki, and Paiute rather than the names Coast Yuki and Norther Paiute. Several Indian tribes have settled in the state of California, one such tribe is the Cahuilla tribe. This tribe has occupied California for the last 2000 years. They inhabit an area of around 2400 square miles. The long-established territory of Cahuilla was close to the geographic center of the South of California. The area occupied by the Cahuilla tribe was bounded to the south by the Chocolate Mountains and the Borrego Springs and bounded to the north by San Bernardino Mountains, to the west by the San Jacinto Plain, and finally to the east by the Palomar Mountains. Historians believe that a huge water body which is now called Lake Cahuilla existed when the Cahuillas first moved to the Coachella Valley. However, this lake which was formed by the Colorado River dried sometime before the 1700, because of the shifts in the course of the river. Later, in the year 1905 a much smaller lake called Salton Sea was created in the same place due to a break in a levee. Anthropologists have historically divided the Cahuilla into Pass, Mountain, and Desert groups. Bands of Cahuilla people have situated in Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial counties have acknowledged homes to nine Southern California Reservations. Many Cahuillas have married non-Cahuillas. Many of the Cahuillas today have a mixed history, particularly African American and Spanish. Yet there are people who have grown up in the tribe's way and those who recognize with the Cahuillian culture can qualify for an official membership to the tribe according to the internal rules of the tribe. Like most other tribes, the Cahuillas lived on agriculture by using native plants. One such tree which was harvested by the Cahuilla is the California Fan Palm. In addition to harvesting this tree for fruit they also used the palm for roofing thatch for house, sandals, and basketry. The Cahuilla first came across the Europeans in 1774, and the Anglo-Americans in 1840. The Cahuilla were under tremendous pressure due to the California Gold Rush during the 1850s. the Cahuilla faced several conflicts from various groups including the groups of Mormon colonists, ranchers and outlaws, Anglo-American miners, and, the neighboring Cupeo tribe situated to the west. In 1852 the California Senate refused to sanction a Treaty which would grant the Cahuilla the authority to be in charge of their land. This led to the Cahuilla including the tribal leaders attacking settlers and dispatching many soldiers. The government in 1877 created reservation boundaries which left the Cahuillas with a very small portion of the land they had occupied. Palm Springs and areas surrounding them are rapidly developing today. One important band that is a major contributor to the local economy is the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, this band manages an range of business enterprises, like hotel and casinos, banking, and land leasing. The famous Morongo Casino Resort and Spa which is the largest Indian Casino in the United States, and the Hadley Fruits Orchards situated in Cabazon are managed by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. This group is located on the northern side of Riverside County among the cities of Cabazon and Banning. Other than the Morongo Band other smaller bands of the Cahuillas are situated in Southern California, for example, the Cabazon band and the Cabazon Reservations in Indio, Coachella in Mecca, the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation in Pinyon, and many more. Some Cahuilla tribes have become extinct for example, the Las Palmas bands Cahuilla, these bands lived in the Palm Desert in the 20th century. Cahuilla descendants are similar to American people. Indian tribes are considered a fundamental unit in the United States and the Constitution of the United States gives the Congress a right to communicate with the tribes. Particularly stated by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Sandoval cautioned that "it is not... that Congress may bring a community or body of people within range of this power by arbitrarily calling them an Indian tribe, but only that in respect of distinctly Indian communities the questions whether, to what extent, and for what time they shall be recognized and dealt with as dependent tribes" Tribes are granted many rights and benefits by the Federal tribal recognition, these grants are primarily controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the United Stated Federal Agency. A Federal register was issued an official list in the Federal Register of 562 tribes as Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. Some improvements that were made to reservation lands were implemented, for example, the removal of illegally deposited garbage and the adoption of a zoning code. "Illegally dumped toxic sludge is a local environmental threat and the object of ongoing blockades and other protests" (Pritzker 121). Since the land was unoccupied for about 50 years, commercial wastes, trash, thousands of tires, and carcasses were dumped on this empty land. The tribe partnered with the United States Environmental Service, the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the Riverside County Sheriff's office, and the California Conservation Corps and began the task of cleaning up the land in 1994. Elected tribal councils administer the modern day Cahuilla reservations. Most of the people have reservations allotted to them while for the others the land is common. Since the 1950s, when California Indians were partly terminated from the federal agencies, problems of education, health, and welfare have been a priority for the California State. However, several problems whose root cause is the shortages of funds are being resolved after the new stream of income, gaming has evolved. "Since 1988 and the passage of IGRA indigenous nations have negotiated over 255 compacts with states over the establishment of class III gaming" (Corntassel 116). "By 1988, there were more than 100 tribally operated bingo games in Indian Country, generating more than $100 million for the tribes" (Bays and Fouberg 85). The Cahuilla speak the language of the Uto-Aztecan family. Restoring their language has been a major issue for the Cahuilla. The use of their language, whether written or spoken has reduced tremendously. A census in 1990 disclosed that out of a population of 800 Cahuilla people, only 35 people could speak their native language. Middle-aged people or older people are primarily the ones who speak the language, which is making the language almost extinct. It is becoming more and more difficult for the Cahuilla to retain their language and spread it across the younger generation. "Classes in language, cultural history, and crafts are being held for young people on several reservations" (Hoxie 94). Though the Cahuilla are in a state where transition seems to be very beneficial, one of the primary problems faced by the Cahuilla is of avoiding being completely taken over by the alien culture. Some other issues that the Cahuilla people face are the conservation of traditional ways and customs, anxiety around blood quantum, and reviving the famous Bird songs. Traditional song that describe the Cahuilla origin, travel, mythology, and folklore during the ancient time, are Bird song. These songs also speak of the Cahuilla inhabitants and their natural environment. Resolving these issues will open the path to a bright future for the Cahuilla tribe. Works Cited -Bays, Brad A. and Fouberg, Erin Hogan. The Tribes and the States: Geographies of Intergovernmental Interaction. USA: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 2002. -Corntassel, Jeff, Witmer, Richard C., Robertson, Lindsay G. Forced Federalism: Contemporary Challenges to Indigenous Nationhood. USA: University of Oklahoma Press. 2008. -Pritzker, Barry. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. USA: Oxford University Press. 2000. -Hoxie, Frederick E. Encyclopedia of North American Indians. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1996. -Bennett, Elmer F. Federal Indian Law. USA: The Lawbook Exchange Company. 2008. Read More