Great Basin Cultures

Forest, marsh, alpine, grassy valleys, arid areas

Environment (general)

Mojave, Great Basin

2 major deserts (general)

Pinyon nut

Defining resource (general)

Small-scale agriculture

Southern Paiute and Owens Valley Paiute practiced

Climate change

Responsible for loss of wetland (Paleoindian era)

Danger Cave

Evidence of long occupation; traveling people would stay here

Late Archaic

Agriculture originally adopted

Spanish

First contact (indirect)

John Fremont

First Anglo-American to cross the Great Basin into California (1843); led to an increase in people coming into the area

Ranching

Major disruption to the ecosystem (1850s)

Mud Lake Massacre of 1865

Government believed that the people were cattle thieves and killed the entire village; Sarah Winnemucca

Bannock War of 1878

Bannock stood up against settlers on the land, but were defeated soundly

Derby Dam

Siphoned large portion of water for cities and ranching; led to dried-out area, so many groups could not longer use water to survive

Nuclear and extended family

Main social unit (general)

Band

Gathering of families in the fall and winter

Elected by consensus

Selecting the Degwani

Degwani responsibilities

Trade resources, mediate disputes, give speeches, pinyon nut harvest

Raided for horses

Warfare conducted against other groups outside of the Basin (south) for...

Patrilineal

Kinship type

Marriage

Courted when bands got together; no ceremony

Hunting

Male initiation (puberty)

1st menses

Female initiation (puberty)

Flexible

Division of labor

Brown coning

Harvesting the pinecones when they are brown

Green coning

Gathering the pinecones while still green so animals don't get to them first

Deer, bighorn sheep, hares, antelope

Mammals

Reptiles, insects, waterfowl, fish

Common food types

Wikiup

Summer housing, dome structures made of whatever materials available; provided shade more than protection

Semi-subterranean

Winter houses; some maintained throughout the year (rare); different houses for elderly

Little to none

Clothing (general)

Tools

Rafts, matting, decoys for waterfowl

Basketry

Main art form

Bows

Primary weapon, made of living junipers

Individual

Religious focus

People, animals, places

3 types of spirits

Round dance

General ceremony that could be done at several different times throughout the year

Bear dance

Utes practiced in order to give them strength and stamina

Execution

Shamans that practiced witchcraft (consequence)

Death rituals

Ghosts were feared, name of the deceased was not spoken

Sun Dance

Part of the Peyote religion, created to revive ancient beliefs in resistance to colonization

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934

Took Native land and resources, hunting and water rights

Fixed territories

Owens Valley Paiute territory

Owens Valley, marsh, many streams

OVP environment

A.W. Von Schmidt

Surveyor, first person to officially meet and recommend reservation

Ranching

Disrupted ecosystem and land rights

Chief

Limited powers, inherited (hereditary) (OVP)

Trade

Mainly with California groups (OVP)

Salt

Important trade resource (OVP)

Bilateral

Kinship type (OVP)

Family, village, band

Social organization levels (small to large) (OVP)

Sister exchange

Ideal marriage match

Trade relationships

Purposes of marriage, within (OVP)

Death rituals

Burn deceased and all their belongings, annual mourning ceremony

Floor irrigation

Spread out water so it would soak into the land

Communal, supplemental

Hunting types and purposes

Piagi

Pandora moth caterpillars

Kutsavi

Brine flies

Treasure basket

Used to carry shell beads

Shell beads

Currency

Burden basket

Carry the harvest

Coyote and the basket

OVP origin story

Wolf

Seen as wise and strong character

Coyote

Seen as rash character who must learn from mistakes

Herb doctor

Shaman which provided physical cures

Spirit doctor

Shaman which provided spiritual cure; gained power through dreams or supernatural means

Colorado River, Mojave Desert

Chemehuevi location

Spokesman, headman

Chemehuevi band leaders

Advisory

Headman responsibility

Selecting headman

Hereditary, approved by group, based on dreams for power

Predawn raids

Attack everyone within a camp and steal everything of value; many died

Formal battles

Fight for honor; fewer people died than other types of attacks

War dreamers

Received power from dreams before battle

War leaders

Selected by the tribe based on dreams

Territory disputes

Main reason for organized warfare

Northerners, southerners, desert people

3 primary Chemehuevi groups

Deer and Mountain Sheep

2 social divisions

Rigid

Chemehuevi division of labor

Songs

Method of marking hunting grounds

Umbilical cord

Placed on animal trails to ensure future prosperity

Basketry, pottery

Main Chemehuevi art types

Face paintings, little clothing

Adornment, clothing

Coyote and the basket

Chemehuevi origin story

Bird, Salt, Deer, Mountain Sheep

4 main songs

Dreams

Shamans gained power through...

Farming, tourism, resort, casinos

Modern sources of economic income (Chemehuevi)

Colorado River Indian Tribes

Organization that deals with the affair of the groups in this region; made up of leaders from each of the involved tribes