The Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Native Americans with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about 2,400 square miles (6,200 km). The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California. It was bounded to the north by the San Bernardino Mountains, to the south by Borrego Springs and the Chocolate ...
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The Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Native Americans with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about 2,400 square miles (6,200 km). The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California. It was bounded to the north by the San Bernardino Mountains, to the south by Borrego Springs and the Chocolate Mountains, to the east by the Colorado Desert, and to the west by the San Jacinto Plain and the eastern slopes of the Palomar Mountains.
The Cahuilla language is in the Uto-Aztecan family. A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers in an ethnic population of 800. It is nearly extinct, since most speakers are middle-aged or older. In their own language, their autonym is Iviatim. Cahuilla is thought to be an exonym, the name given them by the Kawiya, meaning "master."
Oral legends suggest that when the Cahuilla first moved into the Coachella Valley, a...
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