The Cahuilla Tribe
by Michele B.

The Cahuilla were hunter gatherer people. They had lots of different kinds of food available. They had plenty of water. They grew crops, including melons, squash, beans, and corn. The Cahuillas ate corn tortillas, hunted, fished and ate cactus. The animals they ate were badgers, chipmunks, cotton tails, mice, deer, raccoons and bighorn.

The men hunted with bows and arrows, traps, sticks, and clubs. The also hunted animals for their skins. Men also hunted animals for their meat to eat. The skins were used for clothes. The men also built houses to live in.

The women were gatherers. They gathered nuts and berries. They made flour from mesquite fruit, acorns and pinion nuts. They also wove simple baskets out of pine needles. They made clothes out of rabbit skins and palm trees.

The Cahuillas made their clothes out of buckskin and woven fibers.The men wore buckskin or woven cloth. They made shoes from leather and cloth. The sandals were help to their feet with buckskin straps.

Once a year, the tribes met to have a ceremony called Pow-Wows. They honored Mother Earth. They sang songs describing the history of the tribes. The most important part of the ceremony was to honor those who died in the last year. The ceremonies lasted a couple of days.

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