Chemehuevi Indian Tribe

History

Brief Timeline

1775: Fray Francisco Garces encountered the tribe.

1810: moved from the Mojave to the Colorado River and Chemehuevi Valley to escape the slave raids of the Spanish

1810+: smallpox epidemic 

1850's: the Mormons helped put a stop to the Spanish slave trade.

1853: Chemehuevi lands are declared public domain

1867-1871: Chemehuevi-Mohave War

1870's: a small tribal population moved to the Colorado River Reservation

1907: 36,000 acre Chemehuevi Valley set aside for the tribe.

1930: 8,000 acres of Chemehuevi land becomes Havasu Lake with the building of the Parker Dam  

Reservations

The Chemehuevi are the southernmost group of the Southern Paiute Indians. The live mostly on the Chemehuevi Reservation along the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, in southeastern California. Some of the Chemehuevi also live on the Agua Caliente, Cabazon, Colorado River, and Morongo Reservations.

Additional References to the History of the Tribes and/or Bands

Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Chemehuevi  tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.

Tribal Headquarters

P.O. Box 1976
Havasu Lake, CA 92362
Phone: 760.858.4301
Fax: 760.858.5400
Website: www.havasulanding.com

Important Web Sites

• Chemehuevi Indian Tribe Official Web Site
• Chemehuevi Indian Tribe Wikipedia

References

Bibliography

• California Indians and Their Reservations: An Online Dictionary. Available online.
• Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
• Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. WorldCat 317923332; FHL book 970.1 R259e.
• Kroeber, Alfred L. Handbook of the Indians of California. Washington D.C.:Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 78, 1925. Reprint. New York City: Dover Publications, [ca 2006] WorldCat 255854981 Available online.
• Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188; FHL book 970.1 G131g.

Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean

Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America

Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau

Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands

• Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978– .
  

Volume 1 -- Not yet published

Volume 2 -- Indians in Contemporary Society (pub. 2008) -- WorldCat 234303751

Volume 3 -- Environment, Origins, and Population (pub. 2006) -- WorldCat 255572371

Volume 4 -- History of Indian-White Relations (pub. 1988) -- WorldCat 19331914; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.4.

Volume 5 -- Arctic (pub. 1984) -- WorldCat 299653808; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.5.

Volume 6 -- Subarctic (pub. 1981) -- WorldCat 247493742; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.6.

Volume 7 -- Northwest Coast (pub. 1990) -- WorldCat 247493311

Volume 8 -- California (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 13240086; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.8.

Volume 9 -- Southwest (pub. 1979) -- WorldCat 26140053; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.9.

Volume 10 -- Southwest (pub. 1983) -- WorldCat 301504096; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.10.

Volume 11 -- Great Basin (pub. 1986) -- WorldCat 256516416; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.11.

Volume 12 -- Plateau (pub. 1998) -- WorldCat 39401371; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.12.

Volume 13 -- Plains, 2 vols. (pub. 2001) -- WorldCat 48209643

Volume 14 -- Southeast (pub. 2004) -- WorldCat 254277176

Volume 15 -- Northwest (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 356517503; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.15.

Volume 16 -- Not yet published

Volume 17 -- Languages (pub. 1996) -- WorldCat 43957746

Volume 18 -- Not yet published

Volume 19 -- Not yet published

Volume 20 -- Not yet published

• Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
• Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193; FHL book 970.1 W146e 2006.