KUMEYAAY: A Research Guide

The most common and popular modern Kumeyaay names used to identify the Kumeyaay Tribe today are:

KUMEYAAY (USA)
KUMIAI (Mexico)
DIEGUENO (Diegueño: Early Spanish)
TIPAI-IPAI (Tribal), also Iipay (northern), Tipay (southern)

IN FACT:

California has the second largest Native American population in the United States, including some 108 federally-recognized Indian tribes.

And with 19 Indian reservations, San Diego County has more Native American Indian reservations than any other county in the United States.

TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY

The surviving 12 Kumeyaay bands in San Diego County are recognized by the United States federal government as Sovereign Native American Indian Governments.

Four Kumiai tribal communities are surviving south of the US-Mexico border in Baja California Norte.

SEE OUR .mobi KUMEYAAY MAP for exact territory and locations, including tribal websites and contact info.

KUMEYAAY: LANGUAGE

The Kumeyaay people are of the Hokan language group.

Click for audio clips, multimedia, stories, written translations of the Kumeyaay language to English.

YUMAN TRIBAL FAMILY

The Kumeyaay people are of the Yuman Indian group of North America. The Yuman tribal family includes the following neighboring tribes:

Kumeyaay
Cocopah Cucapá Cocopa
Mohave Mojave
Hualapai
Yavapai
Havasupai
Quechan
Maricopa
Paipai Pai-Pai
Kiliwa
Cochimi

INDIGENOUS TRIBES OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY

The four surviving tribes indigenous to San Diego County include:

Cahuilla
Kumeyaay
Cupeño
Luiseño

HISTORY: US-Mexico

HARD ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE clearly suggests the Kumeyaay Indians have lived in the greater San Diego and northern Baja California Mexico area for some 12,000 years.

In 1848, the Mexican-American War ended with signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

This treaty, between the Mexicans and Americans, established the current USA-Mexico Border and divided California from Mexico.

This standing international border was cut through the heart of the ancestral homelands the Kumeyaay indigenous people have occupied for some 12,000 years.

These North America border regions are known today as Southern California (USA) and Baja California Norte (Mexico).

TRIBAL GAMING

Large scale legalized Indian Casino Gaming in California (beginning in the early 1980s) effectively ended the historical generational cycle of abject poverty for a select few of California's Indian bands....

TIMELINE OF KUMEYAAY: Pre-Contact to Present Day....