33 Facts About Kumeyaay

Kumeyaay, known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueno, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the United States.

Kumeyaay consist of three related groups, the Ipai, Tipai and Kamia.

All languages and dialects spoken by the Kumeyaay belong to the Delta–California branch of the Yuman language family, to which several other linguistically distinct but related groups belong, including the Cocopa, Quechan, Paipai, and Kiliwa.

The Kumeyaay had land along the Pacific Ocean from present Oceanside, California in the north to south of Ensenada, Mexico and extending east to the Colorado River.

The Kumeyaay tribe used to inhabit what is a popular state park, known as Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.

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The Kumeyaay themselves believe that they have lived in San Diego for 12, 000 years.

At the time of European contact, Kumeyaay comprised several autonomous bands with 30 patrilineal clans.

Missionaries and church leaders forgave the Kumeyaay and rebuilt the mission by the Kumeyaay village of Nipaquay or Nipawai.

Kumeyaay fell victim to smallpox and malaria epidemics in 1827 and 1832, reducing the Kumeyaay population.

Juan M Ibarra to lead several attacks on Kumeyaay-controlled lands, killing 28 people in his attack on SantaYsabel.

The Kumeyaay pueblo fought against hostile bands and protected Mexican settlers, with a decisive victory over an anti-Christian uprising and capturing its leader, Claudio.

The Kumeyaay made preparations to lay siege on San Diego in the early 1840s and launched a second attack on San Diego in June 1842.

Together with Quechan resistance in the east, the Kumeyaay cut off Alta California of all land routes to the rest of the Mexican republic between the Colorado River and the Pacific Ocean up until the Mexican–American War, further threatening Mexican control of the southern Alta California coast.

The Kumeyaay prevented Mexican usage of the ranchos around San Diego and evicted most of the Californios in the area by 1844, and continued launching raids deep into the Mexican controlled coast up until the start of the Mexican–American War.

The Kumeyaay agreed to join the revolt alongside Cahuilla, Cocopah, and Quechan warriors, but made no military commitments to attack San Diego or capture Fort Yuma.

However, not all Kumeyaay bands fought on the same side of the Yuma war; the San Pasqual Band of Kumeyaay fought against the Quechan campaign to attack San Diego and defeated the Quechan in the San Pasqual Valley.

Kumeyaay withdrew from the war after the capitulation of the Cahuilla to the US and the failed attempt to capture Fort Yuma.

On January 7, 1852, representatives of a number of Kumeyaay clans, including Panto, met with Commissioner Oliver M Wozencraft and negotiated the Treaty of Santa Ysabel.

In 1932, the Coapan Kumeyaay living and farming on the San Diego River were removed to make way for the El Capitan Dam and Reservoir and relocated their inhabitants at the Barona Reservation and the Viejas Reservation, further cutting down the agricultural capacity of the Kumeyaay reservations.

The Kumeyaay supported the Magonistas as guides throughout the land, whose aid allowed them to control Mexicali, Tecate, and Tijuana during the Magonista rebellion of 1911.

Kumeyaay people supported themselves by farming and agricultural wage labor; however, a 20-year drought in the mid-20th century crippled the region's dry farming economy.

Many Kumeyaay there have moved into urban areas to seek better employment opportunities compared to their agrarian employment on the reservation.

However, Kumeyaay did recognize the right to water and were obligated to share food with visitors.

Kumeyaay had a patriarchal society where the position of chief, or Kwaapaay, was inherited from the father to son, although widows were sometimes permitted to assume the position.

Kumeyaay practiced arranged marriage made by parents of different sibs.

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Kumeyaay generally lived in dome-shaped homes made from branches and covered with leaves of willow or tule, which the Kumeyaay called 'ewaa.

Some Kumeyaay who lived in the mountains made their home out of slabs of bark.

Kumeyaay started to abandon much of their traditional clothing after coming in contact with the Spanish, and adopted European-style clothing, wearing clothes that were normal in Latin America.

The Kumeyaay stored these grains in basket granaries made of willow leaves.

The Kumeyaay ate more nutrient-rich insects such as crickets, grubs and grasshoppers.

Ipai-Tipai Kumeyaay traded with the Kamia Kumeyaay to obtain obsidian from an area south of the Salton Sea.

Kumeyaay had a system of trail runners who carried messages and announcements between bands, which notified the presence of the Spaniards prior to Cabrillo's arrival in San Diego.

Kumeyaay has a continuous song and dance culture, of which many are still passed on to the next generation during special occasions.