"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," as we were assured by Mark Twain, and so it is with the Nüwa/Kawaiisu people, the hunter/gatherers who inhabited the areas from the Southern Sierra Nevada, through the Tehachapi mountains and into the southwestern Great Basin and the western Mojave Desert since pre-historic times — Do not think of them as totally gone — they certainly are not! Ancestors of "the people", the Nüwa/Kawaiisu still live in the area. They are, and should be, proud of themselves and the legacy of their ancestors.
The Nüwa/Kawaiisu were the first known people to live on or near this site from as far back as 1,500 to 3,000 years
ago in a village, and by a lake known as Tehechita (the first U.S. Post Office probably got its name from Tiha-chipi-a,
the Nüwa/Kawaiisu word for "hard climb") and this place should not be forgotten.
"Yuwa-Hanoak Tama Nisuma-Kweh-Vaad Itaabym" (Never will we forget the ancestors) —
Quote "stolen" (with permission) from "Handbook of the Kawaiisu" by local author/archaeologist Alan P. Garfinkel PhD.
The Nüwa/Kawaiisu people have many stories, usually passed down by an elder, and usually about lessons to learn
from the wolf, mountain lion, rattlesnake, or coyote — mostly the coyote. Here is an example: "Coyote was carrying
a
basket with many children in it. He grew tired and set the basket on the ground. The children came out and ran
away. They scattered in every direction. That is why people are all over the earth."
Clampers, as we call ourselves, like to have fun, and apparently so does the State of California Parks Dept. — Their website, talking about the Kawaiisu, and about occasionally happening upon some of their "Rock Art"; "These
people are known for both petroglyph (stone tapped) and pictograph (painted) art", it says, "While we can identify
resemblances between the pictographs and known objects or beings, we can only speculate about what they mean.
When viewing these pictographs or petroglyphs, it may be prudent to keep your distance. It is said to touch them causes blindness!"
Someone in the Parks Dept. must be a Clamper!
Plaque Dedicated during our Fall Doins', September 21, 2019, by
The Peter Lebeck Chapter 1866 of the
Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus.
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