Pechanga Tribal Nation

Hunting and Gathering

Years ago in Temecula Valley, our Pechanga ancestors hunted deer and other game. In the Village of Temeekuyam and surrounding areas we provided for ourselves, snaring fish in nearby stream traps, making wiiwish and other traditional foods, and gathering and using plants for food and medicinal purposes. Our ancestors knew the land and its mineral resources too. Mineral resources were used as all plant and animal resources were— respectfully. Sometimes Pechanga runners traveled the nearby river canyon as a trading route to the ocean and islands beyond, bringing and sharing our resources with neighboring villages and tribes and returning with what was useful for our people.

These are some of the resources we have always known and used in our relation to this land.

Animal Resources for Textile and Tool Production

Various parts of animals were utilized in the manufacture of tools, textile, games, spiritual items, and musical instruments. Today, it is often difficult to obtain many of the animals needed to replicate or continue these processes. Pechanga Cultural Resources has received help from various sources in acquiring animal resources including contributions from the Department of Fish and Game, Forest Service, tribal members, direct purchase and more often than not, road kill.

Some of these animals include:

• rabbits
• antelope
• bighorn Sheep
• eagles
• hawks
• pelicans
• ducks
• geese
• fish
• coyotes
• turtles
• ravens
• crows
• woodpeckers
• bobcats
• mountain Lions
• roadrunners
• shellfish
• hummingbirds
• weasels
• bears
• badgers
• quail
• pond turtles
• condors
• turkey Vultures
• rattlesnakes
• wood rat

Use of animal resources

Some uses include: deer hoof rattles, bone awls, turtle shell rattles, bone arrowheads, rabbit skin blankets, eagle, condor and turkey vulture feather dance skirts, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion and deer peon hand bones, shell necklaces, feather ornamentation on baskets, feather headdresses, rawhide and leather.

Today many of these items are produced for the benefit of the tribe. Others are placed on display or utilized in outreach kits for educational purposes. In some cases items are strictly ceremonial and possession of them is determined in accordance with custom and tradition.

Textile Plant Resources

Plant fibers and stem material made up a greater portion of textiles utilized. Plants were utilized for both clothing and utilitarian purposes. A common example of a particular textile having dual purposes is basketry. A basket may be used to cook or store food and other resources while another basket form maybe used as a hat.

Plants utilized for textile production are often found in association with cultural resource sites such as traditional campsites and village sites. This knowledge helps us in the identification of important sites within Pechanga's original aboriginal territory. Some examples of these plants are:

• Juncus
• Deer grass
• Nettle
• Milkweed
• Dogbane
• Sumac
• Willow
• Yucca
• Cottonwood

Utilitarian Plants include:

• Willow
• Mule fat
• Arrow weed
• Arrow reed
• Elderberry
• Mountain ash
• Cedar
• Soap root
• Juniper
• California rose

Uses of plant resources

Plant fibers and parts were utilized in the production of bows, arrows, brushes, baskets, hats, houses, mats, hammocks, cradle-boards, fishing nets, carrying nets, granaries, seed beaters, digging sticks, ceremonial wands, skirts and aprons, sandals, flutes, whistles, clapper sticks and rattles.

As it is with food, to simply know what a plant was utilized for is only part of the story. Preparation of materials for all the above purposes requires time, skill, knowledge, and wisdom.

Mineral Resources

Mineral resources played an important role in the day-to-day life style of the Luiseño People. The uses of minerals are diverse and numerable. Some of these minerals are:

• Obsidian
• Limestone
• Cunningtonrite
• Steatite
• Chert
• Chalcedony
• Clay
• Iron/Hematite
• Red ochre
• Basalt
• Vesicular basalt
• Granite
• Slate
• Micaceous schist
• Tourmaline
• Quartz
• Quartzite
• Serpentine
• Mica
• Travertine
• Salt
• Pumice
• Jasper

Salt

One of the most important minerals was salt. The Luiseño processed ocean salt and traded this product throughout Southern California. Salt was especially needed in the hotter regions of the desert.

Stone

Stone tool manufacture is one of the most common uses of minerals. Stone knives, projectile points, spear points, ceremonial wands, stone axes, abraders, scrapers and drill points dominated the scene. In close competition were milling stones of various types. Manos, pestles, metates, grinding slicks and bedrock mortars are common components of the many village sites located throughout Luiseño territory.

Other uses of stone include arrow straighteners, cooking stones, heating stones, weights, bowls, polishing stones, hunting blinds, plumb stones, and pipes.

Flint

Flint knapping is the process of removing selected areas of a stone for the purpose of producing sharp edged tools. This process is taught to various participants and during various programs held at the Pechanga Cultural Resource Center.

Besides utilitarian uses, many minerals were used for carvings, pendants, medicine stones and adornment.

Locating resources

One of the most important aspects of mineral utilization is where to find these resources. Some resources are readily obtained locally while others are located hundreds of miles away. The closest known obsidian source to Luiseño territory is Osidian Buttes located along the eastern shore of Salton Sea in Imperial County. This material is of poor quality when compared to materials of Coso Hot Springs, Queen Mountain and Glass Mountain located in Inyo and Mono Counties. A recent obsidian find at a site in Tenaja (Santa Rosa Plateau near Temecula, CA) was sourced to Queen Mountain more than 300 miles from Tenaja.

Written in stone

Minerals, because they have a reputation of surviving the elements of weather and time, reflect the history of Luiseño People more than any other element of material culture. They tell us about trade and trade routes and mark changes in cultural style. They represent fashion and adornment and detail technological skills and advancements of the Luiseño people.

Documenting the location of these mineral resources and making these resources available to tribal members is the primary goal of mineral study. It is now possible to positively identify location of these materials through Global Positioning Satellites or GPS. This system provides information about topography, location by Universal Transverse Mercator and Latitude and Longitude, and routes of travel to these locations from the primary location of Pechanga.