Like most Southern California Indians, the Cupeño (coo-pen-yo) lived as hunters and gatherers, following the seasons to harvest the seeds and fruits of various native plants, or hunting small game. Acorns, rabbits, chia seeds, squirrels, and manzanita berries were among their staple foods. Other plants were used as medicine, or for making tightly-woven baskets, or for bow strings. There was hardly a plant that grew in these hills that the Cupeño did not use in some way.

The Cupeño were divided into several clans – an extended family group all related to a common ancestor. Each clan had its own territory where it could hunt and gather plants. Lost Valley belonged to the Temewhanitcem clan (meaning the northerners); the Cupeño called Lost Valley Wiatava, which means “place of the oaks.”

The main trail from Cupa to Wiatava continued on down towards the desert, and the Cupeño would travel through the valley on trading trips, sometimes going as far east as the Colorado River. Today we call their trail to the desert the Tarabal Trail.

The Cupeño passed down their history through stories from one generation to the next. One story told of how a little child, Kisily Pewish, was the only survivor of a battle that destroyed the original village of Cupa. Later he returned, stopping first in Wiatava where he caught and killed a bear. Then, it is said, he brought the bear back to life by magic, and with its help, defeated the people who had driven out the Cupeño, and reestablished the tribe in their home by the hot springs.

Back to Chronology