Chemehuevi Indian Tribe

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and other agency records.

Various Spellings: Chemehuevi, Chemahuavas, Chemawawas

Introduction
Homeland: California and Nevada

Population: 1866: 750, 1900: 800, 1998: 900-1000

Tribal Headquarters
Chemehuevi Indian Tribe 1990 Palo Verde Drive / P.O. Box 1976 Havasu Lake, CA 92362 Phone: 760-858-4219 Website

Brief Timeline

 * 1775: Fray Francisco Garces, a Spanish priest encountered the tribe.
 * 1810: The tribe moved from the Mojave to the Colorado River and Chemehuevi Valley to escape the Spanish slave raids
 * 1810+: smallpox epidemic
 * 1850's: Latter-day Saints helped put a stop to the Spanish slave trade.
 * 1853: Chemehuevi lands declared public domain
 * 1867-1871: Chemehuevi-Mohave War
 * 1870's: a small tribal population moved to the Colorado River Reservation
 * 1907: 36,000 acre Chemehuevi Valley set aside for the tribe.
 * 1930: 8,000 acres of Chemehuevi land becomes Havasu Lake with the building of the Parker Dam
 * 1971: constitution, Chemehuevi Valley registered as the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation (San Bernardino Co.,California)

Reservations
The Chemehuevi are the southernmost group of the Southern Paiute Indians. The live mostly on the Chemehuevi Reservation along the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, in southeastern California. Some of the Chemehuevi also live on the Agua Caliente, Cabazon, Colorado River, and Morongo Reservations.

Additional References
Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Chemehuevi tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.

Ronald Dean Miller, The Chemehauvi Indians of Southern California. Banning California. Makli Museum Press, 1967.

Records
The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:


 * Allotment records
 * Annuity rolls
 * Census records
 * Correspondence
 * Health records
 * Reports
 * School census and records
 * Vital records

Important Websites

 * ChemehueviTribe Official Web Site
 * Wikipedia

For Further Reading
For background information to help find Native American ancestors see For Further Reading.