The Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians are members of the Southern Paiute Nation and a federally recognized indian tribe.
Official Tribal Name: Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians of the Kaibab Indian Reservation
Address: Tribal Admin Bldg #1, North Pipe Spring Rd., Fredonia, AZ 86022
Phone: 928-643-7245
Fax: 888-939-3777
Email: Kaibab Tribe
Official Website: http://www.kaibabpaiute-nsn.gov/
Recognition Status: Federally Recognized
Traditional Name / Traditional Meaning:
Kai’vi’vits –
E’nengweng – meaning “ancestral people” (who lived throughout the southwest 500 to 1100 years ago).
Common Name / Meaning of Common Name:
Alternate names / Alternate spellings / Mispellings:
Name in other languages:
Region:Great Basin
State(s) Today: Arizona
Traditional Territory:
Confederacy: Southern Paiute
Treaties:
Reservation: Kaibab Indian Reservation
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The Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation is located on the Arizona Strip, about 50 miles north of the Grand Canyon. The reservation hosts five tribal villages. The non-Indian community of Moccasin, and Pipe Spring National Monument are also located entirely within the reservation boundary.
Land Area: 120,413 acres
Tribal Headquarters:
Time Zone: Mountain
Population at Contact:
Registered Population Today: 233 enrolled members as of 2000 Census
Tribal Enrollment Requirements:
Kaibab Paiute Band Enrollment Requirements
Genealogy Resources:
Indian Census Roll 199 – 1910-19, 1921-27
Indian Census Roll 543 – 1897-1905
Government:
Charter: In 1934, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians was established under the Indian Reorganization Act.
Name of Governing Body: Tribal Council
Number of Council members: 5 plus executive officers
Dates of Constitutional amendments: Amendment No 1, May 29, 1965
Number of Executive Officers: Plus Chairman and Vice-Chairman
Elections: Elections are staggered.
Language Classification:
Language Dialects:
Number of fluent Speakers:
Dictionary:
Origins:
The Kaibab Paiute people say their traditional territory is the place of their origin. Their oral traditions says they were brought here by Coyote in a sack.
Bands, Gens, and Clans
Related Tribes:
Duck Valley Paiute | Pyramid Lake Paiute | Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | Fort Independence Paiute | Ft. McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | Goshute Confederated Tribes | Kaibab Band of Paiute | Las Vegas Paiute Tribe | Lovelock Paiute Tribe | Moapa River Reservation | Reno/Sparks Indian Colony | Summit Lake Paiute Tribe | Winnemucca Colony | Walker River Paiute Tribe | Yerington Paiute Tribe
Traditional Allies:
Traditional Enemies:
Ceremonies / Dances:
Seasonal dancing and games were the primary leisure time amusements. Gambling was a common activity among adults, especially during large gatherings of the various bands and tribes. Children’s games were often instructional.
Modern Day Events & Tourism:
Pipe Spring National Monument and Cultural Museum
Legends / Oral Stories:
Art & Crafts:
Animals:
Clothing:
Housing:
The Kaibab Paiutes built dwellings in different locations as they moved throughout their territory. The kahn was a home made from trees and brush such as juniper tree branches, willow, rabbitbrush, and sage, that was usually open on one side. Primarily used for sleeping, the kahn also provided an escape from the sun during the summer, and when lined with bark, a refuge from cold winds in the winter. All daily activities took place outside, including making fires for cooking or warmth.
Subsistance:
The Kaibab Paiute lifestyle included hunting, gathering plants and small-scale farming. They depended on a wide range of plants and animals found during different seasons and in different areas.
The Kaibab Paiutes knew how to use each plant, animal and mineral in this arid environment. Their deep understanding of these resources provided them with the basic needs of life: food, clothing, shelter, medicine and spiritual aids.
When you look at a yucca (Oos’eev), what do you see? To the Paiutes, Oos’eev was more than just a spiky desert plant – it was soap, shoes, fuel and rope.
Depending on the season, Oos’eev also provided food. The tender young fruit was good to eat raw or roasted. The pulp of the fruit was rolled and eaten like bread or used for trade. Flowers were eaten fresh.
Dead plants and dry, mature flower stalks became fuel for fires. The main part of the long tap-root was dug up and used as soap, which became a valued trade item. Smaller side roots produced a reddish dye.
Economy Today:
Tribal businesses include a gasoline station and convenience store, cattle ranching, sport hunting licensing and guiding, and a public R.V. park and campground. The Tribe also leases administrative office space to the National Park Service for Pipe Spring National Monument. The tribal government employs 40 people.
Religion & Spiritual Beliefs:
Within Paiute philosophy, plants, animals, humans, mountains, rocks, and water are viewed as intertwined, and each has a significant purpose to the connectedness of life in this land. All natural objects are seen as having a life force very similar to humans in that these have feelings and power that can help if used in a correct and reverent way.
The power of an animal or a plant may be used through a human, but it is power that belongs to that spirit that ultimately heals. It is in Paiute etiquette to speak to a plant before it is picked, to ensure the plant’s spirit that it will be used in the correct way….if a person harvests a plant without doing these things first, the plant’s power will not help or heal.
It is very similar with animals and the respect that must be shown to them when taking their lives. It must be explained to an animal what it will be used for, and the person must show gratitude by making an offering to the animal’s spirit….gratitude is shown to the spirits of the mountains for allowing the hunter to be successful since the spirits of the mountains are the caretakers of the animals. It is they that protect and hide the animals when it isn’t proper to take them.
Within the lives of Southern Paiutes, there is an inherent understanding that all things are placed on this land with the breath of life, just as humans. This land is considered to be their home, just as it is for man, and it is taught that one must consider that rocks, trees, animals, mountains and all other things are on the same level as man.
Each has a purpose in life, and the one who created every living thing on this earth placed all living things here to interact with one another….It is said that the plants, animals, and in fact, everything on this land, understands the Paiute language, and when one listens closely and intently enough, there is affirmation and a sense of understanding.
Burial Customs:
Wedding Customs
Radio:
Newspapers:
Famous Paiute Chiefs and Leaders
Catastrophic Events:
Tribe History:
The Kaibab Paiute believe the E’nengweng were their ancestors. They believe Tumpee’po’-ohp – petroglyphs (pictures pecked into stone) and pictographs (pictures painted on stone) – made by the E’nengweng are the link that connects them together. The places where these pictures are found are revered. The early Paiutes continued the tradition of rock writing.
Certain families owned, or were in charge of, specific springs and farming areas. Extended families and their kinship band had larger areas where they seasonally hunted and gathered. Beyond the family and local group there were several levels or layers of leadership.
Territories were agreed upon between bands. Each territory contained nearly all of the resources necessary for the complex lifestyle of the People. They did, however, regularly travel into other territories to gather certain plants or minerals. This travel resulted in contact, trade and intermarriage with the other Paiute bands and different tribes. Cultural traditions and practices were exchanged and passed on – including basketry, songs and dances, and various beliefs.
The Kaibab Paiute passed on to their children and grandchildren their beliefs that they were to care for and nurture the land, which fed, cured and clothed them. They believed that when they were created they were given the right to use, and the duty to protect, the lands and resources. If plants and animals weren’t harvested and used appropriately, they would disappear and be gone from the People forever.
Knowledge was gained and passed on by and through the person who needed it and used it. Not everyone knew everything. This kept family members dependent upon each other and increased respect for individuals. Knowledge was passed on gradually over time. A lifetime of apprenticeship was the normal process for passing on the complex knowledge of an elder.
The division of labor placed various tasks in the hands of the most skilled. Men worked to prepare the ground before planting; both men and women tended the fields; women were responsible for the harvest. Men hunted, after which the women in camp identified the most needy and distributed the meat accordingly. Women made all the food, clothing and baskets. The building of the family home, the kahn, was generally a joint effort.
In the News:
Further Reading: