Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians


Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, who were Mission Indians located in California.

Reservation

Los Coyotes Reservation is located in northeastern San Diego County. Of 288 enrolled tribal members, about 74 live on the reservation. It was founded in 1889.
Their reservation is the largest in San Diego County. Located at an drive from San Diego, the land sits between Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the Cleveland National Forest. Hot Springs Mountain is located within the boundaries of the reservation with an elevation of 6,535 ft. Campgrounds are open to the public for a nominal entry fee.

Government

Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians is headquartered in Warner Springs, California. They are governed by a democratically elected tribal council. Their current tribal spokesperson is Ray Chapparosa.

Language

The Cahuilla and Cupeño languages are closely related and are part of the Takic language family. Cupeño and Cahuilla are endangered. Alvino Siva, an enrolled tribal member and a fluent Cahuilla language speaker, died on June 26, 2009. He preserved the tribe's traditional bird songs, sung in the Cahuilla language, by teaching them to younger generations of Cahuilla people.

Notable tribal members