Description
The Timbisha ("rock paint") are a Native American tribe federally recognized as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. They are known as the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and are located in south central California, near the Nevada border. As of the 2010 Census the population of the Village was 124. The older members still speak the ancestral language, also called Timbisha. The Timbisha have lived in the Death Valley region of North America for over a thousand years. Euro-Americans first made contact with the Timbisha Shoshone during the California Gold Rush of 1849, but whites quickly moved on to the gold fields, renaming the Shoshone homeland Death Valley.
Language
Uto-Aztecan
Culture
They were familiar with the habits of bighorn sheep, rabbits, and other wildlife they hunted. The Timbishas' knowledge allowed them to live in an arid land that rarely saw visitors. Small groups camped regularly at desert water sources. There were summer camps in the Panamints and other mountain ranges. The Shoshone people were greatly connected to their land. They respect the native plants and animals and appreciate the land in which they live on. They believe that every plant and animal as well as the land itself has a living spirit and that the plants, animals and people maintain a relationship.