ABSTRACT
This chapter is organized thematically and chronologically, beginning with the context of the indigenous tribes in North America and then focusing on the Kutzadika’a Paiute of the Mono Basin in California. The intersection between the Kutzadika’a and the outsiders was rife with conflict, but more importantly this confluence contributed to cultural changes and a diminishment of traditional practices. Three successive images of indigenous peoples are discussed, which were influenced by three waves of the outsiders: Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans. While there were multiple intersections between the outsiders and the indigenous, the two of concern herein are that of the changing image of indigenous in relation to the land and water, as well as the care and treatment of the dead.
