Chemehuevi traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the

Chemehuevi The Chemehuevi ( ) are an indigenous people of the Great Basin. They are the southernmost branch of Southern Paiute. Today, Chemehuevi people are enrolled in the following federally recognized tribes: * Colorado River Indian Tribes * Cheme ...

people of the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

and

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

of southeastern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and western

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Chemehuevi oral literature is known primarily through the writings of

Carobeth Laird Carobeth Laird (née Tucker; formerly Harrington; July 20, 1895 – August 5, 1983) was an American ethnographer and linguist, known for her memoirs and ethnographic studies of the Chemehuevi people in southeastern California and western Arizona. ...

, based on the testimony of her Chemehuevi husband, George Laird. These narratives show their closest links with the traditional narratives of the Great Basin peoples and of the Chemehuevi's linguistic kinsmen the

Southern Paiute The Southern Paiute people () are a tribe of Native Americans who have lived in the Colorado River basin of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, and southern Utah. Bands of Southern Paiute live in scattered locations throughout this territory an ...

in particular. (''See also''

Traditional narratives (Native California) The traditional narratives of Native Indigenous Californians are the folklore and mythology of the native people of California. In California, most of the native peoples can be categorized into three large groups, Penutian, Hokan and Uto-Aztec ...

Sources for Chemehuevi Narratives

* Kroeber, A. L. 1908. "Origin Tradition of the Chemehuevi Indians". ''Journal of American Folklore'' 21:240-242. (With a commentary.) * Kroeber, A. L. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C. (Comparisons of Chemehuevi with Mohave and Great Basin myths, p. 598.) * Kroeber, A. L. 1959. "Ethnographic Interpretations 7-11". ''University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology'' 47:235-310. Berkeley. (Chemehuevi accounts of conflict with the Desert Mohave, pp. 296–298.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1974 "Chemehuevi Religious Beliefs and Practices". ''Journal of California Anthropology'' 1:19-25. (Brief accounts of myths that are discussed in more detail in Laird 1976.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1974 "The Buffalo in Chemehuevi Folklore". ''Journal of California Anthropology'' 1:220-224. (Portions of two myths containing incidental references to bison.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1975. "Two Chemehuevi Teaching Myths". ''Journal of California Anthropology'' 2:18-24. (Myths containing practical information on the locations of springs, game animals and their anatomy, and hunting equipment and methods.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1976. ''The Chemehuevis''. Malki Museum Press, Banning, California. (Many myths and myth fragments, plus an analytical discussion, based on material collected from George Laird between 1919 and 1940.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1977. "Intimations of Unity". ''Journal of California Anthropology'' 4:50-54. (Correspondences between the Chemehuevi Mythic Coyote cycle and the Winnebago Trickster and hare cycles.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1977. "Chemehuevi Myth as Social Commentary". ''Journal of California Anthropology'' 4:191-195. (One myth, "Old Man Rooted to the Earth.") * Laird, Carobeth. 1977. "Behavioral Patterns in Chemehuevi Myths". In ''Flowers of the Wind: Papers on Ritual, Myth and Symbolism in California and the Southwest'', edited by Thomas C. Blackburn, pp. 97–103. Ballena Press, Socorro, New Mexico. (Synopses of several Chemehuevi myths, with comments on their implications concerning actual behavior.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1978. "The Androgynous Nature of Coyote". ''Journal of California Anthropology'' 5:67-72. (One Chemehuevi myth, "Coyote Went to Get Basketry Material," with an analysis.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1978. "Origin of the Horse". ''Journal of California Anthropology'' 4:191-195. (One Chemehuevi myth, "Coyote's Grandson," including an incidental mention of the Horse, with an analysis.) * Laird, Carobeth. 1984. ''Mirror and Pattern: George Laird's World of Chemehuevi Mythology''. Malki Museum Press, Banning California. (Many myths recorded in primarily in 1919–1920, including alternative versions of myths published in Laird 1976.) Chemehuevi Traditional narratives (Native California) History of the Mojave Desert region Lower Colorado River Valley {{California-stub