| Total population |
|---|
| 2,500 (including Ajachmem people)[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| United States (California) |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Traditional tribal religion, Christianity |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
Ajachmem (Juaneño),[2] Cupeño, Cahuilla, Serrano, Gabrielino-Tongva, and Chemehuevi[3] |
The Luiseño, or Payomkowishum, are a Native American people who at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging 50 miles from the southern part of Los Angeles County to the northern part of San Diego County, and inland 30 miles. In the Luiseño language, the people call themselves Payomkowishum (also spelled Payomkawichum), meaning "People of the West."[3]
The tribe was named Luiseño by the Spanish due to their proximity to the Mission San Luís Rey de Francia (The Mission of Saint Louis King of France.)[4] Known as the "King of the Missions," it was founded on June 13, 1798 by Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, located in what is now Oceanside, California, in northern San Diego County. It was the Spanish First Military District.
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The Luiseño language belongs to the Cupan group of Takic languages, within the Uto-Aztecan family of languages.[5] About 30 to 40 people speak the language. Individuals are studying the language, language preservation materials are being compiled, and singers sing traditional songs in the Luiseño language.[2]
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. In the 1920s, A. L. Kroeber[7] put the 1770 population of the Luiseño (including the Juaneño) at 4,000-5,000; he estimated the population in 1910 as 500. The historian Raymond C. White[8] proposed a historic population of 10,000 in his work of the 1960s.
The Luiseño people were successful in exploiting a number of natural resources to provide food and clothing. They had a close relationship with their natural environment. They used many of the plants they found, and harvested many kinds of seeds, berries, nuts, fruits, and vegetables for a varied and nutritious diet. The land also provided many different species of animals for hunting. Hunters took antelopes, bobcats, deer, elk, foxes, mice, mountain lions, rabbits, wood rats, river otters, ground squirrels, and a wide variety of insects.[9] The Luiseño used toxins leached from the California buckeye to stupefy fish in order to harvest them in mountain creeks.[10]
Today Luiseño people are enrolled in the following federally recognized tribes:
Additionally, the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseños is organized and active in northern San Diego County, but is not currently recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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