PREPARATORY NOTES FOR LA LIEBRE REGION – CUECCHAO LOCAL TRIBE

By Randall Milliken

The people of the La Liebre region were Takic Uto-Aztecan speakers. A vague reference suggests their language was Tatavium, but the mapping distributions of all their neighbors suggest that they may have been Serrano speakers. Limited year-round water constrained the movements of the people of the region. Earle (2004), the authority on the area, cites Harrington for the locations of two early historic period villages in the region.

Environment

The region includes the western wedge of Antelope Valley and adjacent slopes of the Tehachapi Mountains on the northwest and Liebe Mountains on the south.

Early Expedition References

The region was crossed by Garces in 1776 and by Zalvidea in 1808.

Mission Register References

The "Cuecchao" group of Mission San Fernando Rey is associated with the La Liebre region through a clue from Harrington. A total of 39 Coucchao people was baptized at that mission, 33 in the year 1811, one in 1823, and the final five in 1837. Additionally, the small "Tusip" group of five people, baptized during the earlier 1798-1800 time period at Mission San Fernando Rey, may have come from the La Liebre region.

1840-1900 Historic References

To Be Developed.

Classic Ethnographic References

To Be Developed.

Recent Ethnographic References

To be done. See especially Earle, David (2004), Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Overview and Cultural Affiliation Study of the Fort Irwin Region and the Central Mojave Desert.