The Tübatulabal have lived in the Kern River Valley for time immemorial – they do not have a migration myth of any kind. Instead, their stories tell that they have always been here.

During the summer months they ranged into the foothills of the southern Sierra, gathering the pine nuts that gave them their tribal name – pine-nut eaters. During winter months, they retreated to their winter villages, semi-permanent settlements dotting the Kern River Valley, close by good water sources.

We went out to a very well-preserved Tübatulabal pictograph site during springtime. It is close to a couple of traditional village sites – maybe it was within the village, given the presence of several grinding slicks nearby.

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