The Kootzaduka’a are the southernmost band of the Numu; an indigenous people who are composed of 22 bands located in portions of four western states: California, Nevada, Idaho and Oregon. The Kootzaduka’a homeland resides within California and Nevada.
The Numu bands occupy “homelands” which in a traditional sense are viewed differently than “territory”. The Kootzaduka’a homeland is the region where one would find the Kootzaduka’a people. It is where one would hear the Kootzaduka’a language being spoken. It is the region where the Kootzaduka’a were brought into being.
The lines drawn around our homelands encompass shared regions and resources. Numu from neighboring bands were welcome to visit and share bountiful resources as did other tribes from neighboring areas. Tribal people, at times, sought shelter with the Kootzaduka’a when difficult circumstances in their homeland compelled them to move across the mountains and deserts to a welcoming people.
We as Kootzaduka’a people see boundary lines as impossible demarcations of a landscape, but understand their importance in today’s world. Land is a continuum; to try to divide landscapes is like trying to divide the air we breath or the water we drink.