Native Americans recount history
By Guy McCarthy
Staff writer
SAN MANUEL INDIAN RESERVATION - James Ramos is a Serrano Indian who lives on a hillside his descendants would have avoided if not for settlers who took their ancestral lands.
His forebears called themselves Yuhaviatam, meaning ``People of the Pines." They once shared the San Bernardino Mountains and the valley with the Cahuilla for centuries before Europeans came. Today, they are known as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
They hunted and gathered what they needed, relying on knowledge of their surroundings for survival. They also avoided the natural hazards around them.
``They understood the weather, the winds, fire and water," Ramos said. ``They knew where to put their villages, out of harm's way."
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