Chemehuevi Indian Tribe

Background

The Tribe's mission statement calls its people the Nuwu, or the people, and places the Tribe's lands in the Chemehuevi Valley of San Bernardino County, California, on 36 miles of shoreline along the Colorado River. Government runs through a chairman, a vice chair, a secretary-treasurer and council members under the Chemehuevi Constitution, whose long-term goal is the development of the Chemehuevi Reservation and its people; council meetings are set for the last Saturday of the month, and members take an oath to uphold the Tribe's constitution and laws. The Cultural Center at 1991 Palo Verde Drive in Havasu Lake runs a Chemehuevi language class, weekly cultural workshops, a historic photo archive, language revitalization work and revolving museum exhibits, and it also houses the Tribe's Tribal Historic Preservation Office, which handles Section 106 consultation and tribal monitoring. Joshua Tree National Park names the Chemehuevi among the peoples whose traditional homelands its lands overlap, and writes the name as Nüwü.

Visit and learn

Chemehuevi Indian Tribe's own site

Tribal lands have their own laws. Check the nation's site before you visit.

Parks on its homelands

Joshua Tree National Park

The Chemehuevi Indian Tribe's own site lists a cultural center, a conservation department, a water department, and a clinic among the departments it runs. Source

Programs

• Chemehuevi Cultural Center and Tribal Historic Preservation Office

  The Cultural Center calls itself a community-based organization that promotes the preservation and development of both traditional and contemporary Chemehuevi heritage, where elders and culture bearers help with the education of the younger generation. Its listed services are a Chemehuevi language class, weekly cultural workshops, a historic photo archive, cultural resource management, language revitalization and preservation, revolving museum exhibits, and an elders' meeting site. The Tribe's THPO, in the same building, does Section 106 tribal consultation and runs a tribal monitoring program. The Cultural Center's hours are Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed Friday.

  https://chemehuevi.org/cultural-center·culture

• Chemehuevi Tribe Education Center

  The CTEC, at 1985 Palo Verde Drive in Havasu Lake, runs a homework help program, children's classrooms, a music room, a computer lab, a library and a training center, along with GED resources and tribal scholarships for higher education and vocational training. It also runs a seasonal camp STEM program.

  https://chemehuevi.org/education·education

• Water Department

  The Water Department, at 298 Sunrise Trail in Havasu Lake, maintains the Tribe's water and sewer systems, provides safe drinking water and responds to water emergencies. It posts an annual water quality report for each of the last several years.

  https://chemehuevi.org/water·land

• Conservation Department

  The Conservation Department, based in Havasu Lake, runs animal control and code enforcement and issues the Tribe's beach, off-road, fishing and camping permits. It publishes the permit fee schedule and the waterfowl and upland bird brochures for the Tribe's lands.

  https://chemehuevi.org/conservation·land

Sources

• https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-30/html/2026-01899.htm
• https://chemehuevi.org/tribal-council
• https://chemehuevi.org/cultural-center
• https://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/historyculture/native-americans.htm

Checked September 2026.

Found an error? Tell us.