The Kawaiisu Nation (pronounced: "ka-wai-ah-soo"[needs IPA]) are a tribe of indigenous people of California in the United States.

They often divided into smaller groups during the warmer months of the year and harvested plants(included pinon nuts) in the mountains and deserts.

The Kawaiisu are related by language and culture to the Southern Paiute of southwestern Nevada and the Chemehuevi of the eastern Mojave Desert of California.

They may have originally lived in the desert before coming to the Tehachapi Mountains region, as early as many thousands of years ago.

The Kawaiisu participated in cooperative antelope drives (driving herds of antelope into traps so they could be more easily slaughtered) with the Yokuts, another group living in the San Joaquin Valley.Since 1863 after the Kawaiisu Massacre at Tillie Creek, they have often been in conflict with the tribe in the mountains north of them.

[4] Starting in the early 1850s, a 175-year genocide of the Kawaiisu people and their culture begin by European settlers, militias and the US Army.

"[5][6] A local newspaper noted in 2010, "There are also several hundred living Kawaiisu descendants, even though a pervasive misconception believes them to be all gone.

Kawaiisu members sometimes called themselves the "Coso People" or even joined other tribes to protect themselves and their families.