8a - Intertribal Contacts

Intertribal Contacts The Kaibab are one band of the larger Southern Paiute community. At least sixteen different Southern Paiute bands at one time occupied much of southern Utah, southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Relations between the Kaibab and other Southern Paiute bands have traditionally been good. They often visited, traded, hunted and gathered in each other’s territory. Intermarriage was (and is) common.		Map of Southern Paiute territories and bands.
The Indian tribes bordering the Southern Paiute area include the Western Shoshone and Ute to the north, the Navajo and Hopi to the east and southeast, and the Hualapai and Havasupai to the south across the Grand Canyon. Historically, relationships with non-Paiute groups have been mixed. The Kaibab traded, intermarried, and shared certain practices and ceremonial sites with the Hualapai and Havasupai.		Contact with the Navajo and Ute, however, was stressful. These larger tribes acquired horses and modern weapons (swords and guns) early, and aggressively expanded their ranges. The Navajo and Ute tribes also participated in the Spanish slave trade, often acting as "middle men", stealing or trading with the Paiutes for their children. These children were then traded or sold to the Spanish in New Mexico and California, where they were used as slave labor for mining or domestic work.
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