Big Pine Band of Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Indians of the Big Pine Reservation

The Big Pine Band of Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Indians of the Big Pine Reservation are a federally recognized tribe of Mono and Timbisha Indians in California.

The Big Pine Reservation is located 18 miles (29 km) from Bishop, at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. The tribal headquarters is in Big Pine, California. The tribe has 462 enrolled members. As of the 2010 Census the reservation had a population of 499.

The Owen Valley Paiutes traditionally spoke a dialect of the Mono language, which is part of the Western Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. While there are extremely few speakers left, the language is still living today. Their name for themselves in their own language is Numa or "People." The so-called Shoshone in the community spoke the Timbisha language, which is part of the Central Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family

The Owens Valley Paiute were several Paiute groups that cooperated and lived together in semipermanent camps. They mediated between Californian and Great Basin culture. They irrigated crops along the Owens Valley, a highly arable and ecologically diverse region in the southern Sierra Nevada. Their name for themselves was Numa or "People."

The tribe participated in round dances and held annual harvest festivals. Girls had elaborate puberty ceremonies. Mourning was expressed through a ceremony called, "The Cry," which was Yuman in origin and included ritual face washing after a year of mourning. The tribe had both medicine men and women. Hereditary chiefs led the tribe's communal activities. Irrigator was an elected tribal position.

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