Kucadikadi
The Kucadikadi are a band of Northern Paiute people who live near Mono Lake in Mono County, California. They are the southernmost band of Northern Paiute. The Kutzadika’a have resided in the Mono Lake–Yosemite region since time immemorial. Name. Kucadikadi means "eaters of the brine fly pupae". They are also known as the Kutsavidökadö, Koza'bittukut'teh, Kotsa'va, Mono Lake Paiute, Mono Basin Paiute, and Kuzedika. Lamb gives the Mono language name as kwicathyhka', "larvae eaters", or Mono Lake Paviotso. The term "Mono Lake Paiute," a holdover from early anthropological literature, has proven problematic. Culture and geography. The Kucadikadi's  homeland surrounds Mono Lake in eastern California, but they traditionally traveled to Walker Lake, Nevada for seasonal subsistence activities. Mono Lake is a high piedmont area of the Sierra Nevada, the average elevation in the Mono Lake basin is around above sea level. The surrounding mountains range from in elevation. Mono Lake is extremely saline and is home to several waterfowl species and the brine fly, or "Ephydra hians" or "Hydropyrus hians", from which the band takes its name. "Pinus monophylla" or piñon pine has been an important source of food, as were jackrabbits, deer, mountain sheep, and the coloradia  Pandora moth. The extended family formed the band's basic social units, which moved together as a group. They traded with Owens Valley Paiute and Western Mono. Three late 19th-century winter houses belonging to the tribe have been excavated by archaeologists. They are conical houses constructed with posts of Utah juniper or "Juniperus osteosperma". Winter houses of this type, called "tomogani", were built by the band up to 1920. Language. The Kucadikadi speak the Northern Paiute language, which is in the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. The Numu (Northern Paiute) language is spoken by a wide  number of different tribes, residing across the western United States, from Mono Lake in eastern California, and extending into Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho. Numu is most firmly identified with the Owens Valley Paiute and Mono people. Extending further in the United States of America, the Northern Paiute language is connected to the language of the Shoshoni, who live in Death Valley, and east and north California, as well as that of the Kawaiisu and Ute people, who live in southern California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Basketry. The band is well known for its basketry, they wove coiled baskets as well  as twined baskets. Bracken fern and redbud provide color for designs on coiled baskets. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, encroachment of non-Natives in their territory disrupted traditional hunting and gathering lifestyles, so members of the tribe relied on the tourist trade. Selling elaborate baskets to non-Indian tourists became a viable way of making a living. Glass beads were introduced by non-Indians, and Kucadikadi women began incorporating the seed beads into their baskets by 1908. Today. Many members of the Kucadikadi band are enrolled in federally recognized Paiute, Washoe, Yokuts, Miwok, and Western Mono tribes . Others are seeking recognition as the Sierra Southern Miwuk and the Mono Lake Indian Community, headquartered in Lee Vining, California.