Mike, William

<p>At the Oasis of Mara, Jim Mike led the Chemehuevi group, while Jim Pine led the Serrano. The people intermarried with each other and formed important kinships. When Jim Mike died in 1903, his brother, William Mike, became the leader of the Chemehuevi. When Jim Mike died, he was one of the first buried at the cemetery created by the Chemehuevi and Serrano. William Mike had a large family. The decedents of Jim and William Mike make up the current membership of the Twenty-Nine Palms Tribe....</p>
<p>However, in 1909, a tragic event led to the murder of Chemehuevi leader William Mike and the death of his daughter, Carlota. In the aftermath of these tragedies, members of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band abandoned the Oasis of Mara and moved to another home. According to tribal elder Joe Mike Benitez, his mother Susie had told him the people agreed to move away from the Oasis because of the violent manner in which William Mike and his daughter, Carlota, had died. The Serrano of the Oasis moved to the Mission Creek Reservation and later to the Morongo Reservation. Led by Jim and Matilda Pine, the Serrano moved their Big House to Mission Creek with the assistance of Cahuilla friends and relatives. The Chemehuevi chose to move to the Cabazon Indian Reservation because they had a close association with the area and people of the Indio area. For many years, Chemehuevi had worked on ranches in the eastern side of the Coachella Valley.</p>