The Cahuilla people live, as they have from the time of creation, in the arid and yet hospitable lands of southern California. Their traditional territory stretches from the San Bernardino Mountains to Anza Borrego Springs, from the San Jacinto Mountains to the Colorado Desert. The land abounds in hot springs because, as Cahuilla traditionalist Pedro Chino once explained, the heart of the land is fire. If the earth doesn't breathe, it will blow up. The Heart is Fire offers a rare, first-person insight into a remarkable California Indian culture. In relaxed, conversational language, Cahuilla elders discuss a variety of topics: family, language, rock art, basketry, pottery, song, medicine, traditional food preparation, and other aspects of Cahuilla life. They describe the creation of the Cahuilla world in mythic times and discuss the singing of "bird songs," epic accounts of the wanderings of the first people. With passion, knowledge, sadness, and laughter, they relate what Cahuilla life was like when they were young, what it means to be Cahuilla today, and how they envision the future of their culture.