Serrano people

Today the Maarrênga'yam are enrolled in the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and the Yuhaviatam are enrolled in the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. Some other Serrano people are enrolled in the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians.

The Serrano are typically divided into the Mountain Serrano and the Desert Serrano. The Desert Serrano historically occupied the Western and Central Mojave Desert along the Mojave River. The Mojave River Region begins in the San Bernardino Mountains and provided ease of trading access between the Serrano and other Indigenous groups, including the Mojave. The area of the Mojave Desert now and historically occupied by the Serrano used to have many oases, while it is now much drier and warmer.

Serrano language is part of the Takic subset of the large Uto-Aztecan languages group of Indigenous people of North America. The language family historically extended from Mexico along the West Coast and into the Great Basin, with representation among tribes in Mesoamerica. They were a branch of the Takic languages speaking people who arrived in Southern California around 2,500 years ago.

Serrano means "highlander" or "mountaineer" in Spanish. When the Spanish missionaries came into the region, in the late 18th century they helped create the tribal name Serrano, distinguishing the people from neighboring tribes who were designated as the Tongva (Gabrileño—Fernandeño) to the southwest, and Kitanemuk and Tataviam to the northwest.