Kumeyaay were skilled in archery in order to hunt prey. Their arrows were made of wood, reeds, or cane, as well as chamise or greasewood plant for larger animals. Bows were made of mesquite or ash, as well as animal hides. They also equipped with throwing sticks better known as rabbit sticks, which were used to knock out small animals and were sometimes used in war. Culture The Kumeyaay has a continuous song and dance culture, of which many are still passed on to the next generation during special occasions. Occasions like the mourning of an important figure was honored by an Eagle Dance, and a War Dance accompanied those heading for battle. Men often sang songs with a rattle, while women supported the song through dance. Through the Mission, the Kumeyaay picked up skills in Western musical instruments, and joined the Mission choirs and orchestras. They also had animal companions and domesticated mockingbirds and roadrunners as pets. Reservation era Kumeyaay institutions The Kumeyaay Community College was created by the Sycuan Band to serve the Kumeyaay-Diegueño Nation, and describes its mission as "to support cultural identity, sovereignty, and self-determination while meeting the needs of native and non-native students". The college's focus is on "Kumeyaay History, Kumeyaay Ethnobotany and traditional Indigenous arts" It "serves and relies on resources from the thirteen reservations of the Kumeyaay Nation situated in San Diego county". In the fall of 2016, Cuyamaca College began offering an associate degree in Kumeyaay Studies with courses at its Rancho San Diego campus, as well as at Kumeyaay Community College on the Sycuan reservation. The Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming was also established at SDSU by the Sycuan Band with the focus on research and policy related to the tribal gaming industry. Population Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. In 1925, Alfred L. Kroeber proposed that the population of the Kumeyaay in the San Diego region in 1770 had been about 3,000. More recently, Katharine Luomala points out that this estimate depended on calculations of rates of baptisms at the Mission, and as such "ignores the unbaptized". She suggests that the region could have supported 6,000–9,000 people. Florence C. Shipek goes further, estimating 16,000–19,000 inhabitants. In the late eighteenth century, it is estimated that the Kumeyaay population was between 3,000 and 9,000. In 1828, 1,711 Kumeyaay were recorded by the missions. The