University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

The enduring evolution of Kuruvungna: a place where we are in the sun

(USC Thesis Other)

The enduring evolution of Kuruvungna: a place where we are in the sun

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content THE ENDURING EVOLUTION OF KURUVUNGNA: A PLACE WHERE WE ARE IN THE SUN by Brian Curtis Zachary ________________________________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION August 2007 Copyright 2007 Brian Curtis Zachary ii Table of Contents List of Figures iii Abstract vi Intro Current Use of the Site 1 Chapter 1 The Site; description, diagrams 8 Chapter 2 History; (Including Writings about Gabrielino Religion as Related to Water) 28 Chapter 3 A Discussion of the legal implications of Sacred Space Among Native Americans 52 Chapter 4 Ecology; Wetlands Restoration and Maintenance 61 Chapter 5 Historical Significance and Integrity 76 Bibliography Bibliography 85 Appendices Appendix A: Adaptive Reuse Recommendations of Brian Zachary 90 Appendix B: Site Analysis Diagrams 100 Appendix C: Copy of the partial, unpublished, anonymously annotated, Crespí diary 109 Appendix D: A list of plants culled from the partial, unpublished, anonymously annotated, Crespí diary 117 Appendix E: Copy of Heather V. Singleton’s unpublished paper: “Chronology of the Gabrielino/ Tongva Nation” 118 Appendix F: Copies of Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation Newsletters 128 Appendix G: Copy of Interview with Al Lasos, GTSF elder, July 1, 2006 150 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Map of Native American Sites with Kuruvungna Highlighted 1 Figure 2: The Main Spring at Kuruvungna 2 Figure 3: Promotional Flyer for the Gabrielino/ Tongva Springs Foundation Event 4 Figure 4: Tom Hayden Brochure page 1 5 Figure 5: Tom Hayden Brochure page 2 6 Figure 6: Site Location in California 8 Figure 7: Site Location in Los Angeles 8 Figure 8: Community Surrounding the Site 9 Figure 9: Community Surrounding the Site 9 Figure 10: Site Outlined 9 Figure 11: Site and Classrooms Outlined 9 Figure 12: Al Lasos and his Wife Lolly 12 Figure 13: Program for GTSF’s Life Before Columbus Festival 15 Figure 14: Stream from the Spring to the Pool 17 Figure 15: The Spring 17 Figure 16: The Pool 17 Figure 17: Montezuma Bald Cypress 18 Figure 18: California Legislature Certificate of Recognition 26 Figure 19: City of San Gabriel Certificate of Recognition 27 iv Figure 20: Map of Californian Native American Language Distribution 29 Figure 21: Felicitas Serrano Montano 49 Figure 22: Jose Maria Zalvidea 50 Figure 23: Historic Ballona Creek Watershed Drainage Area Overlay Map, 1896 and 1986 61 Figure 24: Site Location in Los Angeles 62 Figure 25: Ballona Creek Watershed Topography 62 Figure 26: The Hydrologic Cycle 68 Figure 27: Diagram of Proposed Areas of Interest the Site 99 Figure 28: Satellite Image Showing School Boundaries 100 Figure 29: Diagram of Traffic Patterns at the Site 101 Figure 30: Diagram of Land Use Surrounding the Site 101 Figure 31: Diagram of Areas that Flood Regularly at the Site 102 Figure 32: Diagram of Building Uses at the Site 102 Figure 33: Diagram of Potential Overflow Parking for the Site 103 Figure 34: Diagram of Areas of Water at the Site 103 Figure 35: Diagram of Student & Teacher Walking Routes 104 Figure 36: Diagram of Buildings at the Site 104 Figure 37: Diagram of Cement Paths at the Site 105 Figure 38: Diagram of Covered Surfaces at the Site 105 Figure 39: Diagram of Boundaries (Fences And Gates) at the Site 106 Figure 40: Diagram of Proposed New Boundaries for the Site 106 v Figure 41: Diagram of Proposed Wet & Dry Areas & Area of Seismic Instability 107 Figure 42: Diagram of University High School’s Plans to Move Buildings from the Site. 107 Figure 43: Diagram of Proposed Bus Routes, Tour Routes, and Potential Areas for Interpretive Art for the Site 108 Figure 44: Photos of Al Lasos, Tribal Elder 150 Figure 45: The Spring 152 Figure 46: Photo of Al Lasos and his Wife Lolly 155 Figure 47: Interviewing Al Lasos, Tribal Elder 157 Figure 48: Setting up for the Wedding 159 Figure 49: Wedding Guests 159 Figure 50: Wedding Guests 159 Figure 51: Wedding Arch 160 Figure 52: Wedding Guests & Giant Cypress 160 Figure 53: Gabrielino Tongva Elders, 2006 162 vi Abstract Kuruvungna is a former Native American village/ springs, currently located on the site of University High School in West Los Angeles. The first European land expedition was encountered there by the inhabitants. It is in a naturalized state, and the descendants of the Indian occupants hold religious and community events there. Most of site is covered in non-native plants. There are no visible signs of previous occupation. The continuing significance of the site is as a Traditional Cultural Property for the Gabrielino/ Tongva, and secondarily as a record of human and plant migration to the area. The Gabrielino/ Tongva do not consider study of the archaeology of the site as appropriate. Despite the site’s obvious historic “significance”, questions have been raised about its “integrity.” This thesis intends explores that issue of integrity with regards to Native American Traditional Cultural Properties, and their eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. 1 Introduction Fig. 1: Map of Native American Sites with Kuruvungna Highlighted Kuruvungna is the name of a Native American village, sited near a pair of freshwater springs, that was subsumed into the Spanish Mission System after 1770. It was located on the current site of University High School in West Los Angeles (Fig.1). The two springs “surrounded a small tableland some 80 to 100 yards in size,” with “a village at the aforesaid tableland.” 1 It has been almost entirely built or paved over, except for a 1.7-acre area next to the sports field. This small patch of earth is partially full of mature plants and trees nurtured by springs, which have continued to 1 Crespi annotated diary, section #128, Appendix C, thesis p. 117. 2 flow for thousands of years. Where the water comes up from the earth, it collects in a pool surrounded by a cement collar (Fig. 2). The sand in the bottom of the pool dances and jumps in a mesmerizing rhythm as the water comes up through it. Fig. 2 The Main Spring at Kuruvungna The water from the spring has collected underground, through percolation, from many different sources. It flows out of the ground and into a small stream, which leads to a pair of shallow pools. These pools overflow into another short stream and down a storm drain. The water has endured over time, yet the water is constantly moving, shifting, changing. There is a saying that “you can never step in the same river twice” because of the recognition of this dynamic nature. The enduring and evolving aspects of the water are perfect metaphors for the constant and enduring change and evolution that the landscape is always undergoing, including the plants and humans. Despite the site’s obvious historic “significance”, questions have been raised about its “integrity” This thesis intends to explore that issue of integrity with regards to Native American Traditional Cultural Properties, and their eligibility for the National Register. 3 Most of site is covered in non-native plants. There are few signs of previous occupation. The continuing significance of the site is as a Traditional Cultural Property for the Gabrielino/ Tongva, and secondarily as a record of historical human and plant migration to the area. The Gabrielino/ Tongva do not consider any study of the site’s archaeology as appropriate. Of historical significance is the fact that this Native American village was visited by the first European land expedition into California. They camped near this village one night. Three members of the party kept journals, which mention the springs and the village. That moment was the beginning of the end for the Indians’ way of life. The Spanish Mission system laid the foundation for European expansion into the west; sadly, it also systematically attempted to destroy the cultures it encountered. One result of this was the radical change in use of the site, which paralleled the radically changing world of the Gabrielino/ Tongva. Current Use The site is currently owned and used by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and leased by the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation (GTSF), who use it for Native American ceremonies and public outreach events (Fig. 3). The GTSF are a group representing living ancestors of the Indians from the Los Angeles area. 4 Fig. 3: Promotional Flyer for the Gabrielino/ Tonga Springs Foundation Event The GTSF view the spring site as sacred, and want to continue to access it, as well as plant native plants, for their traditional cultural practices. They would like to see a Native American Cultural center on the site. In 1999, Senator Tom Hayden was able to secure $250,000 to fund restoration of the site and development of a cultural center. Some of this money was spent to build an amphitheatre on the site for use by small groups. 5 Fig. 4: Tom Hayden Brochure page 1 6 Fig. 5: Tom Hayden Brochure page 2 7 The School is happy to grant access to the GTSF, but does not want to give up control of the use of land adjacent to the school grounds. The Resource Conservation District (RCD) has recently been awarded a Water Quality Control Study Grant, through the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, to study the water quality of the stream portion of the site. The site has a story to tell. It speaks of continuous evolution and nourishment. The blending of waters from all parts of the watershed, and the constant changing of the water are analogous to the way the site has evolved, mingling the plants and activities of humans from all over the world. The water is a blend and is continuously changing, while consistently nourishing the areas inhabitants. The active faults on the site speak to the constant evolution of the land. The mixture of native and exotic plants on the site speaks to the way that plant communities constantly migrate, evolve and mix. The past and current Gabrielino/ Tongva, as well as the school, embody the way that peoples’ cultures constantly evolve and mix. 8 Chapter 1: The Site This 1.7-acre site is the location of one of a pair of freshwater springs, flowing out of the ground, in the rear part of a public high school, 5.6 km (3.4 miles) from the Pacific Ocean. Fig. 6: Site Location in California 2 Fig. 7: Site Location in Los Angeles The Los Angeles Basin had been inhabited over 1500 years by a group of Indians now believed called the Tongva when the Spanish first arrived during their colonization efforts in the 1760’s. In 1769, Gaspar de Portolá led the first European expedition into California 3 , consisting of two ships and a large land contingent of soldiers, animals, and missionaries. The party traveling by land found the village of Kuruvungna situated 2 All maps from Google Earth, accessed 2/1/07. 3 Although the expedition is called “The Portolá Expedition”, Gaspar de Portolá was on a ship for the portion between San Diego and Monterey. The party that walked up the shore and encountered the village of Kuruvungna was led by Lt. Pedro Fages. 9 near a pair of fresh water springs. The natives were friendly and generous. A Franciscan missionary, Father Juan Crespi 4 , was with the group and kept a journal. In it he described the springs, the plants, and people who existed at this village. Fig. 8: Community Surrounding Fig. 9: Community Surrounding the the Site Site The School is marked in Blue, the area marked in orange is the residual space of the village of Kuruvungna. Yellow markers denote the approximate location of the springs. School buildings are outlined in red. Fig. 10: Site Outlined Fig. 11: Site and Classrooms Outlined 4 See below pgs. 35-37 and Appendix C. 10 Today, descendants of the native inhabitants still live in the area and gather at the site. Aside from the “anthropological value” of any underground artifacts, simply the knowledge that their people have been using this spring for two thousand years is important to contemporary Gabrielino/Tongva. In the past, archaeological remains have been found at the site, confirming its past occupation. In 1969 Tom King, Chief Archaeologist for California State Los Angeles recorded the school as CA-LAN-382, and in 1975 Milton Ainsman found artifacts and bones at the site. 5 Remains of their ancestors’ lives are embedded in the dirt, the plants, and the water. Kuruvungna is still there, enduring, under the dirt. This site, however compromised, is not completely paved over or built on. It is the presence of the spring, the lush foliage, and the unpaved areas that are open to the sky which give the area integrity. Regardless of historical value, the current Gabrielino/Tongva feel that the springs hold great significance as one of the very few remaining and accessible, original village areas, that are still in a naturalized state. This means that the site, in the middle of a highly developed urban area, is still useful for them in their cultural practices. Gabrielino/Tongva Indians that live near to the springs continue to visit it. In 1992, Angie Behrns 6 found the area filled with graffiti and trash from the random 5 Informational Poster of the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation entitled, “History of University High”. 6 Angie Dorame Behrns is a Gabrielino/Tongva, and a founding board member of the Gabrielino/ Tongva Springs Foundation. She is also an archivist for the foundation and general information about the Gabrielino/Tongva people as well. Her group 11 people using it (at that time the classroom was not in use). Her grandfather had told her stories of scaling the school fences to get to the sacred spring and use the water for rituals and medicinal soaking, 7 and she was dismayed at its condition. Angie and her brother, Danny Dorame, (both Gabrielino/Tongva Indians, who by then knew that the site was a former village) petitioned the school to allow them to clean it up, which they were allowed to do. Soon after, the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation was formed to help maintain the site. Despite their ongoing efforts, there is constant vandalism, often with things being thrown into the pools, and the wildlife threatened. Al Lasos, a Tribal Elder and “Full-Blooded” Gabrielino/Tongva (Fig. 12), grew up nearby and went to the high school. His family can reportedly trace their genealogy to the 1600’s. 8 He studied horticulture in high school in the building next to the springs. In 2006, Al was able to host the Gabrielino/Tongva wedding ceremony of his granddaughter, Gina, at Kuruvungna. She was marrying a young man, Carlos, of Panamanian descent. An invitation to the event was extended by Loretta Ditlow, a board-member of the Gabrielino/ Tongva Springs Foundation. “acknowledges the Gabrielino/ Tongva Tribal Council in San Gabriel California and no others as the official tribal leadership” and links directly to their website. 7 Angie Behrns, Chairperson and Archivist of the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation, personal communication, September 27, 2006. 8 Personal Interview of Al Lasos July 1, 2006. The full text of the Interview is available in appendix G. 12 Fig. 12: Al Lasos and his wife Lolly After a Catholic ceremony in a church, the wedding party came to the springs for a Gabrielino/ Tongva ceremony. There were approximately 200 people at the ceremony, many of them Gabrielino/ Tongva, who had come to see the wedding of the Indian Princess (so-called because of her relation to Al, the “Full-Blooded” Tribal Elder). The officiant welcomed the Wedding Party. He said that he and his wife were going to guide us through a celebration and that she was a priestess from another Indian tribe. The Bride was dressed in an off-the-shoulder shirt of light white cotton. Her shoulders were covered by a white, diaphanous material, and she wore a white headband with white feathers dangling from it. She had white leather boots that lace up to the knees, which her bridesmaids helped her to remove when she approached 13 the ceremonial space, which was marked with leaves and a wedding arch. Her bridesmaids wore peach colored dresses of a more traditionally American style. The Groom wore a white linen suit with a white fedora hat, presumably traditional Panamanian garb. His groomsmen wore black tuxedos in an American style. He removed his shoes as well when they walked onto the leaves marking the space. The officiant described the way that Native Americans prayed with songs. The first song that they sang was a love-song that Gina knew and liked from her childhood. The next song was sung by the officiant’s younger assistant, who fanned sage smoke with a feathered fan resembling a bird’s wing. The officiant spoke of the time when he met the groom and realized that this was It for Gina. He asked the Groom to tell the crowd about the moment that he knew this was It. Then he asked the Bride to do the same, and the other family members. This continued for some time, with the friends and family telling stories about the couple. Next the officiant spoke of the fact that tobacco was the Indian’s Sacrament, and that they used it when they “prayed with the pipe”. He told us at some point that he was not imbued with any special powers or magic, that he was just the person charged with taking care of the tribe’s pipe (and with it the ceremonial knowledge). The officiant removed the pieces from a satchel and put the stem and bowl together. He packed the bowl. He offered it towards the sky in each of the cardinal directions and said something inaudible. He explained that the smoke carried the 14 prayers to the ancestors and that everyone would be given the chance to pray with the pipe. A person could take a pinch of tobacco and put it into the stream if they did not want to smoke. He puffed it, blowing the smoke into his cupped hand and wiping it down his chest, and up over his head. His wife did the same and then offered it to the Bride and then the Groom, and then the wedding parties, and then the families and friends. The pipe was then blessed again and disassembled. At this point a Navajo-style blanket was taken out and placed over the bride and groom, covering them. The officiant explained that they were pledging their love to each other and exchanging their own personal vows. When they arose from underneath, they were a married couple. They wore the blanket like a shawl over both of their shoulders, a bright shining new couple, full of promise. One made from two. They walked amongst the crowd of friends and family distributing bundles of sage with their marriage shawl across their backs. As they did so, the current leader of the tribe arose to say a few words about Gina and the continuing future of the tribe. After this, the couple went into the changing room and the wife put her American wedding dress back on for the reception, held outdoors at the site, which included some Panamanian dancers. Ceremonies like this, where separate communities gather to join not only two people, but also two families and two communities, are essential to peoples’ cultural evolution. They continue to add layers of significance to the site. 15 The wedding of Gina and Carlos, the mixture of their families, cultures, and traditions, its enduring and dynamic nature is symbolized by the spring and the enduring evolution of the site. Other types of gatherings, like the Life Before Columbus Festival (Fig.13), allow the Gabrielino/ Tongva to interact with each other, other American Indians, and the surrounding region, and is an important statement about their persistent unity and existence as a community. The festival also acts as a gathering event in which the people of different communities can mix. Fig. 13: Program for GTSF’s Life Before Columbus Festival 16 Physical Description The site is basically a polygon, (Figs. 10 & 11) approximately 1.7 acres, within the southeast corner of University High School. The land is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the one structure on the site is used as a classroom. The other structures to the east of the site are used by the school as well. The Kuruvungna Spring Site is currently held under lease from the school by the Gabrielino/ Tongva Springs Foundation, a Native American group representing the descendants of area’s inhabitants. They want to rehabilitate the site into an Educational Center where the focus is on the cultural-ecology of the area. Until the GTSF cleaned it up in the early 90’s, the site was unused by the school and had become a setting for delinquent and criminal behavior. The site is listed as State Landmark number 522, and a California State University anthropological site. Artifacts have been removed from the site, including a human skeleton. Once a popular local potsherd hunting ground, it was graded during several construction phases, and declared void of any further archaeological materials, yet artifacts are still turning up on the grounds. It was reported to me by Angie Behrns’ daughter, Dal Basile that the upper spring has been controlled by sewer systems, and is accessible by a “manhole”. It flows down a small waterfall and into a storm drain. The lower spring, within the site, flows out of the center of a stone masonry “collar” (Fig. 15), down a small stream (Fig. 14), and into a pool (Fig. 16). The pool empties into a storm drain. 17 Fig. 14: Stream from the Spring to the Pool Fig. 15: The Spring Because of the continuous presence of water, the area is a wetland, however it severely degraded. Most of the plants have been randomly put in place, and are not native to the site, but their effect on the stream Fig. 16: The Pool should be investigated by a professional ecologist. Almost all of them are non-native species, many of which have displaced the native species, impairing the natural functions of the stream. There is a giant Cypress tree (Fig. 17), which may be greater than 50 years old. 9 A persistent local legend says that the Spanish missionaries planted it to mark 9 It has a greater diameter than the largest of the three Montezuma Cypress in the Huntington Rose Garden. Those are reported to have been grown from seeds planted in 1912 (95 years ago). 18 the freshwater. During a visit to the site, the Ballona Creek Watershed Coordinator of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission told me that the Spanish had planted Fig. 17 Montezuma Bald Cypress tree (taxodium mucronatum) the Montezuma Bald Cypress to mark the location of a fresh water source, however this has not appeared in any of the journals examined thus far. It may have been planted during the ranchero period and therefore still has value in the interpretation of the historical changes to, and uses of, the site. This tree is still alive and forms a central part of the current site, however the three primary diarists of the expedition do not mention anything about its planting. Fages’ report to the Spanish monarchy was meant as more of a geographical survey, and probably would have mentioned any way-finding features if they had erected any. The cypress needs to be investigated by an ecologist to determine the extent to which it is impairing the natural functions of the watershed. Many of the constituents 19 will want to keep the cypress. Its size and magnificence make it significant to those who experience it, hence its entrance into the local mythology. Its presence offers a great opportunity to teach people about cultural ecology. These issues and more will have to be weighed against each other in a series of community meetings attended by neighbors, the wetlands ecologists, the school administration, the Native Americans and the students, and the fate of the land decided by all of the interested parties. In so doing, the legends will have to be understood separate from the facts. The Legend of Las Lagrimas The site of Kuruvungna is listed as a California State Historical Landmark, and is described like this, “NO. 522 SERRA SPRINGS - The Portolá Expedition of 1769 encamped at this spring, and it is reported that in 1770 Father Serra said Mass here to the Indians of this area. This spring was also the former water supply of the town of Santa Monica. The site is now the campus of the University High School. Location: University High School Horticulture Area, 11800 Texas Ave, Los Angeles” Unfortunately, some of this information is apocryphal. It is true that the Portolá expedition camped there in 1769, however Junípero Serra was not with them. Examination of his letters to Paloú confirm that he was founding the Mission San 20 Diego during the time that the land expedition went through what is now the Los Angeles area. The popular and persistent legend says that in 1770 Father Junípero Serra said Mass to the Indians and renamed the spring Las Lagrimas de Santa Monica <The Tears of Saint Monica>, and that this was the source for the name of the current city. Some versions of the legend credit father Crespí with this name. This most likely did not happen. 10 Father Crespí reported in his diary that he named the springs “San Gregorio”, and Father Serra did not come through Los Angeles in 1770. He was in San Diego until he sailed to Monterey. 11 The San Gabriel Mission was founded September 8 (the birthday of Mary), 1771, by Pedro Cambón and Joseph de la Somera. Eleven years later, when Serra came to El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciúncula, it is highly doubtful that he ventured out to a distant spring, or that the village was still occupied by anyone other than rancheros. Serra came to Los Angeles on March 18 th , 1782. According to his good friend Palou, he arrived in the evening, slept, and went to the mission at San Gabriel in the morning. 12 The translator of Palou’s text ads in an endnote, “This is the only record of Serra’s staying in Los Angeles. Serra in his Confirmation Register does not record the stay.” 13 10 Paula Scott, Santa Monica: A History on the Edge, (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2004) p. 17. 11 Scott p. 17. 12 Maynard J. Geiser, Translated and annotated, Palou’s Life of Junípero Serra, (Washington, D.C.: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1955) pgs. 219-220. 13 Geiser p. 480. 21 After the Spanish In 1810, Mexico gained independence from Spain, and the Missions were secularized in 1834 by the new government. Land grants were given and sold to different people. According to Paula Scott, the earliest written mention of the name Santa Monica is a grazing permit issued in 1827. 14 Eventually the rights were transferred to Francisco Alvarado and Antonio Machado, and passed to Alvarado’s descendants, who sold them to Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes in 1838. Marquez and Reyes applied to the Governor in Monterey for formal ownership of the property they listed on a map as “Rancho Boca de Santa Monica”. In 1839 they were given title to the land, however, the boundaries were disputed with another land grant, given in 1828 to Francisco Sepúlveda, for Rancho San Vicente (later renamed Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica). The dispute was not settled until the 1880’s when the land was divided, with Rancho San Vicente receiving the majority of the land. 15 In the midst of the dispute, in 1872, the land that Kuruvungna Springs sits on was bought by Colonel R.S. Baker 16 , and in 1924, acquired by the School District. The school was built in 1925, on the site of a “known, former Indian village”, 17 and 14 Scott p. 18 15 Scott p. 27 16 GTSF Informational Poster entitled, “History of University High” in the possession of Angie Behrns, Chairperson and archivist of the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation. 17 GTSF Informational Poster entitled, “History of University High” 22 named Warren G. Harding High School. It was renamed University High in 1929, when UCLA moved to Westwood. American History California was turned over to the Americans in 1850. Santa Monica was founded in 1875. Santa Monica Historian Paula Scott noted that at that time, there were only two sources of fresh water for the town, one of which was “known as the San Vicente Spring…the same spring that the Portolá expedition found on its travels through the area in 1769 (located on the grounds of today’s University High School in West Los Angeles). In the town’s early years, it was this spring …that brought water to Santa Monica.” 18 Inadequate for the needs of the growing city, Santa Monica acquired the Charnock Wells in 1925, allowing it to narrowly avoid becoming annexed by the City of Los Angeles. 19 Once the Americans took control over the area, the fate of the Gabrielino/Tongva did not improve. Even before annexation, the city council of Los Angeles, from 1836 to 1847, were concerned with unemployed Gabrielino/Tongva day laborers. In a November 8 th , 1847 proclamation it was stated that “all vagrant Indians of either sex” were forbidden to enter the city without employment. 20 By 1850 Los Angelinos had legalized a most devious way of enslaving the Indians for 18 Scott p. 103. 19 Scott p. 103. 20 Heather V. Singleton, Chronology of the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, (Los Angeles: unpublished, undated) p. 2. The full text appears as appendix E. 23 labor. During the Spanish and Mexican periods, Indians arrested for public drunkenness had been required to labor for the missions. August 16, 1850, an ordinance was passed in Los Angeles, which allowed Indians arrested for drunkenness to be auctioned to private parties for one week of labor. The city received two-thirds of their pay to cover the fine, and the Indians received their third in alcohol! This ensured a steady supply of labor, but was known to kill a person in two or three years. 21 It is during these periods that the Gabrielino/Tongva were forced to sublimate their culture, hiding it to avoid persecution. The late 1800’s and early 1900’s saw the US government signing treaties with many Indian groups. Indians were surveyed, counted, moved, and some were paid off. Eventually dealings with Native Americans became centralized in the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Within this structure, only those tribes formally recognized by the BIA would receive any benefits or compensation from the USA. As of the writing of this thesis, the Gabrielino/ Tongva are not federally recognized. State Assembly Member Diane Martinez signed a Certificate of Recognition (Fig. 18) stating: “The State of California recognizes the Gabrielino/Tongva as the aboriginal tribe of the Los Angeles Basin…and the continued existence of the Indian community within our state,” and recognizing that “their community existed and 21 William McCawley, The First Angelinos; The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles (Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press/ Ballena press cooperative publication, 1996) p. 204. 24 continues to exist, without interruption, to the present day.” In 1994, Sabino Cici, Mayor of San Gabriel, California did the same (Fig. 29). 22 The texts of both declarations bear testament to the longstanding and uninterrupted existence of the Gabrielino/Tongva people in the Los Angeles area, the sophistication of their culture, and their continued meeting and self-governance. The City of San Gabriel decree uses the name “Gabrielino-Tongva Nation”, while the California Legislature recognizes “Gabrielinos”. Heather Singleton, a Gabrielino/Tongva Tribal Researcher, has pointed out that the Gabrielino/ Tongva’s membership in the all-Indian group, Mission Indian Federation, “is a significant statement of the tribe’s community wide acknowledgement.” 23 Within Appendix F of this thesis are several copies of the Gabrielino/ Tongva Bulletin, a periodic newsletter describing the current events surrounding the Gabrielino/ Tongva community. The Bulletin is extremely well organized and topical. Its articles highlight many of the aspects of contemporary Indian life, like meeting schedules and committee members, as well as earth-friendly alternative cleaning products, while also discussing major events. The Bulletin also elucidates the organized tribal identity and continued self-governance and organization, as well as use of the site. The Smithsonian Institute has recently requested that Angie Behrns furnish them with copies of the Bulletin for their files. 22 Singleton, Appendix G. 23 Singleton, Appendix G. 25 The point is this: every researcher agrees that the Gabrielino/ Tongva have been here longer than we have. The State of California, and the City of San Gabriel recognize the continued existence of the Tribe, as do other Indians. The Federal Government has had continued dealings with Gabrielino/Tongva nation as an entity. Yet, as of 2006, there has been no formal federal recognition of the Gabrielino/Tongva as a tribe, nor any of the protections or benefits that such designation brings. The continuous, yet ever-changing, nature of the Gabrielino/ Tongva presence at the site is deeply associated with its enduring evolution. 26 Fig. 18: California Legislature Certificate of Recognition 27 Fig. 19: City of San Gabriel Certificate of Recognition 28 Chapter 2: Kuruvungna Site History Prehistoric The people that are now called the Gabrielino/Tongva 24 were not the first group to settle in the Los Angeles area, and obviously they were not the last. Successive waves of humans and animals migrated from Asia, across the exposed Bering Strait, to the Americas. The exact dates of these migrations are continuously argued, but generally believed to be greater than 12,000 years ago. Ten thousand years ago, there was a fully-developed, marine-adapted culture on the Channel Islands, approximately 26 miles off of the coast of Southern California. By 6,000 BC, the people of the Los Angeles region had shifted towards an agriculturally based subsistence. By 3,000 BC, a wide-ranging and sophisticated network, which exchanged a diverse range of foods that were hunted, gathered and grown, covered the Los Angeles Basin and parts of Orange County 25 . 24 I am truly disturbed by the term Gabrielino, because it derives from the San Gabriel Mission, the institution that began the deliberate eradication of their culture. It fails to acknowledge the cultural and geographic differences of the people who ended up at the San Gabriel Mission and therefore theoretically divides people into groups that may not have existed in reality. However, there are broader political implications with the names of Indian tribes, and in their quest for Federal recognition of their tribe, they have elected for the stability of the more widely recognized “Gabrielino”. The people trying to rehabilitate Kuruvungna call themselves the “Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation”. Therefore I reluctantly use the term “Gabrielino/Tongva”. 25 McCawley p. 2. 29 Fig. 20: Map of Californian Native American Language Distribution 30 Around two thousand years ago, a new people came from the East, displacing the original inhabitants or possibly assimilating them, like the blending of water in the aquifers that feed Kuruvungna’s springs. These people are classified linguistically as Uto-Aztecan 26 , differentiating them from their Hokan speaking neighbors to the north and the south (Fig. 20). By the time the earliest European explorers reached California in the mid 1500’s, several complex native American societies coexisted with their own languages and their own territories. 27 The Gabrielino/Tongva were one of the most materially wealthy and culturally sophisticated of these regional subcultures, rivaled only by their northern neighbors, the Chumash. 28 The people who inhabited the Los Angeles area before the arrival of the Spaniards had names for themselves. They did not call themselves Gabrielinos, Fernandeños, or Uto-Aztecans. These were terms placed on them so that they would fit nicely into a Spanish accounting ledger, or a branch of a linguistic anthropologist’s chart. Shamefully, Americans have called them much more derogatory names like “digger”. 29 Tongva has been adopted by several groups that currently claim to be the tribal government of the Gabrielino/Tongva Indians. Cynthia Null reports that, “The Gabrielino/Tongva of the Los Angeles area called themselves ‘Kumivit’ (from ‘kumi’ 26 Formerly, their language and culture was called Shoshonean, but Uto-Aztecan is considered the same. McCawley p.2. 27 McCawley p.3. 28 Bruce W. Miller, The Gabrielino (Los Osos, CA: Sand River Press, 1991) p.4. 29 Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged dictionary p 553 that this derived from the fact that the Indians used to dig for wild onions and other subterranean edible roots. 31 which meant east)” 30 and this term is found frequently in the literature. This is especially interesting given that the linguistic evidence suggests that they migrated from the southwestern United States. Although Hugo Reid 31 stated that they did not have a general name for themselves, and that they were identified by their village, McCawley has culled many names from the research. He says that researchers Merriam and Heizer reported that Tong-va and Tobikhar were used, but that Harrington reported that “tonwe” was a village in the San Gabriel area. McCawley further translates Tobikhar as “settlers”, and states that the name “Komiivet” (from the word for east) was given to them by the people called the Fernandeños, residing to the west of them. McCawley adds “Kizh” or “Kij” to the list, stating that it derives from the word for “houses 32 ”, but also states that one of Harrington’s informants stated that Kizh only referred to people from a certain area. 33 Galloway gives the Gabrielino/Tongva word for “world” as “Továngar”. It is common in cultural anthropology for groups’ names to be translated as “the people”, 30 Cynthia Null, Native Plants: As Used by Southern California Indians (Los Angeles: Library of the Southwest Museum, July 1982) introduction, p.ii. 31 Robert F. Heizer ed. The Indians of Los Angeles County: Hugo Reid's Letters of 1852. (Los Angeles: Southwest Museum, 1968). 32 Anne Galloway’s Továngar (World) A Gabrielino Word Book (Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press, 1978), gives the word “kivá?” on page 12 and translates this as “old house”. Am I the only one who finds this completely fascinating, considering the change of many Native Americans of the Southwestern US from pit-houses to pueblo-style buildings? Round pit-houses were retained, it is believed for ritual use, and called “Kivas”! 33 McCawley pgs. 9-10. 32 with everyone else called by their location. 34 The word “Tong’va” is similar enough to the word “Továngar”, that one could speculate a similar phenomena. People probably did identify themselves with their village, which was made up of their extended families according to Reid. This would probably be the source for any name, rather than some kind of regional name that encompassed all the villages. We have forced these separate but related people into groups based on the missions of their assimilation. We are trying to force their life ways into a conceptual framework of unified groups of likeminded people called the Gabrielino/Tongva or the Fernandeños, and this may not be a valid conceptual model. Historic 35 : Experiences with an Intact Gabrielino/Tongva Culture The Cabrillo Expedition Imperialism brought European explorers to the “New World”. Vast expanses of material resources coaxed them across the ocean and farther. The first of these explorers were sailing cartographers, mapping the shore-line for later colonization efforts. The nature of the expeditions required extensive note-taking, and it is from these writings that we can catch Europe’s first glimpse of the people inhabiting North 34 Vine Deloria Jr. Custer Died for your Sins; An Indian Manifesto, (London: The Macmillan Company, 1969) p. 103. 35 Please understand that I mean that I am listing the earliest written primary resources about the Gabrielino/Tongva/Tongva, and later, specifically about the village of Kuruvungna. This is not meant as a comprehensive study of the people. For that, you should read The First Angelinos by McCawley. I stand on the shoulders of giants. 33 America. The earliest published accounts come from a sea expedition led by Juan Cabrillo on behalf of Spain. October 7-10 36 , 1542, (227 years before Portolá) members of the Cabrillo Expedition were the first Europeans to record contact with the Gabrielino/Tongva. 37 They reported friendly, generous people, who lived on the islands now known as Santa Catalina and San Clemente, over 20 miles off shore. They also reported the Indians launching a canoe with 8-10 people, an indication of their advanced maritime industry. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed north as far as the Bay of Monterey but broke his arm in a fall during the journey; an injury that would kill him before it was through 38 . The Vizcaíno Expedition Fifty years later, in late November 1602, Sebastian Vizcaíno recorded the next contact with the Gabrielino/Tongva. He had a missionary with him who also kept a journal, named Antonio de la Ascencion. It is from this journal that the sophistication of the Gabrielino/Tongva’s maritime culture is revealed. He writes of large plank canoes capable of holding 20 people, and small reed canoes for fishing. He spoke highly of their fishing equipment as well as their watertight reed pitchers, and their 36 Miller pgs. 5-6. 37 McCawley p. 4 38 McCawley p. 4 34 spotted retriever dogs. 39 Both diarists describe various Native American religious shrines, which each desecrated in the name of Catholicism. 40 In his captain’s log, Vizcaíno describes the Bay of Monte Rey as a good place to shelter a large number of boats, as well as a site for future colonization. Despite this, there were problems with acquiring provisions and the expedition ended in March 1603, when they came limping into Acapulco short on water and supplies. 41 The Portolá Expedition The Gabrielino/Tongva were left alone for the next one hundred and sixty years. Increasing British and Russian incursion into North America during the 18 th century forced Spain to assert its holdings in the new world. The Portolá Expedition was their first effort at colonizing Alta California. 42 It also provides us with our earliest direct mention of the site that is now known to be Kuruvungna. Portolá came on horseback to San Diego, with Father Junípero Serra (who walked), a company of soldiers, and almost 200 animals. Serra (and Portolá) stayed in San Diego, while Portolá’s Lt. Pedro Fages (later to become Governor of California, and clash with Serra), and two Franciscan friars, Juan Crespí and Francisco Gomez, began the first recorded European land exploration of Alta California. 43 Crespí, Fages 39 McCawley p. 5. 40 Miller p. 11. 41 Miller p. 11. 42 McCawley p. 5. 43 Miller p.12. 35 and ensign Miguel Costansó, all kept journals 44 (as well as Gaspar de Portola on his ship 45 ). On the San Antonio, a supply ship with the Portolá expedition, another Franciscan priest named Father Juan Vizcaíno (no relation to Sebastián) kept a log, which contained references to the Native Americans living on the islands. 46 On July 14, 1769, the land expedition set out from San Diego in search of the port of Monterey. 47 Along the way, they encountered many friendly Indian villages at which they were offered food, much of which they turned down. 48 On August 4, 1769, the expedition came to the village and springs of Kuruvungna. Fray Juan Crespí wrote in his journal: Friday, August 4. –At half-past six in the morning we set out from the camp, following the plain to the northwest. At a quarter of a league, we came to a little valley between small hills, and continued over plains of 44 Miller p.12. 45 Fredrick J. Teggart The Official Account Of The Portola Expedition Of 1769-1770. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1909.) 46 McCawley p.6. 47 Part of the Fragmento of Sargento Joseph Francisco de Ortega who Acted as Pathfinder to the [Portola] Expedition, as found in Watson and Temple’s The Expedition Into California Of The Venerable Padre Fray Junípero Serra And His Companions In The Year 1769 / As Told By Fray Francisco Palóu, And Hitherto Unpublished Letters Of Serra, Palóu And Galvéz: The Whole Newly Translated And Arranged As A Consecutive Narrative, With The Aid Of Thomas W. Temple II, By Douglas S. Watson; To Which Is Added The Account Of Serra's Death Inscribed By Fray Francisco Palóu In The Book Of The Dead At Carmel Mission, (San Francisco: Nueva California Press, c1934) p.75. 48 Crespí Diary, as found in Herbert Eugene Bolton ed., Historical Memoirs of New California / by Fray Francisco Palóu, O.F.M., Translated into English from the Manuscript in the Archives of Mexico. (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1926) p.136. 36 level land, very black and with much pasturage. After two hours’ travel, during which we must have covered about two leagues, we stopped at the watering place, which consists of two little springs that rise at the foot of a higher mesa. From each of these two springs runs a small stream of water which is soon absorbed; they are both full of water-cress and innumerable bushes of Castilian Roses. We made our camp near the springs, where we found a good village of very friendly and docile Indians, who, as soon as we arrived, came to visit us, bringing their present of baskets of sage, and other seeds, small, round nuts with a hard shell, and large and very sweet acorns. They made me a present of some strings of beads of white and red shells which resemble coral, though not very fine; we reciprocated with glass beads. I understood that they were asking us if we were going to stay, and I said “No,” That we were going farther on. I called this place San Gregorio, but to the soldiers the spot is known as the springs of El Berrendo because they caught a deer alive there, it having had a leg broken the preceding afternoon by a shot fired by one of the volunteer soldiers, who could not overtake it. The water is in a hollow surrounded by low hills not far from the sea. 49 Also examined was an annotated translation of the unpublished diary of Father Juan Crespí during the Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770, which has a much richer description of the site 50 : 49 Bolton, 1926, pgs. 136-137, this is the version published by Palóu. 50 A copy of this document was acquired from the files of Angie Behrns, a Gabrielino/Tongva Indian, as well as chairperson and Archivist of the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation. She is unsure of its provenience. It is more wordy than Paloú’s version, and has the date of August 4 th divided into two entries, numbers 128 & 129. Here are reprinted only those sections having to do with the Springs or the Village. Appendix C contains a copy of the entirety of the document . Its authorship is under research. Until then, it must be reserved as merely interesting, nonetheless hard to ignore. It does mirror the accounts of Paloú’s journal, but this in- itself does not preclude the idea that it could be a deliberate fiction. 37 (128.) August 4 th …came to the watering place: two springs rising at the foot of a high tableland, their origin being higher than the large plain here. A small channel of water rises from each of the springs, each one having its separate course, and they surround a little tableland some eighty to one hundred yards in size, and the water appeared to sink in among some tall weeds. All of the aforesaid little tableland is one single patch of roses, with the two little channels filled with very tender cresses (we have been eating them at all of the past watering places). From this spot, which faces about west-northwestward, the sea can be made out about a league and a half away. Pedro Fages was a Lieutenant under Portolá during the 1769 Alta California expedition and the leader of the land party who came to Kuruvungna. He kept a journal, which, although sparse, corroborates Crespí’s account. His diary entry for August 4 th is reprinted here: Eighth: At two leagues’ distance from here by a good road, through well-grassed fields which skirt the range, is another watering place in a hollow surrounded by low hills near the seacoast. It was named Ojo de Agua del Berrendo from the circumstance that one of the animals [antelopes] had been caught alive; a soldier of our troop had on the preceding day broken its leg by a shot. 51 The word “Eighth” at the beginning refers to the fact that this was the eighth stop since leaving San Diego. Fages compiled this version of events after the 51 Pedro Fages, A Historical, Political, and Natural Description of California by Pedro Fages, Soldier of Spain, Dutifully Made for the Viceroy in the Year 1775, (Translated by Priestley, Herbert Ingram. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1937) p. 16, parenthetical addition made by translator Priestley. 38 conclusion of the expedition, using his own journal, and that of Miguel Costansó, who was only slightly more long-winded. Costansó’s entry reads: Friday August 4.- From the Ojo de Agua de los Alisos, skirting the mountains, over a good level road covered with grass, we reached the Ojo de Agua del Berrendo, a name we gave to the place because we caught there one of the animals alive- its leg had been broken on the preceding afternoon by a musket-shot from a volunteer soldier who had not been able to overtake it. The watering-place was situated in a hollow surrounded by low hills near the seacoast. Here we found an Indian village [and the inhabitants were] very good-natured. They came at once to our quarters with tray of seeds, nuts and acorns; To these presents we responded with our strings of glass beads, which they hold in high esteem. To the Ojo de Agua del Berrendo, 2 leagues. From San Diego, 48 leagues. 52 These are the earliest writings about the Native American village and springs now believed to be Kuruvungna. They are sparse, yet they show that there was an active community at the site when the Spanish arrived. Other Written Sources In 1812-1813 Interrogatorios were sent from the Spanish Government to the missions in Alta California 53 . These were questionnaires designed to help the government and therefore the church, understand the native population in order to 52 Fredrick J Teggart ed, Diary of Miguel Costansó During the Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770, (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1911) p. 22-23. 53 Note that the responses to the Interrogatorios were generated from 1814-1815. 39 assimilate them more successfully into the mission system. The 36 questions covered many areas of Indian culture. Of the missions that responded, three had Gabrielino/Tongva Indians: Mission San Gabriel, Mission San Fernando, and Mission San Juan Capistrano. It is interesting that these people were noted as a distinct culture (a Gabrielino Indian at the Mission San Fernando), yet no one bothered to record what they called themselves. This was surely part of the assimilation program, but also may hint at the diffusion and mixing of Gabrielino culture with others’. Writings about the Use of Water and the Tongva Culture Chinigchinich Franciscan Father Geronimo Boscana was one of those who responded to the Interrogatorios. He spent his last years at the Mission San Juan Capistrano, and the Mission San Gabriel. McCawley writes, “Boscana’s study remains a unique and valuable account of Indian life, one that is especially important because it is based upon firsthand observations made while the Indian cultures of Southern California were still intact.” 54 Chinigchinich, completed in 1822, is the popularly abbreviated title of Boscana’s Historical Account of the Belief, Usages, Customs and Extravagancies of the Indians of this Mission of San Juan Capistrano Called the Acagchemem Tribe. It 54 McCawley p. 8. 40 was researched, collected and annotated in the 1930’s by John P. Harrington, considered “unquestionably the most productive Gabrielino/Tongva researcher of the twentieth century.” 55 W.F. Hodge’s introduction to Chinigchinich discusses its relevance to Gabrielino/Tongva scholarship, despite this being an account of Indians from the Mission San Juan Capistrano. Hodge describes Kroeber’s analysis of the cultural confusion: According to Kroeber, analysis of the native terms and designations of place recorded by Boscana leave no doubtful impression that “a large part, possibly the bulk, of the information conveyed by the assiduous and sympathetic priest is certainly of Gabrielino origin.” This was due, according to the same authority, either to the taking over of lore by the Juaneños from the Gabrielino of their own accord in pre-mission times as part of the Chinigchinich cult or as the effect of still earlier streams of Gabrielino culture, or to the reporting by Boscana of data from local Juaneños and imported Gabrielinos without deeming it worth while to specify tribal differences. 56 It is from Harrington’s version of Boscana’s manuscript that most of the historical religious beliefs of the Gabrielino/Tongva in relation to water are derived. In Chinigchinich, Boscana relates the creation myth of those who reside on the sea-coast. “An invisible and all-powerful being called Nocuma made the world, 55 McCawley p. 14. Most of Harrington’s expansive materials are still in manuscript form, reportedly filling 1,000 file boxes at the Smithsonian Institute, and as many as a million pages in other locations. 56 Geronimo Boscana, Chinigchinich (Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press, 2005) p. 12. (Hodge quotes Kroeber, Handbook of the Indians of California 1925; p. 636). 41 the sea, and all that therein contained, such as animals, trees, plants, and fishes.” 57 Nocuma secured the world with a black rock called Tosaut, from an island nearby. The sea at that time was a small stream of fresh water, overcrowded with fish. While they debated going out of the water, a large fish brought Tosaut and broke it open, finding a gallbladder inside. “[T]his they emptied into the water and from its fresh state was converted into a bitter condition. The water then immediately swelled and overflowed upon the Earth covering the space [that it does now], and the fishes were rejoiced to find themselves amply supplied with room, and at the change effected in the water’s taste.” 58 Boscana also relates another myth as told by those Indians residing inland. He describes an original brother and sister who first bore “earth and sand, after which were produced rocks and stones of all kinds, particularly flints for their arrows. Trees and shrubbery followed, and next thereafter, herbs and grass; and again animals, principally the kind which they eat. Finally was born one they called Ouiot.” 59 The book Acorn Soup (1999) is a collection of Drawings and Commentary by L. Frank, an incredible conceptual artist. As a child, she knew she was Indian, but did not discover her true heritage until she was 28. She wrote: I think the more southern your tribe is in California, the harder it is to get a grip on your cultural heritage. But we’ve got good hunting skills – we’ve got fax machines and email, and we can get on the freeway and hunt down people who can explain things for us. I found out 57 Boscana p. 31. 58 Boscana p. 31. Essentially all of the oceans came from a freshwater stream. 59 Boscana p. 27. 42 my family is Tongva (sometimes called Gabrielino/Tongva) and Ajachmem (or Juaneño), which I have also seen spelled ‘Axatcme, Acagchemem, Ajcachme, Ajashmay, and several other ways. I had to find people to explain where all these words came from. We didn’t have a written language, so how do I know they’re not all wrong? 60 Boscana writes of Ouiot’s story, and it is fascinating to Harrington that Boscana used a French linguistic convention “ou” instead of a “w”. L. Frank gives the spelling as Wiyoot, and immediately a clearer picture of Boscana’s intended pronunciation becomes available. Frank’s quote above illustrates the linguistic nightmare it is to sort through the various transliterations of words spoken by people with different accents, and recorded by still different people, all with varying abilities to write things phonetically. L. Frank’s version of Wiyoot’s death reminds us that this is a living culture, continuing to reinterpret their legends and the implications for contemporary life, much in the way that the springs of Kuruvungna are constantly regenerating the water spilled from the pools and into the drain. Wiyoot was the son of creation, one of the first people, and when he died it was the first time death had come into the world. Rabbit (Tuuvit) used a rattle of cocoons to sing a mourning song, and that initiated dance… Wiyoot was one of the first people. He was murdered… The people decided to cremate him, and they needed somebody to go and get fire for the funeral pyre. Since they weren’t sure how Coyote would act…they tried to get rid of him, telling him to go get fire and then come 60 L. Frank Acorn Soup (Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books, 1999) p. 10. L. Frank (her preferred nome d’arte) is not historic but a contemporary Tongva interpreting this legend. The content is essentially the same as Boscana’s. 43 back. And he kept going away, but shorter and shorter distances, because he knew they were going to be doing something and he was going to be deliberately left out. So he kept running back asking, “Where is my Father? I want to see him,” speaking of Wiyoot. The people were standing in a ring around the pyre, and he came back again and leaped over the shortest people, saying, “Where is my father, where is he?” And then he bit the heart of Wiyoot and ran off with it. People tried to beat him with the sticks they were using to poke at the fire, and that is why he’s colored the way that he is, and ragged looking…When Wiyoot died, a lot of people metamorphosed – some into trees, some into animals, and some into rocks. When he was dying, Wiyoot said he’d be back in three days. So he came back as a new moon. The new moon was always a time of great importance. 61 After Wiyoot was gone, the people met to decide how to proceed. Chinigchinich appeared to them and told them how to wear different costumes for different rituals. Chinigchinich also gave to each of the descendants of Wiyoot the power to affect some natural commodity like rain or dews, producing acorns or rabbits or ducks etc, with their spawn inheriting their powers. These specialists receive payment from the community for intervention on their behalf for the commodity of their choice. After conferring the power on this group, he created mankind, forming them from clay found on the borders of a lake. 62 Boscana also wrote of songs containing stories that he believed represented what he called the “Universal Deluge”, a reference to Noah’s biblical flood. He found 61 Frank pgs. 13-14. 62 Boscana p. 29. There is a connection between People and Clay from the borders of a lake. 44 songs, which refer to a time long ago when the sea swelled and covered the land and killed everything except for those on the highest mountains. Other songs say that it is the descendants of Wiyoot who asked Chinigchinich for vengeance on their chief. Chinigchinich told the rainmakers to make the rain. These songs were sung mainly as a supplication to drown enemies. 63 Hugo Reid Letters of 1852 Hugo Reid was a settler in California who married a daughter, Victoria, of the chief of the Gabrielino/Tongva village Comicranga. 64 Through his wife’s family, and a couple other knowledgeable informants, he was able to acquire substantial information about the Gabrielino/Tongva before the coming of the missions. In 1852 he wrote a series of 22 letters to the Los Angeles Star newspaper 65 describing the Gabrielino/Tongva and the plight of their culture under the Spanish and Mexican governments. His letters are incredibly informative and filled with details. From these one can get a glimpse into the ways in which the historical Gabrielino/Tongva people used water in their culture. McCawley suggests that Reid may have been trying to earn an appointment as a federal Indian Agent with the publication of his “Letters”. Regardless, he describes many village names and gives descriptions of huts and villages. 66 63 Boscana p. 63. 64 McCawley p.8 65 Realize that America received title to California in January of 1847. 66 Reid transcribed in Heizer pgs. 8-9. 45 Reid described many Gabrielino/Tongva customs and rituals involving water, some being medicinal and others for purification. Often these involved complex methods of steaming a person to try and purge the source of their illness. This was also done at various other times for spiritual purification purposes. 67 In addition, Boscana reported that bathing was also used as a treatment, “for internal diseases such as fevers etc, they always resorted to cold baths.” 68 Traditional Gabrielino/Tongva society placed a high value upon hygiene, as emphasized by their custom of bathing each morning before sunrise. 69 These were the ethnographic writings from a time before the science of ethnography had coalesced. Each author had their own reasons for writing; each had their own agenda. Despite this, each adds a piece of a larger puzzle. Unfortunately most of the puzzle pieces are gone, but there are still many more. After these encounters, the Gabrielino/Tongva’s lives were irrevocably changed by the mission system’s ascendancy and eventual collapse. First came diseases such as small pox, which killed many Indians because they had no immunity to these European imports. 70 Next they were coerced to leave their villages and build the missions. Once they were baptized however, they were not free to return to their villages. If they left, they were captured and returned, then punished. “Fugitivism” is 67 Reid transcribed in Heizer pgs. 32-39. A hole was dug and hot rocks put in it, then covered with earth and grass mats. Water is applied, then the person lays in the hole, on the mats, and is covered with more grass mats, while the steam rises up. 68 Boscana p. 71. 69 McCawley p. 198. 70 McCawley p. 187. 46 one of the transgressions for which Indians received corporal punishment. 71 They were separated by gender, and forced to live indoors in cramped conditions. This, coupled with a complete change in diet 72 , brought a new wave of diseases like dysentery, further decimating their numbers. 73 Discipline was often enforced with a whip, for both men and women, and other physically binding types of torture like being locked in stocks for days (sometimes without food), or forced to wear shackles or weighted boots while working. 74 Humiliation was also a punishment. Women suspected of abortion (often of pregnancies due to rape) or miscarriages mistakenly suspected to be abortion, were whipped severely (but in private) and made to appear in public with a carved wooden infant. Their husbands were whipped (in public) and forced to wear horns. 75 Native American social structures were purposely upended by ignoring the traditional leaders and selecting the most acquiescent Indians to be the straw-bosses and foremen. 76 Missions had soldiers to protect them and enforce the discipline. There are many stories of Soldiers raping the Native American women 77 . This 71 Robert H. Jackson and Edward Castillo Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization; The Impact of the Mission System on California Indians. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995, (Authority to administer corporal punishment, pg. 27). “Fugitivism” is a legalistic, or euphemistic term used by the missionaries for Indians who were absent without leave, or gone longer than they were given permission. 72 Jackson p. 45. 73 Jackson p. 48. 74 Jackson pgs. 83-84. 75 Jackson p. 82. 76 McCawley pgs. 193, 196 77 Jackson pgs. 75 & 82. 47 catalyzed the spread of Syphilis, compromising the already fragile immunity of the Indians and killing as many as three out of four Gabrielino/Tongva babies by the age of two. 78 The mission system was predicated on the idea that once the Indians had been taught to maintain the Mission, it would be turned over to them. Before that could happen, the country of Mexico was formed, and in 1834, the missions were secularized by the new government. This ostensibly meant that the Indians would receive the land, but instead, it was sold or granted by the Mexican government, much as the non-mission land was under the Spanish Monarchy. (Eventually even the Mission San Gabriel was sold to Reid and a partner in 1846. Later the land was surrendered to the Americans. Eventually it was returned to the Catholic Church.) Some Christianized Indians were able to petition for land, and receive it, from the Governor Pío Pico. Hugo Reid’s Letters in 1852 describe a culture in severe decline as their world had been turned upside down in less than 100 years after European contact. Displaced, disoriented, and without representation the Indians’ fate did not improve. Ethnographic Studies of Gabrielino/Tongva Culture The next description of Gabrielino/ Tongva culture is characterized by the writings of ethnographers and linguists who worked with the Gabrielino/Tongva and 78 McCawley p. 197. 48 studied their language. This work is based on their interviews with surviving Indians. In his book, The First Angelinos, McCawley summarizes these studies. The early 1900’s saw the ascendance of anthropology as a science, and with it, a body of scholarly work which reviewed the historical writings and confirmed them, whenever possible, with the help of Gabrielino/Tongva Consultants 79 . Some of the most noteworthy were John P. Harrington, Alfred Kroeber, and C. Hart Merriam. The Consultants Unfortunately, almost all anthropology (of which Historic Preservation is a form) is inextricably mixed with imperialism, in that the fruits of anthropological labors have often been used to dismantle the very cultures they studied. Vine Deloria Jr. an American Indian activist who studied theology and holds a legal degree, described this scathingly in his book, Custer Died for your Sins; An Indian Manifesto (1969). In chapter 4, entitled “Anthropologists and other Friends”, he writes: [B]ehind each policy and program with which the Indians are plagued, if traced completely back to its origin, stands the anthropologist. The fundamental thesis of the anthropologist is that people are objects for observation, people are then considered objects for experimentation, for manipulation, and for eventual extinction. The 79 These were some of the earliest anthropologists, and they called the people they interviewed “informants”. This term has implications that they were complicit in the colonization of their land and people. It is viewed as inappropriate in light of the theories of Dominance put forth by authors such as Franz Fanon and Edward Said. McCawley, an ethnographer trained to be sensitive to this issue, calls them “Consultants”. 49 anthropologist thus furnishes the justification for treating Indian people like so many chessmen available for anyone to play with. This massive volume of useless knowledge produced by anthropologists attempting to capture real Indians in a network of theories has contributed substantially to the invisibility of Indian people today. 80 For example, the Interrogatorios were designed to accelerate the Native American’s assimilation into the Spanish Mission System, not to preserve their culture in any way. However, were it not for these people, there would be few records of the Gabrielino/Tongva customs, rituals and basic lifeways, not to mention language. These records are now essential to people, Native American and other, who are trying to recreate the culture of the Gabrielino/Tongva. By telling the stories of their families, these people were the saviors of their rich culture. Fig. 21: Felicitas Serrano Montano 80 Deloria p. 81. 50 Felicitas Serrano Montano (Fig. 21) was a Gabrielino woman who provided ethnographic and linguistic information to Harrington from 1916 to 1918. “Felicitas…was the eldest of 13 children born to Luisa Serrano, a Gabrielino Indian [whose ancestors came from the islands], and Belardo Serrano, a Serrano Indian.” 81 It was Felicitas who told Harrington the place-name Koruuvanga for “Santa Monica”. 82 Jose Maria Zalvidea (Fig. 22) was one of the most informative Gabrielino consultants, and worked with Kroeber, Merriam, and Harrington throughout his later life. Merriam reported that Zalvidea did not speak Gabrielino, but a Serrano/ Cahuilla dialect. He is identified by various sources by many names, such as José Varojo, José Verrujas, Guorojos, José Sevaldeo, and Joe San-wu-da’-yah. He helped Harrington to understand the subtle meanings of the language and placenames. Zalvidea told Harrington that Koruuvanga can be translated “en calor estamos, estamos en el sol ahora dice [we are in warmth; it says we are in the sun now]. 83 Fig. 22: Jose Maria Zalvidea 81 McCawley p. 17. 82 McCawley p. 61. 83 McCawley p. 61. Future scholars should try and access Harrington’s work with Felicitas Serrano Montano and Jose Maria Zalvidea and look for expanded references to Kuruvungna. The 75 page LaLone Bibliography remains one of the best written. 51 New information and review of crucial documents is on-going. William McCawley and others continue to research the Gabrielino/ Tongva and their lives in the Los Angeles area and elsewhere. The Gabrielino/ Tongva people continue to live their lives and create own new history. The spring keeps flowing and attracting people to gather near it. 52 Chapter 3: The Legal Implications and “Sacred” Space There is an undeniable historical correlation between anthropology and imperialism. This continues into contemporary practice. With that in mind, out of respect for the rights and privacy of the Gabrielino/Tongva, any specifics of their religious rituals, are described here in only the most general of terms. The term “sacred” has been attached to the springs and it is worth a few words here to clarify what is meant. In terms of Christian theology, the word “sacred” has a very specific meaning as sacrosanct or inviolate 84 , because of something’s association with a deity. Various conceptions and levels of spirituality from other cultures have used this word because it is what the English language had available. Thomas King 85 was reminded in his work with Native Americans that there is a spiritual aspect to everything, which we need to respect, but that does not necessarily mean “make inviolate”. 86 Kuruvungna is not known for being the site of a cultural legend like Puuvungna 87 . The author was told that there was no deity in the spring or the pools. The Native Americans that the author spoke with scoffed at the idea of an axis mundi, or even a “thin spot between worlds”. They said that water 84 Webster’s unabridged p.1689. 85 co-author of the National Register Bulletin #38 about the nomination of Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP’s) to the Register. 86 Thomas King, Places That Count: Traditional Cultural Properties In Cultural Resource Management, (Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2003) p. 8. 87 Puuvungna is traditionally believed to be the site where Chinigchinich appeared to the children of Wiyoot. 53 made the difference between surviving and dying, and so it is a more precious gift than any other. The plants knew this and so they grew there. The animals knew this so they came to drink. Humans knew it was special so they settled there. The spring has continued to nourish a dynamic and diverse population of plants and animals since prehistoric times. The remains of thousands of years of occupation are in the ground below. The space is still open to the sky, and filled with plants and water, and it is still special to the Gabrielino/ Tongva. Since 1992 they have resumed activities at the site, which have various levels of religious and social functions. Thus, the spring may be characterized as “sacred” in the American sense, meaning that it is so spiritually important that it needs protection to remain free of changes caused by human actions. The site, on the other hand, carries a different kind of “sacredness” to the Gabrielino/ Tongva that can be described as a higher than average spirituality. The site has the normal spiritual reverence due any naturalized open space, but with the added spiritual power of its previous occupants. It is more significant to the Gabrielino/ Tongva now because it was significant to their ancestors in the past. In his book, Vine Deloria Jr. describes Native Americans’ spiritual connection to the land they lived on. The Crow are a good example of the Indian religious love for land. The Crow have a long prayer which thanks the Great Spirit for giving them their land. It is not too hot, they say, and not too cold. It is not too high and snowy, and not too low and dusty. Animals enjoy the land of the Crow, men enjoy it also. The prayer ends by declaring that of all the possible lands in 54 which happiness can be found, only in the land of the Crow is true happiness found. 88 From the above quote you can get an idea of the deference, which Native Americans have when interacting with the land. Kuruvungna is a special place that needs to be treated gently and with respect. Projects are to be deeply contemplated and undertaken with minimal intervention practices, in partnership with the Gabrielino/Tongva. Reciprocity is of paramount importance, and what is taken from the Earth may need to be given back in some form. Religious Rights Several federal and state laws have a direct bearing on the treatment of Native American sites. The following is a brief summary of the most important ones. It is not meant as a statement of anyone’s legal rights or obligations, it is merely meant to inform the reader of the government’s manifest intentions, effective or not. In 1978, the American government realized that through its cultural insensitivity, US projects and policies had infringed the religious freedom of Native American Indians. Native Americans’ first amendment rights to freedom of religion are infringed when access to their spiritually or culturally important spaces is denied. Theoretically, all Americans’ religious rights are protected, but because of this institutionalized violation of Indian rights, specific laws were passed in an attempt to mitigate the situation. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) was 88 Deloria p. 103. 55 passed in 1978 to clarify the how the legal protections of the first amendment applied to Native American religions. This was largely a philosophical document, as it carried no provisions for punishment. It had no teeth. In 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was passed to protect the districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects, which embody the history of the USA, from federal projects like highways or urban renewal. It provides for a list to be kept: The National Register of Historic Places. The lead agency on any project must consult with State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs) and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) about how to identify those properties and address any impacts. Section 106 of the NHPA says that if a place is eligible for the National Register, then all federal projects 89 must consider ways to avoid or mitigate the negative impact they may have on that place. This prior researching of projects is often called “Section 106 review”. This document has no teeth either, but it does carry with it delays, and the potential to deny federal money. If a project’s 106 review does not address impacts on a National Register property, then the developers can be required to redo it or lose their federal funds. Gathering the appropriate information can take a long time. Sometimes this delay is enough to tip the balance of profitability and kill a development project, or convince the developers that a site’s significance transcends that of the proposed project. 89 Federal project include those they are considering doing, assisting, permitting, or with the use of any portion of federal funding. 56 The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 1969) was enacted to protect our environment from the effects of rising population, development and industry. Projects are required to produce an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that describes the presumed effects a project would have on its surroundings. Not only are things like waste discharge and energy usage to be considered, but also impacts on traffic and many more categories. NEPA doesn’t mandate that a project preserve a resource, it merely states that a project needs to examine the possible options if the project is still to move forward, and explain the reasons why none were employed to save the property. In California, the environment is viewed as an amenity and a tourist attraction. Passed in 1970, CEQA, or the California Environmental Quality Act, is a statute that requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible. The impetus for CEQA can be traced to the passage of the first federal environmental protection statute in 1969, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In response to this federal law, the California State Assembly created the Assembly Select Committee on Environmental Quality to study the possibility of supplementing NEPA through state law. This legislative committee, in 1970, issued a report entitled The Environmental Bill of Rights, which called for a California counterpart to NEPA. Later that same year, acting on the recommendations of the select committee, the legislature passed, and Governor Reagan signed, the CEQA statute. 57 CEQA applies to certain activities of state and local public agencies. A public agency must comply with CEQA when it undertakes an activity defined by CEQA as a "project." A project is an activity undertaken by a public agency or a private activity which must receive some discretionary approval (meaning that the agency has the authority to deny the requested permit or approval) from a government agency which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the environment. Most proposals for physical development in California are subject to the provisions of CEQA, as are many governmental decisions which do not immediately result in physical development (such as adoption of a general or community plan). Every development project which requires a discretionary governmental approval will require at least some environmental review pursuant to CEQA, unless an exemption applies. The environmental review required imposes both procedural and substantive requirements. At a minimum, an initial review of the project and its environmental effects must be conducted. Depending on the potential effects, a further, and more substantial, review may be conducted in the form of an environmental impact report (EIR). A project may not be approved as submitted if feasible alternatives or 58 mitigation measures are able to substantially lessen the significant environmental effects of the project. 90 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 1990, is mainly a formal process by which institutions, like museums, can return human bones and funerary artifacts to Native American tribes. In addition, it is one of the first historic preservation laws with actual criminal and civil penalties for the possession, transportation and sale of Native American skeletal remains and/or funerary goods. 91 These laws display the intent of the state and federal governments to mitigate the institutionalized destruction of Native American culture by protecting their right to practice traditional religions. They also recognize that these religions are intrinsically tied to the land, even though currently, the land is often owned by someone else. In this case, there are two springs of water steadily flowing out of the ground in the lower part of a public high school. It was once the site of an Indian village, presumably destroyed soon after 1770. Native Americans have continued to return there to practice their religions, use the waters, and give offerings in return. 90 CEQA website, FAQ, http://www.ceres.ca.gov/topic/env_law/ceqa/more/faq.html accessed March 28, 2007. 91 The 1906 Antiquities Act had merely kept people from plundering sites on federal land…until they got a permit. It was more like a protection of United States property, not of the rights of living Native Americans. 59 In any tradition, the main way that knowledge is passed from the master to the pupils is through assistance in rituals 92 . This makes the performance of rituals of paramount importance to a people seeking to maintain a cultural/ religious identity. Several devices are employed to assist in the retention and dissemination of information. One such device is to encode the landscape to reflect the beliefs and stories of the people. Every culture endows their environment with meaning. Because of these reasons, Native Americans need open green space in which to practice and transmit their religions and culture. More recently, Native Americans have been forced by the deliberate attempts to eradicate their cultures, to collect written histories of their people. These archives are stored at people’s houses, in their closets, in binders, etc. They need to be collected a single safe place and organized, so that scholars and Native Americans have a chance to access them. Water In Southern California, access to water has always been of paramount importance. It is the reason that the village was put there in the first place. Access to drinking water was the most important thing to the Native Americans, and later to Angelinos. It is the gift from the Earth that is still being offered. Keeping the springs 92 Like a medical internship, study is not enough. Participation is required at some point to become a Master. 60 flowing is as important to the current Gabrielino/Tongva as maintaining the site in a “natural” state. 93 The water is the thing with the single most integrity. It is the way that the village is recognized as the one the Spanish encountered in 1769, an extraordinary find. It is also endangered by nearby construction of high-rise buildings on Wilshire. A hydrological study must be done to determine the source of the spring, As well as measuring its rate of flow. In 1994, a project tentatively titled Barrington Plaza was seeking permits to build a 30-story apartment complex at Wilshire and Barrington, 4 blocks northwest of the site. They were planning to dig a four-story underground parking garage and the GTSF was afraid that it may interrupt the flow of the springs. The developer conceded and agreed to build only two-stories below grade, as deep as other construction in the area. The project was killed by further neighborhood opposition to its size, and the traffic impacts it would impose on the area. Two years before, in 1992, the GTSF helped to block the installation of a large hotel at the same site because it also might endanger the spring’s underground source. 93 By “natural’ it is meant that it is not entirely paved, it is filled with flora, and open to the sky (nature). 61 Chapter 4: Ecology of the Site Fig. 23: Historic Ballona Creek Watershed Drainage Area Overlay Map, 1896 and 1986 SOURCE: Braa et al. 2001, Seeking Streams: A Landscape Framework for Urban and Ecological Revitalization in the Upper Ballona Creek Watershed 62 Fig. 24: Site Location in Los Angeles Fig. 25: Ballona Creek Watershed Topography 63 Climate Kuruvungna lies within the Ballona Creek Watershed (Figs. 23 & 25), itself in the Mediterranean climate zone of California, which extends from Central California to San Diego and is characterized by wet winters and long dry summers. The topography of the Los Angeles region results in a great deal of spatial variation in the local climate. Average daytime summer and winter temperatures range from 71/ 63F° at the coast to 83/ 66F° downtown. Long-term annual rainfall averages vary from 12.5 inches along the coast to 15.5 inches in downtown Los Angeles, with most precipitation falling in a few major storm events between November and March. 94 What is a Watershed? A watershed or drainage basin, as seen in figures 23 & 25, is the entire area of land that drains down into a common point. As the term basin implies, the boundaries of a watershed are higher elevations. Water seeks the lowest level it can, so it flows downhill. When water comes up out of the ground, it is called a spring, and it forms a first-order stream. As the stream travels down into a valley, it joins with other first- 94 Ballona Creek Watershed Task Force. Ballona Creek Watershed Management Plan. Prepared by: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Watershed Management Division; Ballona Creek Renaissance; Los Angeles City Department of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation, Watershed Protection Division; National Park Service, Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program; Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission With the assistance of: EIP Associates; Arthur Golding & Associates; Chambers Group; Integrated Water Resources; MWH, (Los Angeles: 2004) (from here on called BCWTF) p. 29. 64 order streams to become second-order streams. These are called the headwaters. Two second-order streams join to form a third-order stream, and two third-orders to form a fourth-order stream. All of the rivulets of water in our watershed are supposed to filter down and form tributaries to Ballona Creek, whose mouth then empties into the Pacific Ocean. Before 1825, the Los Angeles River changed course several times, possibly merging with Ballona Creek periodically, before settling into its present course. 95 Once on the plain, the creek and its tributaries often soaked underground in places, creating a wide variety of habitats, which could support many types of plants and animals, including settlements of Native Americans. 96 Kuruvungna is one such settlement where the Gabrielino/Tongva survived within the bounty of the wetlands near the freshwater springs. The degradation of the watershed began with the Spanish settlers of the 18 th century. Rancho La Ballona, the source of the creek’s name, was originally cleared and planted; most of the area with non-native grasses for cattle grazing. The dense vegetation surrounding the creeks was cleared for farmland. Eventually, as Los Angeles grew and more crops were needed, the flatlands were shifted from cattle ranching to farmland. Easy access to water was beneficial for the settlers, but also 95 BCWTF p. 13. 96 BCWTF p. 14. 65 created dangerous conditions when the winter rains caused it to overflow and sometimes change its course. 97 In 1876 the transcontinental railroad caused the expansion of agricultural production in the LA area, as well as a large population influx. These growing pressures on the creek caused groundwater tables to drop in some areas, drying up the once-plentiful wetlands and causing occasional droughts. 98 In 1913, the Los Angeles-Owens river aqueduct was built to import water from great distances for the growing population. Increasing amounts of farmland were subdivided and converted to commercial and residential uses: the beginning of Urban Sprawl. 99 Expansion of people into the farmlands did not stop the creek from flooding annually, it merely increased the damage and loss of human life. After two major floods in the 1930’s, the federal government and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District worked to develop a plan that would “(1) channelize, straighten, and deepen Ballona Creek; (2) install debris basins in the foothills to protect against debris flows during storm events; and (3) convert tributary streams to flood control channels, most in underground tunnels that erased traces of the extensive network of tributaries.” 100 Later, in the 1950’s and 60’s, a large area of former coastal dunes and wetlands just north of the Ballona Creek Channel was transformed into a major small 97 BCWTF p. 14. 98 BCWTF p. 14. 99 BCWTF p. 14. 100 BCWTF p. 14. 66 craft marina (Marina Del Rey) to provide recreational boating opportunities for the people of Los Angeles. 101 Due to the extensive modification of the creek and tributaries, natural hydrologic functions have been significantly reduced in the watershed. With much of it covered with impervious surfaces, runoff enters the creek and tributaries more quickly, and in greater volume than prior to development. Infiltration of precipitation to groundwater has been reduced by chanelization, and riparian (waterside) vegetation and aquatic habitat have been cut off from their sources of water. Recently, there has been a desire to restore ecological health to the watershed by protecting and rehabilitating the few remaining wetlands and open spaces in the entire Ballona Creek Watershed. Ecologists suggest that urban planning must expand to include a focus on aquatic and riparian habitat, water quality, and open space. 102 What are wetlands? Wetlands are areas where water is the dominant factor. It determines the soil types, and therefore the plant and animal communities that it can sustain. In the United States there are four general categories of wetlands: Marshes, swamps, bogs and fens. All types are important and all are threatened by human development and 101 BCWTF p. 14. 102 BCWTF p. 16. 67 the degradation of their natural functions in the watershed 103 . Since the arrival of Europeans, over half of the estimated wetlands of the contiguous United States have been drained for agriculture, filled for urban development, diked for water reservoirs or to control flooding or dredged for ports or marinas. In addition they have been destroyed and degraded by industrial pollutants, urban and rural runoff, and invasion by non-native species. 104 Kuruvungna contains upland, freshwater, marshes covered mostly by trees, grasses, sedges, reeds, and wildflowers. Why are wetlands important? Several reasons. Wetlands are a transition site for the hydrology of the region. Essentially there is a vast reservoir of groundwater among the soil below us, also called the water table. We can access it via wells. Plants access it through their roots. If it dries up too much, then you have drought and a possible dust-bowl situation. Water is located under most of the Ballona Creek Watershed, which is primarily underlain by a groundwater formation (like a giant rock bowl) known as the West Basin (comprised of the Hollywood and Santa Monica sub-basins) and a small portion of the Central Basin under the southeastern portion of the Watershed. 105 Groundwater in the Ballona Creek Watershed is replenished by percolation of rainfall 103 Interagency Workgroup on Wetland Restoration. An Introduction and User’s Guide to Wetland Restoration, Creation, and Enhancement. 2003, (from here on called IWWR) p. ii. 104 IWWR, p. 1. 105 BCWTF p. 32. 68 and stream flow from the Santa Monica Mountains to the north and the Baldwin Hills to the south. With approximately 40 percent of the watershed covered by impervious surfaces, and concrete lining most tributary channels, the land area open to direct infiltration of rainfall and percolation from stream channels has been substantially reduced. 106 Fig. 26 The Hydrologic Cycle 107 106 BCWTF p. 32. 107 Diagram taken from Izaak Walton League of America, A Handbook for Stream Enhancement and Stewardship 2 nd ed. (Blacksburg, VA: McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, 2006) p. 5. 69 In a healthy system, the water accumulates in the sky and forms clouds, especially over forested areas. Then it rains down on the land and infiltrates it with the help of plants, and percolates back down to the groundwater. Plants, animals, and microorganisms live or die because of the general wetness of their soil. The plants transpire oxygen and water in their respiration process. Water evaporates up from the land and it accumulates in the sky in the form of clouds. This is the Hydrologic Cycle (Fig. 26) and it means that this portion of the freshwater cycle is renewable. Despite the fact that the city of Los Angeles imports the majority of its water from the Colorado River, (and uses %70 for landscaping) the storm drain system of Los Angeles puts the water in concrete channels and dumps it into the ocean, where it lies outside the cycle of freshwater renewal. Wetlands restoration alone will not solve this problem. The storm drain system will have to be adjusted in the future to somehow allow the majority of the water to infiltrate and percolate back down to the water table; only dumping in the case of extreme conditions when the natural system is overwhelmed. The City of Los Angeles (and the United States) needs to consider conversion of the vast automobile network to permeable paving, allowing regions to keep recycling more of the precious resource of Water. Wetlands are nurseries of life. The combination of sunlight, water, and nutrients from the active breakdown of biological material, create uniquely fertile areas, which can support thousands of species. This biodiversity is critical to the self- sufficiency of the area and its ability to adapt to minor stresses. This also makes wetlands a perfect place for us to study the biological mechanisms of life, which can 70 lead to beneficial forms of bioremediation: using living organisms to help return the soil to its hydrologic functions, established before they were disturbed by urbanization. Wetlands promote incredibly important bird populations. Birds distribute the seeds and pollen of the plants they eat (or eat the bugs off-of), helping the plant community, and acting as a check on the insect and rodent population. They nest in the trees and bushes located in the wetlands and drink from their easily available water. Additionally, migratory birds need places to rest, eat, and drink while on their journeys. Other species also need habitat corridors in which to travel their instinctive migration routes, or gather food, or find mates within a certain range. Wetland plants filter the runoff and reduce the dangers from flooding 108 . A healthy plant ecology in a riparian (in and around water) area will help to stabilize the soil and filter runoff before it reaches a waterway. The plants also filter the air, transpiring oxygen, while they provide shade and cool areas. This is especially important within concrete cities that have large thermal massing and/or pollution. People like to be around plants and water. Cool shady areas of lush foliage are just fun to experience, if you are within the area, or just looking at it from the outside. This effect is magnified by its rarity in the urban environment. For the health of the water table, the soil, and the animals, including us, wetlands are important. 108 IWWR, p. 5. 71 Restoration of Wetlands The repair of degraded environmental systems is an important and growing field of science. As defined by the Interagency Workgroup on Wetland Restoration, “Restoration [is the] returning [of] a degraded wetland or former wetland to a pre- existing condition or as close to that condition as is possible.” 109 Restoration is further characterized as “rehabilitation” (restoration in an existing wetland) and “reestablishment” (restoration in a former wetland). 110 Often the main goal of restoration projects working with limited budgets is to do only the things needed to restore natural wetland functions on the site. This can be achieved in different ways. A passive approach would be to remove the elements that are causing degradation and let the area naturally balance itself. This is a good approach when a wetland retains most of its natural functions and the sources of its degradation can be eliminated. For many sites, passive methods are not enough to restore the natural system and an active approach is necessary. Active approaches involve physical intervention in which humans directly control site processes to restore, create, or enhance wetland systems. The active approach is most appropriate when a wetland is severely degraded or when goals cannot be achieved in any other way, as is the case with wetland creation and most enhancements. Active methods may include re-contouring a site to the desired 109 IWWR, p. 6. 110 IWWR, p. 6. 72 topography, changing the water flow with water control structures (i.e., weirs or culverts), intensive planting and seeding, intensive non-native species control, and bringing soils to the site to provide the proper substrate for native species. The design, engineering, construction, and costs for such work can be significant. 111 Rehabilitation of Kuruvungna Wetlands It needs to be stated that pure restoration, whether in historic preservation or ecological terminology is a very specific course of action of returning a site to a former state. It may be impossible to know exactly what a site was formerly like. Rehabilitation is a more realistic description of the course of action that should be taken, as pure restoration to a former state is often not feasible. The springs at Kuruvungna create a first-order stream. It travels into a pool, which overflows into a second pool, and then another stream, which exits into a storm drain. Rehabilitation, as a category of intervention, allows the widest latitude to conserve the natural resource that is the site, while allowing its interpretation and current use to be adapted to reflect the needs of the various stakeholders. These stakeholders include: The students, who need access to the site for learning The Gabrielino/Tongva, who need access to the site for gathering (double entendre) The neighbors and the public, who want access to the site for recreation The biota of the wetlands, which need protection 111 IWWR, p. 8. 73 In order to meet these programmatic needs, the scope and area of the stream enhancement should be controlled to allow for some wet areas, but also dry areas where people can gather. The physical distinction between wet areas and dry areas can be made with landscape elements. Dry areas should be accessed by paths (smooth and wide enough for a wheelchair), while wet areas should have access limited to protect the fragile ecosystems. This conceptual framework should be kept in mind despite the level of intervention decided upon. Basic stream mechanics may help to inform the shape that it may take if the stream and pools were to be released from their concrete confinements. The stream would need to be engineered by humans to perform its hydrologic functions, because so much of the surrounding watershed has been impaired. This can be done with natural materials and an understanding of simple stream mechanics. As a stream flows downhill, it carries sediment. Along the way it is constantly picking up materials in some places and depositing it in other places. When a stream picks up enough dirt from one area of the bank, it starts to erode. Sediment is deposited on the opposite bank and a curve starts to form in the stream. Over time, this effect is exaggerated and the stream becomes a series of meandering curves. 74 The curves collect larger gravel and stones and form shallow areas called riffles. At the riffles, water bubbles over the rocks, oxygenating it, and slowing down its rate of flow, giving the water longer to soak into the ground. The riffles also provide habitat for aquatic life, further enriching the water with nutrients. Riffles are often paired with pools, areas on the outside of meanders that have a flat bottom deeper than the average depth of the stream. Pools provide deep-water habitat for larger aquatic life (like fish). Along the banks of the river are plants, animals, and microbiology that are specially adapted to thrive in a wet environment. It is natural that the flow of a stream change throughout the year as more, or less, water is precipitated into the surrounding watershed. As the stream periodically overflows its channel, the inundated land forms a regular floodplain, bounded by elevated turf benches called terraces. As with all of a stream’s elements, the floodplains perform crucial hydrological functions. They store floodwaters, slowly filtering them as they soak down to recharge the groundwater, and provide habitat for aquatic wildlife. Often a stream channel lies at the bottom of a series of terraces or wider floodplains. It must be understood that eventually there will be larger flood events. These are named by the frequency of their occurrence, hence a 10-year flood, a 50-year flood and a 100-year flood would be increasingly larger and increasingly more infrequent. However infrequent, they are unavoidable and so should be planned for in the design phase, as well as monitored and studied by the students. 75 If left unchecked, the natural erosion and deposition in a stream will continue until a curve becomes too distended and the water seeks a shortcut across the shortest distance, forming what is called an oxbow lake. The size constraints of the site mean that this natural stream movement must be controlled. This is why it has been put into a concrete channel. Control can be achieved, however, with natural durable materials, while still allowing for proper infiltration into the groundwater and hydration of the surrounding soils. It must be repeated and understood that by allowing more infiltration, the wetlands and the floodplains will help to control seasonal flooding, but eventually larger events will overwhelm the system and spread beyond the confines of the site. Estimates have been made as to what volume of water is estimated to be generated in a 50 or 100-year flood, to determine the necessary capacity of the storm-drain system. These should be used to predict the behavior of the given amount of water and plan for its containment, or discharge if necessary, to protect surrounding properties. The restoration of the wetland area of University High School is a great opportunity for the people of the community and the rest of the watershed. The community could benefit from a natural wonder, good for study, enjoyment, and the health of the land in the area. The Native Americans have their sacred site returned to a reasonable facsimile of the way it might have been for their ancestors before the arrival of Europeans. The watershed, tiny piece by tiny piece, is nursed back to health, and this can lead to improved functions in the whole watershed, which is good for all of its inhabitants. 76 Chapter 5: Historical Significance and Integrity In order for a property to qualify for the National Register of Historic Places it must have enough “Integrity” of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association to link it to its “Significance” in one or more of four categories: A. 112 That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. 113 The Kuruvungna site has significance with regards to category A. It has been a site of traditional cultural practices of the Gabrielino/ Tongva since before August 4 th 1769, when the Native Americans living there first encountered Europeans. It is 112 The categories are often referred to by their letter designation. 113 National Register of Historic Places National Register Bulletin(#15) How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Finalized by Patrick W. Andrus, Rebecca H. Shrimpton ed. (Washington, D.C.: National Park System, Revised for Internet 1995, 2001, 2002) p. 2. 77 significant as a sacred site of continuous use. This was the very beginning of the mission system, which opened the west for European expansion, however it was also the beginning of the displacement and forced assimilation of the Native Americans. Kuruvungna has the most historical significance as a Traditional Cultural Property of the Gabrielino/ Tongva Indians. They have demonstrated this through continued use of the site and springs for over two millennia. Remains of their ancestral village, however small, lie in the ground beneath. Many people would then simply ascribe the site significance under category D: Sites that have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory. Nothing could be farther from the intent of the Gabrielino/ Tongva Springs Foundation, the tribal representatives of the site, who believe that removing so-called artifacts from the ground degrades their value. To the Gabrielino/ Tongva, the continuous use of the site has value under criteria A: Sites that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. In this case, the broad patterns of Gabrielino/ Tongva history. The site is also illustrative of all of the periods of occupation in the history of Southern California, from prehistoric to urban. Its evolution parallels that of Southern California, and its plants and animals are evidence of that. The period of significance is continuous from c. 1-700CE to the present: the time that the Gabrielino/ Tongva have been using the site. 78 In order to be eligible for inclusion in the Register, a property must have Integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, most of which do not even apply to Traditional Cultural Properties. At Kuruvungna, the integrity of location is degraded. Most of the original site has been covered by the development of the neighborhood and school. The current site under discussion is a remnant of a much larger original site, however it has not moved. The integrity of design is not representative of its significance as a Traditional Cultural Property. The integrity of setting is almost completely gone. As noted before, the majority of the original site has been developed. The remnant however, has a large amount of mature flora, which shields the area from the surrounding city, forming a naturalized enclave. This effect could be sustained and enhanced around the perimeter of the site to bolster this effect and help mitigate this aspect of degradation. The integrity of materials is one of great concern. Landscapes, especially wetlands, evolve and grow. The materials at the site, most of the plants, are a mixture of native and non-native species. The removal of many of these plants and their replacement with “appropriate” ones is among the main goals of the rehabilitation process. A more realistic goal may be to restore the integrity of the hydrologic systems of the wetland by removing plants that hinder self-sustainability, rather than try to replace any specific plant material because of its origin. In other words, all of 79 the non-native plants may not need to be removed, only the ones impeding the natural functions of the wetlands. The integrity of workmanship is apparent in the architectural elements of the site: the bungalow, the cement paths, and the cement containment of the spring, stream and pools. Each has its interpretive value towards a phase of occupation of the site, however they speak to the disrespect of the site as a Traditional Cultural Property. The integrity of feeling is still very high. In the midst of the city’s density, the site is like an oasis. This has a lot to do with the natural visual and audio barriers formed by the plants and the land. Inside the site, there is a feeling of tranquility; one can see and smell and hear the trees and the water, not the city. The integrity of association is incredibly high for the Gabrielino/ Tongva people. They associate this patch of land with very strongly with the former village and its occupants: their ancestors. The categories of integrity were not developed to deal with this type of property, and are being stretched to encompass new types of sites that contain obvious historic significance. The Gabrielino/Tongva associate the site with their ancestral village, and by extension, their former way of life before European contact. It still has the feeling of a site located in nature. Of the seven categories of integrity, only the two vaguest and most abstract can be applied. There are no categories which describe an ongoing and intimate relationship the Native Americans have with the land and with the past. 80 In recognition of this fact, National Register Bulletin #38, “Guidelines for Evaluating and Nominating Traditional Cultural Properties”, was published in 1990. On the subject of integrity, NRB #38 says, “In the case of a traditional cultural property, there are two fundamental questions to ask about integrity. First, does the property have an integral relationship to traditional cultural practices or beliefs; and second, is the condition of the property such that the relevant relationships survive?” 114 Is the site integral to the cultural practices or beliefs? The site is sacred because of the presence of a natural spring and the fact that it is the site of a former village. Essentially this means that no other site could be exchanged for this one in the performance of traditional ritual, or even simple community gatherings. The site is one of the few open and naturalized places within the city where the Gabrielino/Tongva can practice their religion, or simply hold their regular tribal government meetings 115 . It still contains the elements which make it a special place to them: the spring, the plants, the sky, and the earth, with the remains of 1500 years of occupation by their ancestors embedded in it. 114 National Park Service, National Register Of Historic Places & U.S. Department of the Interior. National Register Bulletin(#38) “Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties”. Revised 1998; Originally Published 1990. 115 Despite the perception of Los Angeles as “The Garden City”, when you remove the Santa Monica Mountains, there is only 3% of the area dedicated to park space, while most major metropolitan cities have 10-15%. 81 Does the relationship to the practice or belief survive? The site maintains enough integrity for its continued use as a Traditional Cultural Property by the Gabrielino/Tongva. Should any of the degraded elements be rehabilitated, this will only increase its legibility and therefore its connection with its significance. Because the land was the site of a former village, it lends a kind of spiritual power that might be described as a “blessing” on all of the events which take place there. The site contains immense potential interpretive value, and that is one way to gauge its remaining integrity. Religious Within the sacred landscape, the natural water features act as primary metaphorical devices for religious encoding of key mythology. Since the water represents the gift of life from the Supreme Being 116 , it is an appropriate place for offerings of gratitude for the bounty given by the Supreme Being. Offerings of gratitude, like tobacco, are ritually placed into the water. There are several historical rituals that have been recorded that involve regular washing and periodic purification by steam, requiring water, preferably from 116 “Supreme Being” is a term that I got from Vine Deloria’s book Custer Died for Your Sins p. 103. No Native American has said it to me, it is one that I have chosen with no disrespectful intent, to encompass anyone’s conception of a “higher power”. 82 a natural spring. 117 Also, the water is believed by some Gabrielinos to have healing powers. They soak in the water several times a year as a treatment for arthritis, which is reportedly successful. Native American oral traditions encode the landscape, investing it with meaning, for use as a kind of multi-sensory mnemonic device to aid in the telling of stories. 118 One can see how a natural spring with a small stream leading to a small lake would be useful in commemorating, or teaching about any of the above legends. Native Americans practice their religions outside, in Nature. 119 That is why it is so fortuitous that the site is still in a relatively undeveloped state, in a part of the city that has few such residual spaces. The Gabrielino/ Tongva’s current practices are enhanced by the fact that the water is still flowing on the same site where their ancestors lived and worshipped openly 250 years ago. Artifacts have been found at the site. To the Gabrielino/ Tongva, this does not give it value as a place that “may yield future archaeological information”. The idea is abhorrent. The value is that the items are in the ground, under them, leaking their spiritual power up. If they have it their way, it will never be dug up. But…they are not opposed to the display of the items that have already been recovered, excepting any human remains or burial items. 117 These are outlined in the Chapter on the History of the sacred site (chapter 2). 118 Deward Walker, E. Jr. “Protection of American Indian Sacred Geography” in Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom, Christopher Vecsey ed. (NY: Crossroads Publishing, 1991) pgs. 103, 107, 111 119 Interview with Al Lasos, 100% “full-blooded” Gabrielino/Tongva and former leader of the GTSF, July 1, 2006; p. 5. 83 There is textual evidence of a Gabrielino/Tongva village at the site. The three corroborating diaries all mention the village. Along their journey the Spanish recorded hundreds of encounters with Native Americans, and as many natural way- finding devices as they could make out. Most of these landmarks are gone, and make it impossible to tie the text with any actual locations. However, the springs at Kuruvungna have been such a major feature in the history of the land and the development of the contemporary city, that they have retained their identification over 200 years. Out of all of the villages that the Portolá Expedition stopped at, to be able to tie the text together with a site, and archaeological remains, is the link that ties this site to the historical events. For the Gabrielino/ Tongva, such identification provides them with verification of what they already know: once there was a thriving Indian village on this spot because it is a special place. Hopefully the site can then become a more productive part of the cultural renewal that the current Gabrielino/ Tongva seek, by providing them with earth in which to plant the native plants that they use for their religious and cultural practices, like sage burning, and deer grass for basket making. The spring could provide an essential source of natural ground hydration for all of the plants in the area, therefore irrigation will not be required. The installation of these native plants is potentially in-line with the wishes of the ecologists who are rehabilitating the stream. Kuruvungna, as a pair of springs, and as a site, contains a message about the continuous evolution of the landscape, especially in regards to cultural ecology. It is an opportunity to learn from the environment, in the midst of the city. It has the 84 potential to become an educational centerpiece, not in the future, but beginning now. The entire process is an opportunity to engage the students, turning the space into a large, outdoor, cultural ecology lab. It is imperative, and entirely possible, to do all of this, while maintaining, and hopefully enhancing, the tranquility and sanctity of the site in consultation with the Gabrielino/ Tongva. 85 Bibliography Adam, Rev. J. translator. Life of Ven. Padre Junípero Serra written by Very Rev. Francis Palóu, Guardian of the Convent of San Fernando, Mexico. San Francisco: P.E. Dougherty & Co, 1884. Ballona Creek Watershed Task Force. Ballona Creek Watershed Management Plan. Prepared by: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Watershed Management Division; Ballona Creek Renaissance; Los Angeles City Department of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation, Watershed Protection Division; National Park Service, Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program; Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission With the assistance of: EIP Associates; Arthur Golding & Associates; Chambers Group; Integrated Water Resources; MWH. Los Angeles: Published by the City of Los Angeles, 2004. Beier, Paul, Kristeen L. Penrod, Claudia Luke, Wayne D. Spencer, Clint Cabañero “South Coast Missing Linkages: Restoring Connectivity to Wildlands in the Largest Metropolitan Area in the United States.” Published In KR Crooks and MA Sanjayan, editors, Connectivity and Conservation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Biolsi, Thomas and Larry J. Zimmerman eds.. Indians & Anthropologists; Vine Deloria Jr. and the Critique of Anthropology. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1997. Bolton, Herbert Eugene, translated from the original Spanish manuscript and ed. Font's Complete Diary, a Chronicle of the Founding of San Francisco. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1931. Bolton, Herbert Eugene ed. Historical Memoirs of New California / by Fray Francisco Palóu, O.F.M., translated into English from the manuscript in the archives of Mexico. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1926. Bolton, Herbert Eugene ed. Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1927. Boscana, Geronimo. Chinigchinich. Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press, 2005. Burns, John A. ed. Recording Historic Structures. 2 nd edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. 86 California Historical Society. Identification of Sir Francis Drake’s Anchorage on the Coast of California in the year 1759. San Francisco: California Historical Society Publication, Bacon & Co, 1890. Carter, Thomas and Elizabeth Collins Cromley. Invitation to Vernacular Architecture; A Guide to the Study of Ordinary Buildings and Landscapes. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 2005. Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Website accessed 11/27/06. http://www.archdiocese.la/about/heritage/index.html County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works. Los Angeles River Master Plan Landscaping Guidelines and Plant Palettes. Los Angeles: Published by the City of Los Angeles, January 2004. Deloria, Vine Jr. Custer Died for your Sins; An Indian Manifesto. London: The Macmillan Company, 1969. Fages, Pedro. A Historical, Political, and Natural Description of California by Pedro Fages, Soldier of Spain, Dutifully Made for the Viceroy in the Year 1775. Translated by Priestley, Herbert Ingram. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1937. Frank, L. Acorn Soup. Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books, 1999. Galloway, Anne. Továngar (World); A Gabrielino Word Book. Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press, 1978. Geiser, Maynard J. Translated and annotated. Palou’s Life of Junípero Serra. Washington, D.C.: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1955. Hammond, George, Peter. Noticias De California. First Report Of The Occupation By The Portolá Expedition, 1770, With Facsimiles Of The Original Printings, A New Translation, Contemporary Maps, And A Narrative Of How It All Came To Pass. San Francisco: Book Club of California, 1958. Heizer, Robert F. ed. The Indians of Los Angeles County: Hugo Reid's Letters of 1852. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum, 1968. 87 Heizer, Robert F. ed. Village Names in Twelve California Mission Records by C. Hart Merriam. University of California Archaeological Survey No. 74. Berkeley, CA: University of California Archaeological Research Facility, Department of Anthropology, Berkeley, CA July 1968. Huggins, Dorothy H. “Unhallowed Place Names from Portolá’s Soldiers” California Folklore Quarterly volume IV, number 3. Sacramento: California Folklore Society July 1945. Interagency Workgroup on Wetland Restoration: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service. An Introduction and User’s Guide to Wetland Restoration, Creation, and Enhancement. Washington, D.C.: EPA, 2003. Izaak Walton League of America. A Handbook for Stream Enhancement and Stewardship 2 nd ed. Blacksburg, VA: McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, 2006. Johnston, Bernice Eastman. California’s Gabrielino Indians. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum, 1968. King, Thomas. Places That Count: Traditional Cultural Properties In Cultural Resource Management. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2003. Mathes, W. Michael. Vizcaíno and Spanish Expansion in the Pacific Ocean, 1580- 1630. San Francisco: California Historical Society, c1968. McCawley, William. The First Angelinos. Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press, 1996. Miller, Bruce W. The Gabrielino. Los Osos, CA: Sand River Press, 1991. Moore, Steven C. “Sacred Sites and Public Lands” Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom. Christopher Vecsey ed. New York: Crossroads Publishing, 1991. Munoz, Jeanne. A Partial Index to the Mission San Gabriel, Baptism, Marriage, and Death Registers. Los Angeles: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Environmental Planning Section, 1982. 88 National Register of Historic Places National Register Bulletin(#15) How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Finalized by Patrick W. Andrus, Rebecca H. Shrimpton ed. Revised for Internet 1995, 2001, 2002 Accessed online March 1, 2007, at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins.htm National Park Service, National Register Of Historic Places & U.S. Department of the Interior. National Register Bulletin(#38) “Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties”. Revised 1998; Originally Published 1990. Accessed March 1, 2007 online at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins.htm National Park Service, National Register Of Historic Places & U.S. Department Of Interior. National Register Bulletin(#16A) How to Complete the National Register Registration Form. Revised 1986; 1991; 1997; Originally Published 1977. Accessed March 1, 2007 online at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins.htm Null, Cynthia. Native Plants: As Used by Southern California Indians. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum, 1982. Robinson, W.W.. The Indians of Los Angeles: Story of the Liquidation of a People. Los Angeles: G. Dawson, 1952. Scott, Paula. Santa Monica: A History on the Edge. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2004. Sleeper, Jim. “Nine Days in July; Portolá’s March Through Orange County”. The Rancho San Joaquin Gazette; volume III, number 4. Irvine, CA: Irvine Company, the only date given is “July”. Teggart, Fredrick J. ed. The Official Account Of The Portola Expedition Of 1769- 1770. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1909. Teggart, Fredrick J. and Donald Eugene Smith eds. Diary of Gaspar de Portolá During the California Expedition of 1769-1770. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1909. Teggart, Fredrick J. ed. Diary of Miguel Costansó During the Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1911. 89 United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Wetlands Overview” Accessed January 2007 via the EPA website for Wetlands: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/ Venegas, Miguel, translator. A Natural And Civil History Of California: Containing An Accurate Description Of That Country, Its Soil, Mountains, Harbours, Lakes, Rivers, And Seas ... Together With Accounts Of The Several Voyages And Attempts Made For Settling California ... / Translated From The Original Spanish Of Miguel Venegas, A Mexican Jesuit, Published At Madrid 1758. London: Rivington and Fletcher, 1759. Walker, Deward E. Jr. “Protection of American Indian Sacred Geography” Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom. Christopher Vecsey ed. NY: Crossroads Publishing, 1991. Watson, Douglas and Thomas Temple II. The Expedition Into California Of The Venerable Padre Fray Junípero Serra And His Companions In The Year 1769 / As Told By Fray Francisco Palóu, And Hitherto Unpublished Letters Of Serra, Palóu And Galvéz: The Whole Newly Translated And Arranged As A Consecutive Narrative, With The Aid Of Thomas W. Temple II, By Douglas S. Watson; To Which Is Added The Account Of Serra's Death Inscribed By Fray Francisco Palóu In The Book Of The Dead At Carmel Mission. San Francisco: Nueva California Press, c1934. Zamorano Club. Early Franciscan Activities On The West Coast. Los Angeles, CA: Zamorano Club, 1941. 90 Appendix A: Recommendations This thesis is only the beginning of the process. It cannot be stressed enough that a comprehensive Master Plan needs to be developed in partnership with professional ecologists, educational interpretation designers, and others. The process will need to be overseen by the stakeholders, especially the Gabrielino/Tongva and the school. Any work should necessarily be done under the supervision of Native American archaeological monitors. Recommendations for the rehabilitation and use of the site support four fundamental goals that can collectively be described as Cultural Ecology: the way that humans have interact with the landscape. First and foremost is the continued ritual use of the site by the Gabrielino/Tongva people in their quest to maintain their cultural identity through continued practice of their traditional beliefs. It is a site of great spirituality, and any interventions must be taken with the utmost respect and under direct consultation with the Gabrielino/ Tongva Springs Foundation. The Second goal is that of education, primarily for students of University High, as well as other groups of students who could come to the site on field-trips, and the community. One of the primary goals of Historic Preservation is interpretation. 91 Third, and in line with the goals of ritual and education, is the preservation of history: American, Native-American, and others’. By being attached to the school, the site affords the students a unique opportunity to experience their history in a more sensually holistic way, bringing them closer to the events they study and hopefully, making their education more meaningful and lasting. The final goal is for people to learn about the ecology of the land around them and the particular importance of environmental conservation and rehabilitation. Lessons about wetlands, and their functions in an environmental system that humans are rapidly depleting, are becoming increasingly important. We need to convey this importance to our young people, among whom are the leaders of tomorrow. Each of these goals are consistent with those of the other interested parties. The Native Americans want to honor the inhabitants of the region before the arrival of Europeans. The historians want the stories about the Spanish missionaries & landholders and their role in the history of California. The Historic Preservationists want to maintain its integrity while interpreting its Period of Significance. The wetland ecologists want it rehabilitated to a close approximation of how it was before disturbance. The school wants it to be educational, inexpensive, safe, interesting, and nice looking (in approximately that order). The neighbors just want it to be safe and nice looking. The City wants to make sure that the water doesn’t flood private property outside of the boundaries of the site. By establishing the period of significance as continuous from the year 1769 to now, we can accommodate all of these things. It was at that point that the 92 Missionaries with the Spanish Portolá expedition encountered the Native Tongva (Gabrielino) population. The ecology of the wetlands should be returned, on a feasible scope, to its functions at the time of this first recorded contact. Levels of Intervention Intervention is the assertion of human control over some or all elements of the site. Although this document is about the thoughtful planning of intervention measures, do not think that the site is not currently under human control. In fact, one of the main goals of rehabilitating wetland functions is that they are made self- sustainable. This tremendously relieves the financial and maintenance burden on the school, while at the same time providing them with an educational centerpiece that could make learning an exciting and physical activity outside. The Secretary of the Interior publishes Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, which are intended to promote responsible preservation practices that help protect our Nation's irreplaceable cultural resources. The Standards will not make the decisions for a particular project, they will provide a philosophical framework, consistent within each of four approaches. The four treatment approaches are Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction, outlined below in hierarchical order and explained: The first treatment, Preservation, places a high premium on the retention of all historic fabric through conservation, maintenance and repair. It reflects a 93 building's continuum over time, through successive occupancies, and the respectful changes and alterations that are made. Rehabilitation, the second treatment, emphasizes the retention and repair of historic materials, but more latitude is provided for replacement because it is assumed the property will potentially need more intervention to bring it up to current occupational standards. Both Preservation and Rehabilitation standards focus attention on the preservation of those materials, features, finishes, spaces, and spatial relationships that, together, give a property its historic character. These are collectively called the “Character Defining Features”. Restoration, the third treatment, focuses the preservation activity only on the most significant time in a property's history, while eliminating materials from other periods. This is extremely difficult to do without some level of speculation, as many elements may have been changed over time, and need to be replaced. It is often impossible to know what the original missing element was, and so restorers often resort to replacement with something “from the period”. Reconstruction, the fourth treatment, attempts to recreate a property that no longer exists. This is extremely rare and is only attempted when it can be done without speculation. An example may be the reconstruction of a historic structure, from measured drawings, that had been unintentionally destroyed. The school, in agreement with the other stakeholders, can proceed on any number of levels of Intervention into the site, depending on the agreed upon programmatic needs and the resultant Master Plan. These levels range from doing 94 nothing to completely re-engineering the hydrology of the entire school property. Some examples of these interventions are outlined below. It will be up to the stakeholders to decide if any of these are appropriate and to prioritize their implementation. Preservation To a Historic Preservationist, this is not such a bad thing. As a Traditional Cultural Property, the site still has significance to the Gabrielino/Tongva. The status quo keeps it minimally stabilized. The lack of interpretation would need to be addressed, but at least the cultural resource is not being unduly degraded. This has whatever minimal costs are currently incurred to maintain, interpret and secure the site. Any work that disturbs the earth should be done so under the supervision of trained Native American anthropological monitors. While some of these measures require a physical action be done to the site, remember that a passive approach requires the removal of the elements that are causing degradation and letting the area naturally balance itself. Even passive measures are complex, long-term projects to be undertaken with patient consideration by the stakeholders after consultation with experts. This means that they are going to cost money, time and resources. They are listed below in increasing expenditure, although other strategies may be found to achieve the same goals. Alter the way that the human population interacts with the environment. This can be free. We need to conceptually divide the area into wet and dry areas 95 and in general, humans need to be kept out of the wet areas, or at least, enabled to tread lightly. Determine the extent to which both native and non-native species are invasive and impairing the functions of the wetland. This is going to cost money and take time by qualified professional ecologists and native botanical experts. Stop the introduction of non-native plant and animal species, and discontinue expenditure of resources to keep invasive species alive. This actually saves resources. Remove the most invasive and detrimental plant and animal species. This may occur as slowly or as rapidly as funds allow. Once there is a plan, select plants can be removed periodically as resources become available. This needs to be done under the supervision of experts who can determine the ways that plants need to be removed without exposing the site to undue erosion or reinvasion by other exotic species. Any work needs to be monitored by Cultural Resource Managers trained in work at Native American Sites. Do a survey. This will need to be guided by professionals, but the students can do the labor of mapping the site, including native and non-native flora and fauna. This document will be the template for site planning, outlining the areas where certain activities would be destructive to the environment, and where they would be most suitably tolerated. Determine the extent to which the cement channeling impairs the natural infiltration of the spring. This is going to cost money and take time by 96 qualified professionals trained in stream rehabilitation. This is what ecologists call “stream enhancement”. Develop a Comprehensive Master-Plan. This may be the most important step. This document has the potential to synthesize the needs of the stakeholders (after much discussion) and spell out and prioritize their goals for the site. It will help form the basis for future decisions. At least three parts will be needed: (1) an Interpretive Section will describe the message of Kuruvungna and the way that it is communicated to the audience. This section will be quite extensive, as we are talking about designing curriculum for students, which will meet educational content standards. This will also help to guide the (2) Landscape Section, which will determine protocols for what to do about plants on the site. (3) is a Hydrological Monitoring Section. The source and flow of the spring should be investigated and documented in an attempt to further protect its sources against interruption by local construction activities. This will also require experts and capital expenditure. It will take a long time as well. Patience must be highly valued at every stage. Alter the cement channeling to allow hydrological functions of the stream to begin to return to normal. This may range from piercing the concrete, to completely removing it. Careful study of the situation will suggest priorities and at least one course of action, to be decided on by the stakeholders. Understand that the area is a wetland. Water is seeping out of the hillside, and around the cement collar of the spring. It is wet. Releasing the water from its 97 channeling is going to make the area soggy. This will cause a cascade of effects including: how do you move people through the site? Kuruvungna, as a pair of springs, and as a site, contains a message about the continuous evolution of the landscape, especially in regards to cultural ecology. It is an opportunity to learn from the environment, in the midst of the city. A visitor to the site has the opportunity to learn from at least four areas: Tongva Area: Learn about the continuous evolution of the Uto-Aztecan Gabrielino/ Tongva, who came into the area about two thousand years ago and assimilated or displaced the local Hokan speaking people. Later they were mostly assimilated or displaced by the Spanish Mission system, but they persisted as a culture, continuing to evolve today as everything must. Spring Area: Discover how the water is collected, mixed, and dispensed by the spring, and learn about its enduring nurturance of the different people who have lived near it. Wetland Area: Learn about stream systems and the especially nurturing environment they form for plants and animals, including humans. Historical ecology can be discussed through the correlation of human and plant migrations into an area. Plants are very often spread by animals, and humans are the animals that move the most plants the farthest. Seismic Area: Learn about the continuously changing shape of the land on top of a seismic fault. This kind of evolution of the landscape is not only metaphorical of 98 the historical mixture of plants and humans, but of the regenerative power of the spring itself. At this site, there exists the opportunity for people of all ages and communities to gather and learn about the history of their environment. There is a way to do this, while still maintaining the deepest respect for the Gabrielino/ Tongva’s use of the land. While it is important that any Master Plan be created with professional Educators, Ecologists, Cultural Resource Managers, etc., it would be a shame not to include the students. The process itself offers students a golden opportunity to learn about the way a site is interpreted and managed. Any professionals should be hired, not to simply produce a product, but to guide the students through the production of one. This kind of living classroom will provide invaluable real-world experiences. 99 Fig. 27: Diagram of Proposed Areas of Interest at the Site 100 Appendix B: Site Analysis Diagrams Fig. 29: Satellite Image Showing School Boundaries 101 Fig. 29: Diagram of Traffic Patterns at the Site Fig. 30: Diagram of Land Use Surrounding the Site 102 Fig. 31: Diagram of Areas that Flood Regularly Fig. 32: Diagram of Building Uses 103 Fig. 33: Diagram of Potential Overflow Parking for the Site Fig. 34: Diagram of Areas of Water at the Site 104 Fig. 35: Diagram of Walking Routes Fig. 36: Diagram of Buildings at the Site 105 Fig. 37: Diagram of Cement Paths at the Site Fig. 38: Diagram of Covered Surfaces at the Site 106 Fig. 39: Diagram of Boundaries (Fences And Gates) at the Site Fig. 40: Diagram of Proposed New Boundaries for the Site 107 Fig. 41: Diagram of Proposed Wet & Dry Areas & Area of Seismic Instability Fig. 42: Diagram of University High School’s Plans to Move Buildings from the Site. 108 Fig. 43: Diagram of Proposed Bus Routes, Tour Routes, and Potential Areas for Interpretive Art for the Site 109 Appendix C: Crespí Diary This copy of the partial, unpublished, anonymously annotated, Crespí diary that was obtained from Angie Behrns. 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 Appendix D: Plant List Plant descriptions taken from the above Crespí diary: August 2 nd, 1769, they arrived at the LA River: Crespi Annotated Sycamores California Sycamore (Platanus Racemosa) Willows Cottonwoods Very large Live Oaks Coast Live Oak (Cuercus Agrifolia) Pine-nut cone Brambles Blackberry (Rubus Ursinus) Grapevines Desert Grape (Vitis Girdiana) Rose bushes Wild Rose (Rosa Californica) Sage either Purple Sage (Salvia Leucophylla) or California Sagebrush (Artemisia Californica) August 4 th they came to Kuruvungna and this is what they saw: Dry grasses Tall weeds A single large patch of roses Very tender edible cresses Houses roofed with grass Different Edible seeds Sage drink The next day, they saw these plants: Great deal of grass Large sycamores Live Oaks and White Oaks Small walnut trees Rose bushes Tule rush patches Prickly pear 118 Appendix E: Singleton Paper Copy of the unpublished “Chronology of the Gabrielino/ Tongva Nation” prepared by Heather V. Singleton, Gabrielino/ Tongva Tribal Researcher, obtained from Angie Behrns. 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 Appendix F: GTSF Newsletters 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 Appendix G: Al Lasos Interview Copy of Interview with Al Lasos, Gabrielino/ Tongva Springs Foundation Elder. Kuruvungna Wedding Saturday, July 1, 2006 Kuruvungna Spring site 1430 S Barrington Ave Los Angeles, California 3-5 pm pacific time An invitation to the event was extended by Loretta Ditlow, a board-member of the Gabrielino Tongva Springs Foundation. They manage the site at which the event was held. It was the wedding of Gina Galvan to a young man named Carlos, who is of Panamanian descent. Gina is “1/4 Indian”. Her grandfather, the elder of the tribe, is “100%, full-blood Indian Al Lasos, the elder of the tribe, and Gina’s maternal grandfather, was present at the wedding with his wife Lolly. Gina’s mother had been ill with M/S and Al and Lolly raised Gina for a time. Gina’s mother passed away 5 or 6 months ago. Upon arrival, Angie Behrns’ husband, Donald, was videotaping an interview of Al Lasos, the former leader of the local Gabrielino group. Al has been out of action for months because he is wheelchair bound following a stroke. They were trying to video Al in front of the spring and the crowd of wedding goers. Ken Breisch introduced me to Loretta Ditlow, and she introduced us to Al. He is a barrel-chested man with a very kind smile when it can be coaxed out of him. It was a solemn time and it was important to be respectful of his situation. Loretta was asking questions about his youth, and about being an Indian, or about the springs. We had to move away from the crowd and start over. Al’s grandson did not want to have anything to do with interviews. Fig. 44: Photos of Al Lasos, Tribal Elder 151 Transcription:1 of 5 (Crowd Noise) Al Lasos (AL):…Well my mother had 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls. And my sister, I had one older sister, that her and I were the only ones… (noise) … and various illnesses, like my younger sister had cancer and one of my older sisters had cancer, a little of everything in our family. But we all grew up together in this area. We loved each other very much, and got along with everyone. We never were in any trouble of any kind. My mother was real proud of us. She raised us, 10 of us, by herself. So, I think she did a hell of a job. Brian Zachary (BZ): 10 of you, wow! That’s impressive. What years did you go to High School here? Al: ’47 I left. Ken Breisch (KB): And you were aware of the Springs? AL: Oh yeah, I took Horticulture class. (noise) by the water. BZ: And you knew this was a sacred sight? AL: oh yeah BZ: and your mother had told you about that… AL: About what? BZ: …or all your family members. About the Springs, or you learned that from the school? AL: Well Actually I learned more or less from coming to school here because I took the agriculture here but my brothers used to help the horticulture teacher and stuff, so we knew about it anyway. But, when I came here, it was the most beautiful sight (site?) you ever could see. But now it’s really run down and everything. But this school was one of the most beautiful campuses in the unified district and I, like I said, lived up the street here so I always wanted to come here. I went to that grammar school over there, Brentwood(?) Avenue, and I went to Emerson over here, and most of my family went here, like my older people went here when it was Harding High. Because I’m 77 and I’m the youngest of them. BZ: of the 10? AL: well my sister is younger. Loretta Ditlow (LD): Well we’re videotaping, so would you say what your name is because you’re on the video tape (speaking to Al’s son)… No?... OK…Then I guess you’re…is he on the camera? He needs to… (now speaking to AL) Tell us a little bit about your mother. AL: My mother was born in San Gabriel, California. Where her parents lived in San Gabriel all their lives. My mother went to school there, and she met my father in Los Angeles at one of these dances, and they got married and my father moved her out here to Santa Monica. So she lived out here in Santa Monica most of her life. But, consequently she was born and raised in San Gabriel and all of my aunts and uncles are from there. And my father, the only thing we could really find out about him was that his great grandfather was a cadet in the Spanish war, Spanish Army. 152 LD: Your great grandfather was what? Your voice dropped there. AL: my Great-grandfather was a lieutenant in the Spanish…uh… LD: …the Spanish-American war? BZ: no the army AL:…the Spanish Army Donald Behrns (DB): You know what, this is not going to work. LD: no? DB: No. There is too much noise…(LD and DB debate the merits of sound recording and decide to move AL away from the crowd and continue the interview because they are afraid he will be too worn out to do it later.) Transcription 2 of 5 (Al has been moved away from the crowd, near to the origin point of the spring) Fig. 45: The Spring LD:…well what kind of questions do you need to ask. Warn him…tell him DB: All right, were rolling, start asking, basically start over again. LD: alright, what is your name? AL: Al Lasos. LD: Good. And where are you from? AL: West Los Angeles. LD: Ok and what school did you go to and what did you do? AL: I went to University High School right here. LD: Ok, and uh you’re a very famous person at University High. AL: I played a little bit of football here. LD: Quite a bit, and won a lot of games didn’t you? And everybody at the school recognized you, that’s great. And tell me a little bit about your mom and your dad. 153 AL: well, like I said, my father died when I was two years old, so I really never knew my father that well, but my mother did everything she could possibly do to raise… (noise) … a hell of a job. None of us ever got into any trouble, we all served our country, and we were pleased to do it. LD: and what branch of the service were you in? AL: The Navy. LD: During which war? AL: Korea. LD: Korea, ok. And do you have any living brothers or sisters now? AL: I have one sister left. LD: ok. BZ: she’s your younger sister? AL: no she’s older. She’s 90. BZ: 90. And you all lived in West Los Angeles all of your lives? AL: All our lives. BZ: very close to the school? AL: well, like me, I lived about three blocks up the hill here. BZ: and a lot of your family went to this school? AL: Yes, all of my brothers and sisters went here. BZ: excellent. And can you talk a little about the significance of the spring in terms of the Tongva? AL: well as I’ve come to understand it this was a campsite of the Portolo expedition. And Father Serra set this site up for traveling up North putting in their missions and stuff. But I was at uh… DB: I’m sorry, you (BZ) should come over here next to the camera. Al is looking sideways. BZ: Yes. Yes, absolutely. I’m sorry. DB: a little bit sideways is fine, but just you were… LD: ok, and where did you meet your wife. AL: well I really met her at Emerson Junior High, when we were going to Junior High, and we’ve been married for 57 years. BZ: 57 years. AL: and we have 5 children of our own. We’ve lost two of them. We lost one in Viet Nam. And we just lost a daughter, um, 5-6 months ago. BZ: I’m sorry. AL: yeah, MS, she passed away. BZ: I’m sorry. AL: the rest of them are all doing fine. My son has a good job. My daughter is doing fine. My youngest daughter has cancer also. She’s off and on chemo. She’s had it, and right now she’s on remission. We’re hoping that everything will turn out ok. LD: tell us a little bit more about your mom. Was she born in the mission? 154 AL: uh, she was born in the Mission District, actually she wasn’t born right in the Mission. My grandparents owned property there, so she went to school there. I used to get a kick out of her telling of riding horseback to go to school. So, it was really nice. LD: I know your mother lived to quite an old age. How old was she? AL: ‘97. I looked it up, all of the aunts and uncles on her side of the family all lived into their 90’s. LD: What did she say about your Indian Heritage? Did she ever cook Indian meals? AL: well my mother did some. And my wife tried to. But it is really not the same. Like fry-bread. LD: what kind of Indian food did you eat, that your mama cooked. AL: Well, like I said, at the end of the month, we were already stretched out and we didn’t have any money, so my mother would make us fry-bread and stuff like that. (noise) Otherwise, we wouldn’t have nothing to eat, so she did whatever she could to support us…(noise) LD: Well did she work? AL: No, She had enough work taking care of ten of us kids. LD: yeah. Was she on welfare then? AL: yes. LD: oh. That’s good. And she was born early on, and what year was she born? AL: 1886. LD: 1886. That’s a long time ago. And your family stretches back that long? AL: I can trace my family back to 1600. LD: tell us about that. AL: Well all I know is what I (noise)…family chart, and I have aunts and uncles that go back that far. BZ: did your family ever talk about Native American religion or things of that nature? AL: Yes, Like, the Indian religion itself doesn’t believe in being inside, like inside a church. Like even in San Gabriel, they used to have windows that the priests would preach to the Indians outside. That’s more or less how we do it. Except I did go to first holy communion, confirmation, stuff like that. Our beliefs are a little bit different. BZ: did your mom kind-of believe both, Catholic and Native American? AL: Right. BZ: Very nice. Did you ever participate in any rituals here at the spring? AL: Oh yes, I used to be one of their board members, then I got sick. I had a heart attack. Otherwise I used to come help clean-up, celebrate their, in October, the day before Columbus, they have a little gathering. LD: You guided us. You were, you told us what to do. He was our boss, of this Gabrielino Springs Foundation. AL: Right. LD: We started in 1992. 155 KB: What, do you think, made this such a special place for the Gabrielino-Tongva people? AL: Well, if, actually if you’ve never been here before, just the site of itself is a blessing, and it brings you good cheer. To me anyway, that’s how I feel. BZ: I definitely does. In the middle of the city, its an oasis. It’s a beautiful spot. AL: Right. BZ: So, the day before Columbus Day is a significant day. Are there any other specific holidays or ceremonies that you do here at the spring? AL: Not too many. We’re having a wedding today, one of my granddaughters is getting married. Other than Columbus, we do not use it for that many festivals of any kind, because we are not geared up for all of that stuff. But we enjoy having our little gatherings, its not a Pow Wow, it’s a gathering, because, you see, its not that big. BZ: I understand. AL: But we do have a lot of surprises. BZ: excellent and this is the first wedding I understand in the 15 years that you have controlled the sight. AL: Yes, well, this is the first of our family, but there have been other weddings here. But this is a first for us. BZ: Congratulations. Music begins in the background. A solo flutist. Loretta Ditlow brings forward Al’s wife: Lolly Lasos (LL) Fig. 46: Photo of Al Lasos and his wife Lolly LD: This is Lolly, his wife. 156 BZ: Lolly, hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Brian Zachary, I’m a student at USC. LD: And so we’d like you to say when you first met Al. LL: Oh. Let’s see. Al and I went through Junior High and High School together. And we were just friends in Junior High, and we were still friends in High School until we got to about, the eleventh grade? AL: Yeah, something like that. LL: and it was so funny because my friends would tell me, “now, don’t go-on with him. Cause he’s cheating on women.” It was his heyday, you know he was a football star here at University High School. And so I took their advice and I kind of ignored Al a lot. Until the eleventh grade he asked me out, and so I said I’d go out with him. When I went out with him I found out he wasn’t such a bad guy after all. They had exaggerated, so I’ve known him for many years… AL: you’ve got to speak louder. LL: My voice doesn’t carry very well, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve always had this problem with speaking loud. And he went into the service and we were married then and he was in school, he went to the service first and then we got married. And since then we have five children, and eleven grandchildren and eleven great-grand children, there’s one on the way in December. So we’ve been kind of occupied with our family and when we do get together it’s a big family. A lot of noise, a lot of kids running around. But it’s ok. Other than that, I don’t know what else to tell you about Al and my life with him. We’ve always been together, it’s been 57 years now and he’s been there for me and I’ve been for him. It kinda works both ways. We’ve had our ups and downs. He kinda ignores me a lot. (both laugh) and I ignore him a lot. It helps. BZ: And Gina is your granddaughter? That’s who’s getting married today. That’s what we are all here to celebrate. AL & LL: Yes. LL: Yes she is little Gina Dancing Fox, that’s her Indian name. LL: And mine is Shishone(sp?) “Little Butterfly” LD: What’s his. AL: Onar LL:…“the Bear” All our other children have their Indian names as well I don’t know what else to say… BZ: and Gina spent a lot of time with you as she grew up AL: Her mother had MS and so she lived with us for awhile. So we’ve been more or less guiding her along LL: She went through school and stayed with us for awhile and then she went and stayed with her other grandparents awhile and she mostly attached with Al and I more than the other grandparents. AL: yeah she graduated from UCLA. BZ: Yeah I heard that she was doing very successfully and that she is marrying a nice gentleman. AL: Yeah he just became a lawyer. 157 BZ: That’s great. It’s a great start. LD: What sort of Indian things can you remember about the Tongva? Any celebrations or meetings that you’ve had, what your hopes are for the tribe? LL: Well Al and I, before he got ill, we were very active with the Tongva people we went to all the meetings, and we’ve gone to the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians and we’re very active with them we’re doing our parades. Al and I have gone to different schools to demonstrate Indian Culture. I have an herbal display that I bring to schools. And we have Before Columbus Day here, I also set it up. In April we have a Medicine Wheel now we call it because it is Shoshone (sp?). A Medicine Wheel. Right now it is growing wild I think, because it has to really be strong But, it needs a lot of work. Al and I, when we first came here with Angie, and her brother was the President here, his name is Robert, and this place had weeds and graffiti, what else Al? AL: oh everything. LL: it was a mess it had beer bottles, it had syringes, It had people sleeping under the bushes. AL: the homeless used to come and sleep down there. LL: It was terrible this whole place was…in our day it was a beautiful place, it was really beautiful in our school days. And then come to find out that it was messed-up by negligence and the school not taking care of the property. That’s when we formed this little committee of board members like Loretta. She’s been with us as long as there was a Board. Fig. 47: Interviewing Al Lasos, Tribal Elder LD: 1992. LL: Day One. And she is still going strong. I’m hanging in there but for awhile Al kinda gave up on us. AL: I didn’t give up Lolly. I can’t walk. If I can’t walk what’re you going to do? LL: We’re trying. Whenever they call us we are there. we were in a parade down in Brentwood no too long ago. That was nice. 158 AL: we’ve spoke at UCLA, we spoke at another private school in Westwood, and I went to that grammar school over there. I actually went to that school myself, and we went to talk to the kids, I think they were third graders. After we showed them our display and everything the teacher told the kids, ‘Oh Mr. Lasos went to school here about 60 years ago.’ And they said, “Really?” and one of them made me laugh, he came up to me and he said “Excuse me Mr. Lasos, did you have the same teacher I did? (everyone laughs) BZ: you didn’t did you? AL: no. She was only about 30 years old LL: Kids say the darndest things, BZ: And that was Brockton Elementary? AL: Right. BZ: Are there a lot of young people, Indian people, that you have involved with the springs? Is there a next generation that have really taken up the reigns? AL: that’s the bad part of the whole thing. We get them started, interested and then a couple of months later they give up. LL: We have two of our grandsons Fernando and Randy and they are both here today, and they start off with Indian culture and everything. This is another of my grandsons... LD: we’re on videotape Grandson’s voice: I’m sorry. You’re going to have to edit that part out. LD: Ok I think the Native wedding is about to start so we need to go over there now. Thank you so much. BZ: Yes thank you. Transcription 3 of 5 I am able to continue my discussion with Al Lasos while we wait for someone to wheel him back to the wedding. BZ: Are you still living in West Los Angeles? AL: No, I live in La Puente now. But I’ve lived here all of my life, and we just happened to buy one of those manufactured houses. And its in a real nice secure park where they come around and check on you every night. And nobody bothers you and we don’t bother anybody. Its nice, KB: Did you know other tribal members when you were a child here, were there other Tongva? That you gather with, Families? AL: Yes, a few people but not too many. We knew more Chumash. 159 Transcription 4 of 5 (There are people at the corners of the crowd with burning sage. The officiants and the couple are separated from the crowd of well-wishers by the stream formed from the spring. Fig. 48: Setting up for the Wedding Ken and I stand at the back of the crowd and observe respectfully.) There is a flute playing but not a lot of action happening. There is a lot of background noise. Ken and I discuss the dogs and the farm, and his trip to Mexico city the next day. Nothing from the ceremony is on the audio tape. Fig. 49: Wedding Guests Fig. 50: Wedding Guests There is a massive tree and lush foliage, with a stream issuing forth into a pond. On the other side of the stream is wedding canopy with flowers strung across the top and 160 animal skins at the bases of the poles. There are green leaves spread on the ground and a table holds a blanket and other items. Fig. 51: Wedding Arch Fig. 52: Wedding Guests & Giant Cypress Transcription 5 of 5 The flute plays on, and there is various crowd noise, mostly children and parents, different birds and wind in the trees, and the noise of the water from the spring. It is very relaxing and pleasant. The Officiant speaks (OF) but there is a lot of background noise. Almost everything is covered by background noise. OF: I’d like to say welcome to everybody. We want to pray now with a song. For those of you who are not familiar with Native American culture we pray in the form of a song. The First song that I would like to pray with I’ve gotten to stand up here and share in some of the other [ceremonies] (The tape is inaudible now.) The officiant welcomed the wedding Party. He and his wife were going to guide us through a celebration and she was a priestess from another Indian tribe. The Bride was dressed in an off the shoulder skirt of some light white cotton. Her shoulders were covered by a white, diaphanous material and she wore a white headband with white feathers dangling from it. She had white leather boots that lace up to the knees, which her bridesmaids helped her to remove when she approached the ceremonial space. Her bridesmaids wore peach colored dresses of a more traditionally American style. 161 The Groom wore a white linen suit with a white fedora hat presumably traditional Panamanian garb. His groomsmen wore black tuxedos in and American style. He removed his shoes as well when they walked onto the leaves marking the space. The officiant described the way that Native Americans prayed with songs. The first song that they sang was a love-song that Gina knew and liked. The next song was sang by the officiant’s younger accomplice, who fanned sage smoke with a feathered fan resembling a bird’s wing. The officiant spoke of when he met the groom and realized that this was It for Gina. He asked the Groom to tell the crowd about the moment that he knew this was It. Then he asked the Bride to do the same, and the other family members. Next the officiant spoke of the fact that tobacco was the Indian’s Sacrament, and that they used it when they “prayed with the pipe”. He told us at some point that he was not imbued with any special powers or magic, that he was just the person charged with taking care of the tribe’s pipe (and with it the ceremonial knowledge). The officiant removed the pieces from a satchel and put the stem and bowl together. He packed the bowl. He offered it towards the sky in each of the cardinal directions and said something inaudible. He explained that the smoke carried the prayers to the ancestors and that everyone would be given the chance to pray with the pipe. You could take a pinch of tobacco and put it into the stream if you were not into smoking. He puffed it, blowing the smoke into his cupped hand and wiping it down his chest, and up over his head. His wife did the same and then offered it to the Bride and then the Groom, and then the wedding parties and then the families and friends. The pipe was then blessed again and disassembled. At this point a Navajo style blanket was taken out and placed over the bride and groom. The blanket covers the couple and the officiant explained that they were pledging their love to each other and exchanging their own personal vows. When they arose from underneath, they were a married couple. They wore the blanket like a shawl over both of their shoulders, a bright shining new couple, full of promise. They walked amongst the crowd of friends and family distributing bundles of sage with their marriage shawl across their backs. As they did so, the current leader of the tribe arose to say a few words. He wore a skin draped over his shoulders. After this, the couple went into the changing room and the wife put her American wedding dress back on for the reception, which included some Panamanian dancers I believe. Ken and I said our thanks and left the scene without further intrusion. 162 Fig. 53: Gabrielino/Tongva Elders, 2006

Abstract (if available)

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Interpretation of significance and conservation approaches in evolving contexts: taking Lilong as an example

PDF

California's Golden Chain Highway 49 of Mother Lode: a case study of historic significance and qualification as a national heritage area corridor

PDF

Who' s park: an architectural history of Westlake-MacArthur Park

PDF

Society's child: the gardens of the Felipe de Neve Branch Library

PDF

Mining the intangible past of Virginia City's Chinese pioneers: Using historical geographic information system (HGIS) to document, visualize and interpret the spatial history of Chinese in Montan...

PDF

The Los Angeles African American heritage area: a proposal for development

PDF

Este lugar si importa: heritage conservation in unincorporated east Los Angeles

PDF

Arriving in Los Angeles: railroad depots as gateways to the California dream

PDF

Housing farm workers: assessing the significance of the bracero labor camps in Ventura County

PDF

One foot in the past, one foot in the future: Japanese cultural identity and preservation law 1868-1950

PDF

A different kind of Eden: gay men, modernism, and the rebirth of Palm Springs

PDF

A life in landscape: Howard Oshiyama and the gardens of Buff & Hensman's King residence

PDF

The Schindler Terrace, an early modern garden: a case for conservation

PDF

In search of a “genuine” Southern California park: evaluating the early cultural landscapes of Ralph Cornell for today

PDF

To answer a need: the history, significance, and future of the women's club house

PDF

Our common contemporary landscape: local versus global, native versus exotic -- the case of the eucalyptus in California

PDF

Capturing the layers of the Arroyo Seco landscape: documenting a cultural landscape using digital storymaps

PDF

The dingbat apartment: the low-rise urbanization of post-World War II Los Angeles, 1957-1964

PDF

Maintaining historic integrity and solving a rehabilitation dilemma: the history of hollow clay tile and an argument for its preservation

PDF

Behing the Shikinen Sengu: re-examining the urban & ecological dimensions of the Ise Shrine

Asset Metadata

Creator Zachary, Brian Curtis (author)

Core Title The enduring evolution of Kuruvungna: a place where we are in the sun

School School of Architecture

Degree Master of Historic Preservation

Degree Program Historic Preservation

Publication Date 06/29/2007

Defense Date 04/01/2007

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Gabrielino,Kuruvungna,OAI-PMH Harvest,Serra Springs,Tongva,University High School

Place Name California (states), historical sites: Kuruvungna (geographic subject), Los Angeles (city or populated place), Los Angeles (counties), USA (countries)

Language English

Advisor Breisch, Kenneth A. (committee chair), Harris, Robert (committee member), Satterthwaite, Jade (committee member)

Creator Email bczukowski@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m571

Unique identifier UC1229359

Identifier etd-Zachary-20070629 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-509635 (legacy record id),usctheses-m571 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Zachary-20070629.pdf

Dmrecord 509635

Document Type Thesis

Rights Zachary, Brian Curtis

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu