Gabrielino/Tongva Ti’aat and Chumash Tomol side by side at the 1996 Ti’aat Festival (Courtesy of Althea Edwards)
Most Native groups along the El Camino, in former mission areas, are landless and continue to fight for tribal status or recognition as sovereign nations. Without land and resources, it is difficult to maintain ties to their land, culture, and community. Native people have fought to maintain a presence in their homelands; however, the area’s warm climate and unmatched beauty make it some of the most desirable real estate in the United States. Without Native stewardship of the coast, the persistent treatment of the land as a resource to be extracted from results in a violent and devastating response from the environment.
Examples of Native Survivance is all around. Each year, fires and floods destroy human and nonhuman habitats in Southern California. Pressures including the high cost of living, alienation from the land due to the development of freeways and cities, border policies that further divide and define Native Americans, and the legacy of separation of the people from their traditional lives that depend on these connections.
Despite these pressures, many Native groups have continued to resist in a variety of forms. Today that resistance manifests as pressuring lawmakers toward policies for the preservation of sacred places, addressing unethical treatment of Native Ancestors, and protecting fragile ecosystems. These groups are also revitalizing traditional ecological knowledge by creating conservancies and partnering with private landowners to restore balance to the land—efforts that are healthy for everyone. Furthermore, many Native communities have invested in the revitalization of their languages, cultural traditions, and ceremonial life to assert their sovereignty and define an empowered future.
Despite previous attempts to erase them, Native peoples persevere because of their commitment and connections to their LAND, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY.
River Garza (Tongva), What the City Gave Us, 2022, Acrylic, spray paint, and marking pen
Courtesy of United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017.
There are 109 federally recognized Indian tribes in California, including several tribes whose land crosses state boundaries. There are also about 45 tribal communities of formerly recognized tribes that were terminated as part of the United States’ termination policy in the 1950s, and tribal communities that were never recognized by the federal government and by the Office of Federal Acknowledgement. The irony is that the government that set policy to erase Native peoples is the one communities must prove their existence to. In recent years, another 81 groups have also sought federal recognition.
Kelly Stewart (Gabrielino-Tongva and Payómkawish-Luiseno), Basket, 2023, Juncus textilis and deer grass
In the summer of 2022, leaders from various bands and lineages of the Gabrielino-Tongva Nation united to revitalize basketweaving practices. As one of the Native nations most severely impacted by Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization, the Tongva Nation’s basketweaving practices had been dormant for over a century. During monthly sessions, Nohaaxre Miyii Pokuu (Weaving as One) brought together a monthly cohort of twenty-five Tongva apprentices, providing lessons on significant sites, plants, and traditional weaving techniques. Participants visited baskets housed in university repositories and restored relationships with gathering locations, both of which Tongva peoples have been denied access for generations.
Denise Redfern (Iipai Kumeyaay), Earrings, 2023, Shell, beads, plant material
Leah Mata's Pew
Leah Mata Fragua (yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash), Rematriation, 2023-ongoing, Performance, wood, nails, mixed media.
The Rematriation performance is a bold and transformative act of resistance aimed at reclaiming the spaces and stories that have been stolen from the Indigenous peoples of California. At the heart of this performance lies a pew that was once a prized possession of a Catholic church that actively participated in the forced removal and cultural genocide of the California Indian people.
But the pew is not simply a relic of a tragic past. It is a potent symbol of the endurance and resilience of Indigenous peoples, a witness to the ongoing struggle for sovereignty and self-determination. And in the hands of the Rematriation performance artists, the pew becomes a space for healing and regeneration, a place where the silenced voices and stories of the California Indian people can be heard and honored.
Through the act of rematriation, the pew is returned to the earth, becoming part of the very soil from which it came. In this way, the pew and the messages inscribed upon it are reunited with the land and our relatives from our past, who have been silenced for far too long.
The Rematriation performance is a testament to the resilience and resistance of the Indigenous peoples of California and a reminder that even in the face of unimaginable violence and oppression, there is hope for healing and regeneration. It is a call to action for all of us to stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, listen to their stories, honor their struggles, and work toward a more just and equitable world for all.
Thomas Lopez (Santa Ynez and Tipu Rancheria–Northern Chumash), Chumash Tomol Paddle, 2023, Redwood, resin, abalone inlay, dogbane cordage
Fast forward to the late 1990s when a small group of Chumash people formed the Chumash Maritime Association, followed the lead of the Brotherhood (and guidance from Ancestor Kitsepawit), and built a new generation’s tomol. The Ele’ye’wun or Swordfish. The community crossed the Santa Barbara Channel, a voyage that had not been made in over 150 years. Today, there are not only multiple tomols in the water, but the beloved canoes have been the literal vessels for the revitalization of language, art, and community wellness. The Chumash also set the path for the Tongva Ti’aat resurgence. Today, as in ancient times, these people paddle together.
The Autry Museum of the American West acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). We recognize that the Autry Museum and its campuses are located on the traditional lands of Gabrielino/Tongva peoples and we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462
In Griffith Park across from the Los Angeles Zoo.
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