Trade card, Glidden and Williams Clipper Ship Lines, 1850s, paper, 87.26.30
After the Mexican War of Independence, the Californias and its people were transferred to a Mexican government. The missions were “secularized,” meaning they were no longer supported as sites of forced assimilation, instruction, and enslavement by the Spanish crown. While this might have been seen as possible liberation for Native people, they were once again subject to laws and decisions that they had little control over. Under the Mexican constitution were stipulations that included the fair treatment and protection of the former mission “Indian” population—though unconverted Indians were seen as a threat to the people who identified as Mexican.
After the defeat of its army and the fall of the capital in September 1847, Mexico entered peace negotiations with the United States. Under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded Upper California and New Mexico to the United States. In further negotiations, Mexico also ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states of Nevada, Utah, and most of Arizona and Colorado. The treaty specified that the new U.S.–Mexico border will " preclude all difficulty in tracing upon the ground the limit separating Upper from Lower California. “A straight line was drawn from the mouth of the Gila River to three nautical miles south of the southernmost point of the port of San Diego, disconnecting language groups like the Ipai and Tipai (today known as the Kumeyaay) from their relatives. With yet another transfer of power came new ideas about managing Native peoples. Militias were formed and funded by the new American government, and bounties were placed on Native lives to clear the way for expansion by white settlers. Indian agents, U.S. government representatives who implemented federal policies on reservations, were empowered to identify and define Native communities. Those who seemed to have their culture intact and appeared to be living communally on their Indigenous lands negotiated treaties and moved to specific areas for their control and “protection,” usually away from their traditional territories and white population centers. Others, who had lost most of their connections and cultural knowledge during missionization, were considered assimilated and defined as extinct.
Saddle, circa 1855, tooled brown leather with carved pictorial mochila, laced down the middle and decorated with carved scenes, flat Mexican-style horn and cantle, hand-carved stirrups from one piece of maple wood, 99.6.1
With its tooled brown leather, carved pictorial mochila, flat Mexican-style horn and cantle, and hand-carved stirrups, this 1855 saddle embodies the violence of its era. Saddles represent man's dominance over the horse, which was used historically as a tool to subjugate Indigenous populations and support colonization. A saddle decorated in this manner would have only been used by higher-status men. This saddle depicts a sport of the time, capturing and violently killing grizzly bears.
Adolph Regli, Lassoing the Grizzly Bear, 1914, Oil on canvas, 2002.53.12
This scene depicts the violent killing of a grizzly bear, a once-noble animal reduced to a source of cruel entertainment. The California grizzly, once a symbol of the state and depicted on the state flag, is now a victim of human dominance.
In 1850, just months prior to becoming a “free” state, California passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians—a law whose seemingly harmless name obscured its purpose. Under this act, Indigenous peoples could be arrested for vagrancy, a subjective crime that was easy to charge and difficult to deny. Employers in search of cheap labor could fund the release of detained Indigenous peoples or pay their “bail” at public auctions. Auctioned Native people would have to work uncompensated for their employers (in whatever capacity those employers chose) to pay off their debts. Indigenous children were also forced to work without pay. This form of labor was called “apprenticeship,” a lofty term that facilitated the enslavement and murder of thousands of Indigenous peoples within the bounds of state law.
Sherman Boys, 1908, Courtesy of Sherman Indian Museum
The purpose of Indian boarding schools was to culturally assimilate Indigenous children. Through forced relocation from their families and communities, their identities, languages, and beliefs were coercively suppressed. For over 150 years, hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their communities. There were Native boarding schools throughout California. Some operated similarly to Indian schools throughout the United States. Students were likely to have their hair cut, required to wear military uniforms, and punished if they spoke their Native languages. Because there was no comprehensive school system for Native Americans during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the U.S. government relied heavily upon various religious denominations to operate the boarding schools and provided funding for such “contracts.” The contracted school St. Anthony’s Indian School, for example, was housed inside the ruins of Mission San Diego Alcala.
Native people continue to be resourceful and adaptive in a changing world, maintaining connectivity and cultural practices despite the fractured landscape they inhabit.
Pío Pico can be seen as a person who found ways to maintain his heritage by learning American language and cultureand navigating their system to benefit his people. In a region now shaped by three colonial regimes and dozens of Native cultures, adaptation had become the only way forward.
Cultural Traditions class, circa 2000, Courtesy of Sherman Indian Museum
Today, Sherman Indian High School students learn about their art and culture. Students are able to take cultural classes, including basket weaving, language classes, and tribal government. To learn more about today’s Sherman Indian High School, visit: https://www.shermanindianhs.org/
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.
Map and Directions
Free parking for Autry visitors.
MUSEUM AND STORE HOURS
Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
DINING
Food Trucks are available on select days, contact us for details at 323.495.4252.
The cafe is temporarily closed until further notice.