GABRIELENO 

Subtitle

  WELCOME TO THE LAND OF  THE GABRIELENO TONGVA

WHERE DID WE LIVE?

The Tongva occupied the entire Los Angeles basin and the islands of Santa Catalina, San Nicholas, San Clemente, and Santa Barbara. From Topanga Canyon to Laguna Beach, from the San Gabriel Mountains to the sea, we lived throughout most of what is now Los Angeles and Orange County. The existence of our people on these ancestral lands has been unbroken since long before the first contact between the Tongva and Europeans.

WHERE HAVE WE BEEN?

Despite the European incursion, we have remained an integral part of the Southern California community. Our presence is well document. Our existence is preserved in records of the three local Catholic missions and in records of local cities and both Los Angeles and Orange County. A mistaken notion that we were extinct developed. But we have survived! We are here!

COMMUNITY PROJECTS, ACHIEVEMENTS & RECOGNITION:

  • Moomat Ahiko (Breath of the Ocean) made its maiden voyage on September 9th, 1995 at Catalina-- the first ti'at (plank canoe) built since the 1800's.
  • Defense of Puvungna, sacred birth place of Tongva religious leader Chin-ngich-nish.
  • In the early 1990's Kuruvungna Springs, an ancestral Tongva village and sacred site, was rededicated as ritual land and is used for ceremonial events.
  • The San Dimas Festival of Wetern Arts installed a mural in San Dimas City Hall commemorating Juana Maria, the last Tongva to inhabit San Nicholas Island. 
  • In 1993, San Gabriel residents voted to name their new high school "The Gabrielino High School."
  • The "Gabrieleno Trail" was designated in the upper Arroyo Seco Canyon of the San Gabriel Mountains in 1994 by The United States Forest Service.
  • The California Legislature adopted a similar resolution acknowledging its longtime relationship with the Gabrieleno / Tongva August 31, 1994.
  • Grand opening of the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal's Cultural Center.
  • La River Signage dedication of De Anza Memorial
  • Loyola Marymont University Dedication
  • San Gabriel Art Center Tongva Mural
  • 2017 Pitzer College at the Scott building Mural       
OUR VILLAGE REPLICA'S
  1. Heritage Park, Santa Fe Springs
  2. Mt Baldy at forest ranger station
  3. Rancho Santa Anita Arboretum
Early California Village History
Attracted by the freshwater springs that form the Baldwin Lake, native "Gabrieleno" Indians were the earliest know inhabitants of the land, one area now occupied by the Arboretum of Los Angeles County.
The Gabrieleno slept in what they called "kiys," brush shelters constructed of staked willow poles thatched with layers of dried tulle reeds. Rabbit skin mats provided bedding and small fires kept the occupants warm. Hunters and gatherers who lived directly off the land, the Gabrieleno Indians did not practice agriculture, nor did they need more than Stone Age skills and tools. Weapons were of stone and wood and cooking vessels of soapstone and basketry. Acorns from the plentiful California oaks were the staple of their diet, supplemented by small game and native nuts, seeds and berries. Numbering more than 5,000 in 1770. Today they still exist living through-out a much bigger area.
TRIBUTES & MURALS
  • A mound stone stands as a tribute to "Toypurina" a Gabrieleno sharman and historical warrior at the metrolink stop in Baldwin Park
  • San Dimas City Hall a mural of "Juana Maria"
  • Rio Vista Park, El Monte
  • Heritage Park, Santa Fe Springs
  • Smith Park, San Gabriel
  • Memorial stone monument at Long Beach Veterans Hospital

NEIGHBORING TRIBES

CAHUILLA, SERRANO, AHJACHEMEM, CHUMASH

NATION TOEM
THE FOUR  T'OR.OH.VIM  - ( Dolphins)

SPANIARDS INVASION

1542 - Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in Santa Maria Bay

1620 - Sebastian Vizcaino expedition

1769 - Gasper de Portola and Father Vizcaino

1771 - San Gabriel Mission est.

OUR CREATOR
WEWYOT

THE FOUR SACRED RIVERS

Los Angeles River- Pay.mi pah.hit

Hondo River - Che-noo.eh pah.hit

San Gabriel River - To.to.ting.ah pah.hit

Santa Ana River - Kah.ho pah.hit

THE FOUR DIRECTIONS

East -Tah.ming.ar.ro

South - Keh.tah.me

West - Too.o.me

North - Pi.e.mo

The channel Islands

San Clemente Island - Kin ki

San Nicolas Island - Ha rash

Santa Barbara Island - Tehu nash

Santa Catalina Island - Pi mu

THE FOUR SCARED MOUNTIANS

Mt. Baldy - Jo.at

Mt. Saddleback - Har'wo.vet

Mt. San Gorgonio - Ak.vag.na

Mt. San Jacinto - Ja.mi.wu

MOTHER EARTH 'S 10 RULES TO LIVE BY:

  1. Everything is sacred - All things are alive
  2. Respect your elders- Listen and learn
  3. What you do will always come back to you - Good or bad
  4. Always give before you take
  5. Only for survival would we take an animals life
  6. The earth is our Mother- Don't harm her
  7. Remember who you are and your ancestors
  8. Always be truthful - Don't Lie
  9. Respect others and there property
  10. Be a hard worker - Don't be lazy

CEREMONIAL MOURNING DANCE - EAGLE DANCE

The whirling dancer performed a dance honoring the eagle. It was danced in a ceremony ending the mourning period for an Indian who had died the year before. Many Indians shared in the dance as singers and dancers. The main dancers was painted with broad strips of white paint. He wore a skirt of eagle feathers and a feather head-tuft.  He carried two sticks decorated with eagle feather.

At one time during the dance, the dancer knelt and heaved his shoulders and arms in time with the chanting. He was acting like an eagle eating his prey.

During his dance, he whirled very fast. Other Indians chanted and made sounds with rattles. They made wailing calls. The feathers of the skirt of the dancer stood straight out. His whirling was like an eagle whirling in the sky.

The dance was the time for the burial of the dead man's feather head-tuft. This told everyone that his spirit was at last raised to the stars. This marked his end on earth.

(photo in gallery)