Mission Indians
Encyclopedia
Mission Indians is a term for many Native
California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains
, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands
in central and southern California
, United States
. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000 years before Spanish contact. These resident indigenous peoples of the Americas
were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at twenty one Spanish missions in California
, and the Asisténcias and Estáncias as they were established between 1796 and 1823 in the Las Californias
Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
arrived on California's coasts as early as the mid-16th century. In 1769 the first Spanish Franciscan
mission was built in San Diego
. Local tribes were relocated and conscripted into forced labor on the mission, stretching from San Diego to San Francisco. Disease, starvation, over work, and torture decimated these tribes. Many were forcibly converted and baptized as Roman Catholics by the Franciscan
missionaries at the missions.
Mission Indians were from many Californian Native American tribes that were relocated together in new mixed groups and renamed after the responsible mission. For instance the Payomkowishum were renamed "Luiseños" after the Mission San Luis Rey and the Acjachemem were renamed the "Juaneño
s" after the Mission San Juan Capistrano
. The Catholic priests forbid the Indians from practicing their native culture, resulting in the virtual extinction of the Indian's original linguistic, spiritual, and cultural practices
. With no immunity to European diseases, and changed cultural and lifestyle demands, the population of Native American Mission Indians
significantly decreased during the mission period and after.
Mexico gained control of Californian missions in 1834 and abuse persisted, but the missions were soon secularized and lands were transferred to non-Native administrators. Many of the Mission Indians then worked on the newly-established ranchos
, with little improvement in their conditions.
The term "Mission Indians" was initially applied to Southern California Native Americans as an ethnographic and anthropological label around 1906 by Alfred L. Kroeber
and Constance G. Du Bois at the University of California, Berkeley
at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
and south. Today it is also sometimes used for Northern California Native Americans to include populations at the eleven Northern California missions, Mission San Miguel Arcángel
and north.
Current Mission Indian tribes include the following in Southern California
:
south to the Mexican border, and from the coast inland extending into the Coachella Valley
and parts of the Mojave Desert
had some interaction with the missions. In contemporary times many have an ongoing and historic association with the Catholic missions and some also occupy trust lands--Indian Reservations
-- identified under the Mission Indian Agency. The Mission Indian Act of 1891 formed the administrative Bureau of Indian Affairs
unit which governs San Diego County
, Riverside County
, San Bernardino County
, and Santa Barbara County
. There is one Chumash reservation in the last county, and more than thirty reservations in the others.
Los Angeles County
, San Luis Obispo County, and Orange County
do not contain any tribal trust lands. However resident tribes, including the Tongva in the first and the Juaneño-Acjachemen Nation
in the last (as well as the Coastal Chumash in Santa Barbara County) continue seeking federal Tribal recognition by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
.
Eleven of the Southern California reservations came under the early 20th century allotment programs, which broke up common tribal holdings to assign property to individual tribal members, identified on such lists as the Dawes Rolls
. The most important of these include: the Agua Caliente Reservation in Palm Springs
, which occupies alternate sections (approx.640 acreseach) with former railroad grant lands that form much of the city; the Morongo Reservation in the San Gorgonio Pass
area; and the Pala Reservation on the site of San Antonio de Pala Asistencia (Pala Mission) of the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
in Pala
. These and fifteen other reservations operate casinos today. The total acreage of the Mission group of reservations constitutes approximately 250000 acres (1,011.7 km²).
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains
Coastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
in central and southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000 years before Spanish contact. These resident indigenous peoples of the Americas
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at twenty one Spanish missions in California
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
, and the Asisténcias and Estáncias as they were established between 1796 and 1823 in the Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
History
Spanish explorersSpanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
arrived on California's coasts as early as the mid-16th century. In 1769 the first Spanish Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
mission was built in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. Local tribes were relocated and conscripted into forced labor on the mission, stretching from San Diego to San Francisco. Disease, starvation, over work, and torture decimated these tribes. Many were forcibly converted and baptized as Roman Catholics by the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionaries at the missions.
Mission Indians were from many Californian Native American tribes that were relocated together in new mixed groups and renamed after the responsible mission. For instance the Payomkowishum were renamed "Luiseños" after the Mission San Luis Rey and the Acjachemem were renamed the "Juaneño
Juaneño
The Juaneño or Acagchemem are a Native American group from Southern California. The Juaneño lived in what is now part of Orange and San Diego Counties and received their Spanish name from the priests of the California mission chain due to their proximity to Mission San Juan Capistrano...
s" after the Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in Southern California, located in present-day San Juan Capistrano. It was founded on All Saints Day November 1, 1776, by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order...
. The Catholic priests forbid the Indians from practicing their native culture, resulting in the virtual extinction of the Indian's original linguistic, spiritual, and cultural practices
California mission clash of cultures
The California mission clash of cultures occurred at the Spanish Missions in California during the Spanish Las Californias-New Spain and Mexican Alta California eras of control, with lasting consequences after American statehood...
. With no immunity to European diseases, and changed cultural and lifestyle demands, the population of Native American Mission Indians
Population of Native California
Estimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially, both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent scholars concluding that these estimates are low...
significantly decreased during the mission period and after.
Mexico gained control of Californian missions in 1834 and abuse persisted, but the missions were soon secularized and lands were transferred to non-Native administrators. Many of the Mission Indians then worked on the newly-established ranchos
Ranchos of California
The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...
, with little improvement in their conditions.
The term "Mission Indians" was initially applied to Southern California Native Americans as an ethnographic and anthropological label around 1906 by Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred Louis Kroeber was an American anthropologist. He was the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through...
and Constance G. Du Bois at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded 1772 on the Central Coast of California on a site located halfway between Santa Barbara and Monterey. It was named after Saint Louis of Anjou, the bishop of Toulouse. The Mission church of San Luis Obispo is unusual in its design in that its...
and south. Today it is also sometimes used for Northern California Native Americans to include populations at the eleven Northern California missions, Mission San Miguel Arcángel
Mission San Miguel Arcángel
Mission San Miguel Arcángel was founded on July 25, 1797 by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area, whom the Spanish priests wanted to evangelize. It is located at 775 Mission Street, San Miguel, in San Luis Obispo...
and north.
Missions
Missions that the tribes were associated with including the following:- Those with ancestors at the Missions, Asisténcias, and Estáncias of;
- Mission San Luis Obispo de TolosaMission San Luis Obispo de TolosaMission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded 1772 on the Central Coast of California on a site located halfway between Santa Barbara and Monterey. It was named after Saint Louis of Anjou, the bishop of Toulouse. The Mission church of San Luis Obispo is unusual in its design in that its...
, in San Luis ObispoSan Luis Obispo, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities... - Mission La Purísima ConcepciónMission La Purísima ConcepciónMission La Purisima Concepción, or La Purisima Mission, with the original Spanish name being La Misión de La Purísima Concepción de la Santísima Virgen María, was founded on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin on December 8, 1787...
, northeast of LompocLompoc, CaliforniaLompoc is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The city was incorporated in 1888. The population was 42,434 at the 2010 census, up from 41,103 at the 2000 census.... - Mission Santa InésMission Santa InésMission Santa Inés was founded on September 17, 1804 by Father Estévan Tapís, who had succeeded Father Fermín Lasuén as President of the California mission chain...
, in SolvangSolvang, CaliforniaSolvang is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census, down from 5,332 at the 2000 census... - Mission Santa BarbaraMission Santa BarbaraIn 1840, Alta California and Baja California were removed from the Diocese of Sonora to form the Diocese of Both Californias. Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, OFM, established his cathedra at Mission Santa Barbara, making the chapel the pro-cathedral of the diocese until 1849...
, in Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean... - Mission San BuenaventuraMission San BuenaventuraMission San Buenaventura was founded on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1782 in Las Californias, part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain. Named for a Franciscan theologian, Saint Bonaventure, it was the last of the missions founded by Father Serra...
, in VenturaVentura, CaliforniaVentura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S... - Mission San Fernando Rey de EspañaMission San Fernando Rey de EspañaMission San Fernando Rey de España was founded on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary" , 1797. The settlement is located on the former Encino Rancho in the Mission Hills community of northern Los Angeles, near the site of the first gold discovery in Alta California.-History:Mission San Fernando Rey de...
, in Mission Hills (Los Angeles)Mission Hills, Los Angeles, CaliforniaMission Hills is a suburban community in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.It is located near the northern junction of the Golden State Freeway and the San Diego Freeway . The Ronald Reagan Freeway bisects the neighborhood. Mission Hills is the northern... - Mission San Gabriel ArcángelMission San Gabriel ArcángelThe Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is a fully functioning Roman Catholic mission and a historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become 21 Spanish...
, in San GabrielSan Gabriel, CaliforniaSan Gabriel is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is named after the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded by Junipero Serra. The city grew outward from the mission and in 1852 became the original township of Los Angeles County. San Gabriel was incorporated in 1913... - Mission San Juan CapistranoMission San Juan CapistranoMission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in Southern California, located in present-day San Juan Capistrano. It was founded on All Saints Day November 1, 1776, by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order...
, in San Juan CapistranoSan Juan Capistrano, CaliforniaSan Juan Capistrano is a city in southern Orange County, California, located approximately southeast of Downtown Santa Ana. The current OMB metropolitan designation for San Juan Capistrano and the Orange County Area is “Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA.” The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census,... - Mission San Luis Rey de FranciaMission San Luis Rey de FranciaMission San Luis Rey de Francia, also known as Mission San Luis Rey or San Luis Rey Mission Church, was founded on June 13, 1798 in coastal Las Californias, in the present day U.S. city of Oceanside in California. The local Quechnajuichom Native American tribe became known as the Luiseño 'Mission...
, in OceansideOceanside, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile... - Mission San Diego de AlcaláMission San Diego de AlcaláMission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, in San Diego, California, was the first Franciscan mission in the Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was founded in 1769 by Spanish friar Junípero Serra in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay Indians...
, in San DiegoSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round... - Santa Ysabel AsistenciaSanta Ysabel AsistenciaThe Santa Ysabel Asistencia was founded on September 20, 1818 at Cañada de Santa Ysabel in the mountains east of San Diego , as a "sub-mission" to Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and to serve as a rest stop for those travelling between San Diego and Sonora...
, founded in 1818 in Santa YsabelSanta Ysabel, CaliforniaSanta Ysabel is an unincorporated community in California, in the east half of San Diego County. It is home to Santa Ysabel Asistencia, a Spanish mission... - San Antonio de Pala Asistencia (Pala Mission), founded in 1816 in eastern San Diego County
- San Bernardino de Sena Estancia, founded in 1819 in RedlandsRedlands, CaliforniaRedlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
- Santa Ana EstanciaDiego Sepúlveda AdobeThe Diego Sepúlveda Adobe is an adobe structure built between 1817 and 1823 to house the mayordomo and herdsmen who tended the cattle and horses from nearby Mission San Juan Capistrano...
, founded in 1817 in Costa MesaCosta Mesa, CaliforniaCosta Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light... - Las Flores Estancia (Las Flores Asistencia), founded in 1823 in Camp Pendleton
Mission tribes
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
:
- Agua Caliente Band of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
) - Augustine Band of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
) - Barona Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Cabazon Band of Mission IndiansCabazon Band of Mission IndiansThe Cabazon Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Riverside County, California.-Reservation:The Cabazon Indian Reservation was founded in 1876. It occupies located seven miles from Indio, California and from Palm Springs...
(CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
) - Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
) - Campo Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Costanoan Band of Carmel Mission Indians (OhloneOhloneThe Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
) - Cuyapaipe Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Inaja and Cosmit Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Jamul Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - La Jolla Band of Mission Indians (Luiseño)
- La Posta Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
and CupeñoCupeñoThe Cupeño are a Native American tribe from Southern California. Their name in their own language is Kuupangaxwichem.They traditionally lived about inland and north of the modern day U.S.-Mexico border in the Peninsular Range of Southern California...
) - Manzanita Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Morongo Band of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
, SerranoSerrano-People:* Serrano , a Native American tribe of Southern California** The Serrano language spoken by the Serrano people*Serrano , people with the surname Serrano-Places:*Serrano Intermediate School, in Lake Forest, CA...
and CupeñoCupeñoThe Cupeño are a Native American tribe from Southern California. Their name in their own language is Kuupangaxwichem.They traditionally lived about inland and north of the modern day U.S.-Mexico border in the Peninsular Range of Southern California...
) - Pala Band of Mission Indians (CupeñoCupeñoThe Cupeño are a Native American tribe from Southern California. Their name in their own language is Kuupangaxwichem.They traditionally lived about inland and north of the modern day U.S.-Mexico border in the Peninsular Range of Southern California...
and Luiseño) - Pauma Band of Mission Indians (Luiseño)
- Pechanga Band of Mission Indians (Luiseño)
- Ramona Band or Village of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
) - San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (SerranoSerrano-People:* Serrano , a Native American tribe of Southern California** The Serrano language spoken by the Serrano people*Serrano , people with the surname Serrano-Places:*Serrano Intermediate School, in Lake Forest, CA...
) - San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Santa Rosa Band of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
) - Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians (Chumash)
- Santa Ysabel Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Soboba Band of Mission Indians (Luiseño)
- Sycuan Band of Mission Indians (KumeyaayKumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
/Diegueño) - Torres-Martinez Band of Mission Indians (CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
) - Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians (ChemehueviChemehueviThe Chemehuevi are a federally recognized Native American tribe enrolled in the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation. They are the southernmost branch of Paiutes.-Reservation:...
)
- Current Mission Indian Tribes north of the present day ones listed above, in the Los Angeles BasinLos Angeles BasinThe Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the Peninsular and Transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
, Central CoastCentral Coast of CaliforniaThe Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...
, Salinas ValleySalinas ValleyThe Salinas Valley lies south of San Francisco, California.The word "salina" is spanish for salt marsh, salt lake or salt pan.-Geography:The Salinas Valley runs approximately south-east from Salinas towards King City. The valley lends its name to the geologic province in which it's located, the...
, Monterey BayMonterey BayMonterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
and San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
s also were identified with the local Mission of their Indian ReductionsIndian ReductionsReductions were settlements founded by the Spanish colonizers of the New World with the purpose of assimilating indigenous populations into European culture and religion.Already since the beginning of the Spanish presence in the Americas, the Crown had been concerned...
in those regions.
Reservations
Most of the Indian tribes from San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
south to the Mexican border, and from the coast inland extending into the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
and parts of the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
had some interaction with the missions. In contemporary times many have an ongoing and historic association with the Catholic missions and some also occupy trust lands--Indian Reservations
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
-- identified under the Mission Indian Agency. The Mission Indian Act of 1891 formed the administrative Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
unit which governs San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
, Riverside County
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
, and Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...
. There is one Chumash reservation in the last county, and more than thirty reservations in the others.
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, San Luis Obispo County, and Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
do not contain any tribal trust lands. However resident tribes, including the Tongva in the first and the Juaneño-Acjachemen Nation
Juaneño
The Juaneño or Acagchemem are a Native American group from Southern California. The Juaneño lived in what is now part of Orange and San Diego Counties and received their Spanish name from the priests of the California mission chain due to their proximity to Mission San Juan Capistrano...
in the last (as well as the Coastal Chumash in Santa Barbara County) continue seeking federal Tribal recognition by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
.
Eleven of the Southern California reservations came under the early 20th century allotment programs, which broke up common tribal holdings to assign property to individual tribal members, identified on such lists as the Dawes Rolls
Dawes Rolls
The Dawes Rolls were created by the Dawes Commission. The Commission, authorized by United States Congress in 1893, was required to negotiate with the Five Civilized Tribes to convince them to agree to an allotment plan and dissolution of the reservation system...
. The most important of these include: the Agua Caliente Reservation in Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, which occupies alternate sections (approx.640 acreseach) with former railroad grant lands that form much of the city; the Morongo Reservation in the San Gorgonio Pass
San Gorgonio Pass
The San Gorgonio Pass el. cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was also created by the San Andreas Fault...
area; and the Pala Reservation on the site of San Antonio de Pala Asistencia (Pala Mission) of the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, also known as Mission San Luis Rey or San Luis Rey Mission Church, was founded on June 13, 1798 in coastal Las Californias, in the present day U.S. city of Oceanside in California. The local Quechnajuichom Native American tribe became known as the Luiseño 'Mission...
in Pala
Pala, California
Pala is a small, mostly Native American, community located in San Diego County, California near Fallbrook. It is east of Carlsbad in the San Diego-Carlsbad metro area. In the National Geographic Names Database it is officially catalogued as feature number 1661174...
. These and fifteen other reservations operate casinos today. The total acreage of the Mission group of reservations constitutes approximately 250000 acres (1,011.7 km²).
Online Narratives
- "Two Myths of the Mission Indians of California" by Alfred L. KroeberAlfred L. KroeberAlfred Louis Kroeber was an American anthropologist. He was the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through...
(1906) - "Mythology of the Mission Indians" (1) by Constance Goddard DuBoisConstance Goddard DuBoisConstance Goddard DuBois was an American novelist and an ethnographer, writing extensively between 1899 and 1908 about the native peoples and cultures of southern California....
(1906) - "Mythology of the Mission Indians" (2) by Constance Goddard DuBois (1906)
See also
- California mission clash of culturesCalifornia mission clash of culturesThe California mission clash of cultures occurred at the Spanish Missions in California during the Spanish Las Californias-New Spain and Mexican Alta California eras of control, with lasting consequences after American statehood...
- Population of Native CaliforniaPopulation of Native CaliforniaEstimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially, both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent scholars concluding that these estimates are low...
- Native American history of California
- Native Americans in California
- Slavery among Native Americans in the United StatesSlavery among Native Americans in the United StatesSlavery among Native Americans in the United States includes slavery by Native Americans as well as slavery of Native Americans roughly within the present-day United States. Tribal territories and the slave trade ranged over present-day borders...
- Indian ReductionsIndian ReductionsReductions were settlements founded by the Spanish colonizers of the New World with the purpose of assimilating indigenous populations into European culture and religion.Already since the beginning of the Spanish presence in the Americas, the Crown had been concerned...
- American Indian reservations in California
Further reading
- Shipek, Florence C. "History of Southern California Mission Indians." Robert F. Heizer, ed. Handbook of North American Indians: California. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1978.
- Shipek, Florence (1988). Pushed into the Rocks: Southern California Indian Land Tenure 1767–1986. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
- Sutton, Imre (1964). Land Tenure and Changing Occupance on Indian Reservations in Southern California. Ph.D. dissertation in Geography, UCLA.
- Sutton, Imre (1967). "Private Property in Land Among Reservation Indians in Southern California," Yearbook, Assn of Pacific Coast Geographers, 29:69-89.
- Valley, David J. (2003). Jackpot Trail: Indian Gaming in Southern California San Diego: Sunbelt Publications.
- White, Raymond C. (1963). "A Reconstruction of Luiseño Social Organization." University of California, Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology. Volume 49, no. 2.