January 15, 2006
History of the Tongva
The Tongva people - who were they, where were they, where are they now? On Tuesday, January 17, The Eagle Rock Association (TERA) is sponsoring a special presentation by Richard Toyon, Tongva tribal representative, who will provide an inside look at the native people of the Los Angeles area. He will explore where and how they lived before the arrival of Europeans, and will on where the tribe stands today.
| When: | Tuesday, January 17 at 7:00 |
| Where: | The Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock 2225 Colorado Blvd. |
From the January 14th TERA e.letter:
Very often, when people are told that there were Indians living in southern California, the common reaction is first, surprise that there were any Indians here at all and second, the question, and "Are there any Indians left?" In fact, in the Los Angeles Basin, there were tens of thousands living with each other before European contact, carrying on commerce and trade with many tribes from many lands. The Tongva also practiced a sophisticated monotheistic religion, systematic agriculture, and animal husbandry, and used and controlled fire to their advantage and to the advantage of the surrounding chaparral ecosystems.
The Tongva, who were part of the Shoshonean speaking group of native people who descended from the western plains area of the U.S., lived in harmony in the Los Angeles basin (and Eagle Rock) for as many as 90 centuries until the single most life altering event took place in the lives of the Tongva---the arrival of Father Junipero Serra and the Mission system. Originally conceived to benefit the native people of Alta California, it turned out to have unfortunate consequences with effects still being felt today. This program is not a condemnation of the past but a look at what once was, and the future by a direct descendant of that past and a true native Californian.
Richard Toyon is a fourteenth generation Californian according to the official records of the Mission San Juan Capistrano. He is a member of the Achjachemem nation, the Mission Band of Juaneno Indians located in the city of San Juan Capistrano, where his family originates. Mr. Toyon is also the field representative in public and environmental affairs for the Tongva Tribe, San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, and has spoken on their behalf on several environmental and cultural issues.
In September of 2002, Mr. Toyon was successful in lobbying congress in Washington, D.C. and in Sacramento, to persuade the U.S. Geological Survey to officially name a prominent peak in the Verdugo Mountains, Tongva Peak, in honor of the first people of the Los Angeles basin. Later that year, the peak was dedicated and the plaque that names the mountain sits imbedded in a boulder on the summit of Tongva Peak in perpetuity. Mr. Toyon is also a member of the La Crescenta City Council and an Emmy award winning Production Designer.
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