Click graphic for city map

Indigenous People of San Gabriel

Hahamog'na Tribe
Pasadena was once occupied by the Hahamog'na Tribe of Native Americans. The name is commonly anglicized to Hohamongna. Subsisting on local game and vegetation, the Hahamognas lived in villages scattered along the Arroyo Seco and the canyons from the mountains down to the South Pasadena area. With the arrival of the Spaniards and the establishment of the San Gabriel Mission on September 8, 1771, most of the Native Americans were converted and provided labor for the mission.

Tongva Tribe
Los Angeles was once occupied by the Tongva Tribe of Native Americans. They have also been called the San Gabriel Band or Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe. Following the Spanish custom of naming local Mission Indian tribes after nearby missions, they were called the GabrieleƱo in reference to Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. Likewise, those in the San Fernanco Valley and the nearby Tataviam people were known as FernandeƱo after Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana..

San Gabriel Mission
The San Gabriel Mission, the fourth in California, grew to be prosperous, with abundant orchards, vineyards and herds.

California Indian Heritage Center
After a long search for an appropriate site, the California Indian Heritage Center Task Force and California State Parks secured a new location along the Sacramento River in West Sacramento.

California Indian Pre-Contact Tribal Territories
Nicely labeled map graphic showing where each California Indian tribe lived in early California. Perfect for illustrating a 4th grade report.

Chitactac Adams Cultural History
The Uvas Creek/Little Authur Creek area has been the site of Ohlone Indian villiages for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Spanish missionaries. Archaeological evidence indicates that Mutsun Ohlones had inhabited this site for over 3,000 years.

Coyote Hills Knap-in and the Gathering of Ohlone Peoples
At the Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont, California. Photos.

Federally Recognized California Tribes
The BIA only give the tribe's legal name -- often that of its little rancheria -- so I added the tribe or tribes included for each. I've grouped the rancherias by tribe, and arranged the groups roughly from north to south.

First Californians
What happened to the first Californians? Before 1769, over 300,000 Native Californians lived in the state. This population was made up of over 100 tribes that practiced diverse cultural and linguistic traditions. In 1870, 22 years after the discovery of gold in California, less than 30,000 were left.

A History of American Indians in California
Unlike the present population of California, the Indians lived well within the capacity of their environment. They developed religious systems and social norms, and they traded with their neighbors for goods or services not available in their own communities. National Park Service.

Indian Canyon
The free, non commercial, Indian Created and Managed information site on Costanoan/Ohlone and California indigenous people.

Linda Yamane's Apprenticeship Blog
Ohlone feathered baskets involve a labor-intensive three-rod coiling technique. In addition to the delicate work of incorporating fine mallard duck feathers throughout the outer basket wall, the baskets are adorned with quail topknot feathers and abalone shell dangles.

Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area
Over ten thousand years ago, before the waters of the Pacific Ocean passed through the gap now spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge and filled the interior valley-basins, the ancestors of the present-day Muwekma Ohlone along with the neighboring tribal groups had established their homes within this changing landscape.

Native Americans -- Traces of the California Indians
Photos of geographical and constructed remains of past occupations by California Indians.

Ohlone Medicine
The land abounds in these natural remedies and to classify the plants, give their names and describe their properties, the presence of a botanist would be required. It is certain that many illnesses are cured by these people and they have their remedies for everything, many quite effective.

The Ohlone People
Ancestors of the Ohlone people wandered into this land of great abundance several thousand years ago.

An Overview of Ohlone Culture
In the 16th century, (prior to the arrival of the Spaniards), over 10,000 Indians lived in the central California coastal areas between Big Sur and the Golden Gate of San Francisco Bay. This group of Indians consisted of approximately forty different tribelets ranging in size from 100-250 members, and was scattered throughout the various ecological regions of the greater Bay Area.

The People You May Visit
Inhabitants of California. Louis Choris, 1822; hand-tinted lithograph. The Rurik spent October 1816 in San Francisco. During that time, expedition artist Louis Choris painted many Californians.

Shapes and Uses of California Indian Basketry
A basket was worked, and formed of grasses, twigs and fibers into a piece of artistic design--sometimes only to be admired for its artistry, but usually created to serve a further purpose. Baskets were made to serve all the container needs of the early California peoples who had no pottery.

Short Overview of California Indian History
Few contemporary Americans know of the widespread armed revolts precipitated by Mission Indians against colonial authorities. By Professor Edward D. Castillo

Song for the Ohlone
by Martha Robrahn: We have walked these hills and valleys long before your time, When the waters ran clear, the forests stood tall, The earth gave us all we could ever need, And we lived our lives in dignity.

Those Who Came Before
Long before the Stanfords built their farm, the Muwekma-Ohlone called this land their own. Now the University is striving to preserve 5,000 years of history.