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THE TONGVA/GABRIELINO OF LOS ANGELES
Before the City of Los Angeles was founded in 1781, the Los Angeles
region was occupied for thousands of years by successive waves of
Native Americans, many of whom came from the present-day American
Southwest. Prior to the arrival of the first Spanish-speaking settlers
in 1781, the Los Angeles basin was inhabited by a relatively dense
Native Americans
(Courtesy of the Seaver Center,
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History)
population of about
5, 000 to 10, 000 people who inhabited a vast
geographic area of 4, 000 square miles. This region was bordered
by the Santa Susana Mountains to the north, the Mojave Desert to
the east, Aliso Creek to the south, with the Los Angeles and Santa
Rivers running through its heart. The region also extended west
beyond the mainland. Out to the sea were the Channel Islands, Santa
Catalina, San Clemente, San Nicolas and Santa Barbara. They were
Shoshonean language-speakers, or speakers of the Cupan subgroup
of the Takic family of the Uto-Aztecan language. Since
colonization in the 18th century the indigenous people of Los Angeles
were known as Tongva or Tobikhar, which means
"people of the earth," or Gabrielino or Fernandeño-the names assigned
to them from their association with Missions San Gabriel Archangel
de Los Temblores and San Fernando Rey de España.
The contributions of the Tongva were essential to the survival
of the early pueblo of Los Angeles. In addition to the rancheria
(village) of Yanga providing a geographic reference point
for siting the pueblo and its plaza, Tongva skills and knowledge
of the local environment were transmitted to the pobladores (founders)
of Los Angeles, many of whom intermarried with the Gabrielino.
The Gabrielino's spoken language and cultural practice,
Gabrieleno Tongva
especially indigenous medicine, gave the emerging pueblo a unique social
context and the basis for its survival.
In 1803 Yanga's population was estimated at 200 people. But
weather or not Yanga functioned as a true Tongva rancheria
after the founding of the pueblo in 1781 is debatable. Yanga
served as the main source of cheap labor for the growing pueblo
of Los Angeles and surrounding ranchos. The village attracted
Gabrielinos, as well as other Native American laborers from Missions
San Diego and San Luis Rey. Because of this close interdependent
relationship with the pueblo of Los Angeles, Yanga continued to
function for over 50 years after the founding of the pueblo. The
village was apparently abandoned after 1836. Today, the Tongva
people continue to call Los Angeles and Southern California their
home.
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