‘All we have is to try to revitalize our culture’

The first Europeans to lay eyes on the springs were soldiers of the Portola expedition, who camped here in August of 1769. Less than 60 years later, the tranquil village was forcibly dissolved during the early days of the California ranchos.

Representatives of the four Native American nations who had occupied what is now the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had come to one of their few recognized ancestral locales to welcome Archbishop Gomez as well as to ask his help in preserving Kuruvunga and other sacred sites throughout Southern California.

“We call upon the sacred winds from all the directions, our great and holy spirit, to calm and bless each of us here, to bring not only a unity and a binding but also a healing,” said Adelia Sandoval, during the late morning blessing on May 11. “For our elder brother Jesus, he sends a healing spirit upon us today. We also honor the people of this land, the Gabrielino/Tongva nation, today for allowing us to gather at this place.…

“And especially today we ask blessings upon our Archbishop José Gomez for the work that he’s done so far and the work that he’s going to do on his great journey. We ask that all goodness come to you, that the Holy Spirit fills your every moment of your life to make the right steps on your journey.”

Then, with the circle incensed by a burning bowl of sage, Sandoval and two other women sang a blessing song in their native tongue.
Members of the circle also offered their own prayers. Archbishop Gomez said, “We acknowledge that we are your daughters and sons and know that every moment of our lives. Thank you for the blessings that we have, the blessing of the earth, of life, blessing of our families and communities as we come together as a family here on earth.

“We ask for wisdom,” he continued. “And we open our minds and our souls to the grace and to your presence as we ask for wisdom of our hearts to love each other, serve each other and work together for the common good of all nations.”

A middle-aged man named Redstar pointed out that it was water that had brought them together, as it had always done in the past. He prayed to the creator and the spirits of the land to help those present speak freely with their hearts.

“I thank you gentlemen of the church who are here,” he said. “We met a great man, Pope John Paul II, and we gave him an eagle feather. And our feeling was someday a great man would come and apologize to the native people. He did apologize on behalf of what had happened to us. And we’re here in his memory.”

Grandfather, creator

Others in the circle also offered solemn prayers, including Auxiliary Bishop Clark, who asked “Grandfather, creator” to shower blessings down on the four nations whose land the archdiocese rests on.

“And as these people seek to gain and recover their culture and to make it better known, we ask you, Lord, to bless them,” he prayed. “May they always be welcomed with respect and understanding. And may we grow from the wisdom that they offer us.”

Then the group moved inside a one-story building also sponsored by the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation. Founded in 1992, the foundation’s mission is to preserve and educate the public about the history of the village of Kuruvunga. Arrowheads, pottery and other Indian artifacts were on display as well as documents and newspaper clippings about the site.

The archbishop was presented with a seashell necklace and other gifts. One by one, Native Americans rose to express their concerns to the archbishop and his auxiliary bishops. Chief among them was the destruction of burial grounds and other sacred places by developers who paid little or no attention to their religious beliefs.

Sylvia Mendivil-Salazar, coordinator of Native-American Ministry for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, said the biggest challenge facing Native Americans today in Southern California was the “desecration” of ancestral graves. “It happens a lot here in Los Angeles,” she reported. “It happens all over the country.

“I’m a firm believer in respect for the dead,” she stressed. “You know, our ancestors are our families. They’re part of our interior spirit. They’ve taught us many things. That’s how we have survived in the motherland.”

Redstar called the desecrations “barbaric,” because the burial sites were the heart and soul of native people. It was why Indians walked gently on the ground, why they gave thanks to the creator for the land and water. “And what we need more than anything else is for someone like the Church to say, ‘You know what? That’s not right,’” he said.

“And it’s with that heart that we all ask you please help us. Help us to learn about you. Come and teach us about you, so we can learn, so we can be God’s children. We’re all God’s children.”

Telling ‘our history’

The president of the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation board of directors explained to the archbishop and his auxiliaries that Kuruvunga springs was holy because its water was literally life. “When we talk about sacred, we don’t mean a place where you can come and worship,” Angie Dorame Behrns said. “We worship the land, the water. We have fought very hard to save this spring. What we’ve done with our foundation is trying to preserve our culture.”

She also noted that many Native Americans in California are still angry at the Catholic Church for the way Indians were mistreated as servile workers who built and maintained the state’s 21 one-time Franciscan missions.

“I respect our elders, but I know what my heart feels,” Behrns declared. “I know how the programs of the Catholic Church have helped the poor. I know the people who have been helped because I’ve seen it.”

After a moment, she said to Archbishop Gomez, “I can’t hold what happened 200 years inside. I can’t hold that anger. I have to go on. And I may need your help to preserve this little area. We were one of the wealthiest tribes, but we have nothing today. All we have is to try to revitalize our culture. It’s very difficult. We Indians and indigenous people just want a place where we can tell our history.”

When the last Native American had finished speaking, Archbishop Gomez said that he had come to listen and what he heard was “very important to me.” He noted, however, that legalities over land use couldn’t be changed and that he didn’t have the power to solve all problems. And he regretted the “fast times” we live in with little respect for the faiths and traditions of people.

“But it is important for us to keep working together on these issues,” he said. “The land and wind and water are gifts of God. And we are all children of God, with each created in the image of God. Pope John Paul did apologize to many peoples, including the Church’s treatment of Native Americans. But we need to keep working on these issues here in Southern California, and I promise you my support.”

To find out more about the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation, visit www.onionskin.com/gabrielino or write to P.O. Box 642043, Los Angeles, CA 90064.