El Aliso

El Aliso. Kizh-Gabrieleño Sacred Sycamore Tree. , Here once stood the grandest of all sycamore (Sha’var) trees measuring 60 feet high with a canopy spreading 200 feet wide. The tree was given the Spanish name of El Aliso. The original inhabitants of this area, the Kizh (keech) or Gabrieleño were known as the People of the Willow Houses. These indigenous people have occupied this land for over 12,000 years. Their once peaceful life was forever changed by the California Mission era. , Always important in their history was this tree which once served as a site of worship, gathering and prayer for the Kizh. Native leaders would travel from as far away as Yuma, Arizona to unite at this sacred site. This koo-nas-gna, or sacred burial place, is home to many Kizh burials as it once stood at the center of one of the largest Kizh villages, Yangna, now known as Los Angeles. , While El Aliso is long gone, the shade it provided no longer available and the memory of the conversations under its branches long lost, its significance to the Kizh is not forgotten. While its physical presence is gone, the oral history handed down through the generations has kept its beauty and story alive in the Kizh people. , Chief Ernie P. Tautimez-Salas, April 2019. , This plaque is dedicated by the City of Los Angeles to the original native inhabitants of this area, the Kizh, many of whom are still alive today.