Esselen: We Are Still Here

Esselen: We Are Still Here. Man-tah-i-te "That is the Truth". , The Esselen, the native people of Big Sur, were one of the smallest tribes in California. Due to their small population and proximity to three Spanish missions they were severely impacted by European contact and domination. For many decades, the Esselen were mistakenly believed to have been completely destroyed by missionization., However, not only did descendants of the mission population survive, some Esselen people may have avoided the missions entirely by retreating far into the Santa Lucia Mountains. A small group remained inland into the 1840s before dispersing to find work on local ranches or to live on the outskirts of growing towns., [captions:] , The Esselen lived in the Big Sur region for thousands of years before Europeans came to California. The Esselen are still here and are part of a cultural reawakening of native language and art which benefits all people., Distinctive painted handprints cover rock faces in remote areas of the Esselen homeland. These traditional paintings, called pictographs, are of great significance to the Esselen people , and are protected by federal law., In the early 1900s, anthropologists Henshaw and Harrington interviewed native elders, such as Isabel Meadows, in order to help preserve some of the Esselen language., Social gathering of Esselen people at Sur Rancheria, c1930s