The Indians of Southern California

The Indians of Southern California. . This plaque and garden are dedicated to the memory of the first peoples who lived in what is now the County of Los Angeles. Some of the earliest Indians were members of the Uto Aztecan linguistic family or were descended from the Shoshone Tribe. They lived in villages close to the ocean or to rivers and streams., The Indians had dishes of soapstone and steatite and simple tools such as scraping stones and fish hooks, and they made excellent baskets. Their houses were of a circular shape with willow stick frames covered with grasses and rushes. Men wore no clothing while women wore skirts of buckskin or fiber. In cold weather both sexes used skin capes and fur blankets. As hunters and gatherers their diet consisted of acorns, berries, seeds, seafood, animals and birds., More than 5,000 Indians lived in this semi-arid plain in villages of from one to three hundred people. These peace-loving people welcomed the Spaniards when they first discovered the area in 1769. After Missions San Gabriel and San Fernando were established most of the local Indians were converted to Christianity, they were called Gabrieleños and Fernandeños, after the mission with which they were associated. Under the guidance of the Franciscan Missionaries, the neophytes, comprising a vast work force, grew crops and tended cattle. Vulnerable to the newcomer's diseases and to a different, more regimented life, and deprived of their native culture, the Indians suffered greatly and their numbers rapidly decreased. After the missions were secularized in the 1830's they drifted into the towns and lived in hardship and poverty. This continued into the American Period until two smallpox epidemics of the 1860's decimated the remaining Indian population. Very few survived into the Twentieth Century., The village of Yang-Na was known to be close to the Rio de Porciúncula (Los Angeles River), near where El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles was founded in 1781. Recent archaeological excavations in this area have uncovered many artifacts recording the culture of the Indians. This memorial garden, containing plants used by the Indians for food, clothing or ceremonial purposes, honors their contributions to Southern California and their stewardship of the land., This memorial garden was made possible by grants from the City of Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy.