Following the good red road
NATURAL PERSPECTIVES
The annual Southern California Indian Center Pow Wow will be held
this weekend at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, and Vic
and I will be attending.
Keeping with the fascinating mix of heritage that occurs in this
country, some of my ancestors were Indians, some were missionaries
who lived with them, some were soldiers who fought them and some were
early colonists who were captured or killed by them. All that is long
past history.
I go to the Pow Wow for a positive affirmation of the importance
of living in harmony with the land, a way of life called “the good
red road.” I like to watch the dancing, and listen to the drumming
and singing. Vic goes for the Navajo tacos and Indian fry bread.
I like to browse the booths filled with Native American arts and
crafts, the largest exhibit in California. This year I’ll be looking
for interpretive materials for both the Friends of Shipley Nature
Center and the Bolsa Chica Foundation, which is the educational arm
of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica. The reason these groups need such
materials is that Native Americans lived on the Huntington and Bolsa
Chica mesas for thousands of years. Several important local
archeological sites are known.
Arline Huff Howard, local historian, said that she had heard that
there was an old Indian burial ground on Reservoir Hill near the
Seacliff shopping center along Goldenwest. She provided us with a
fascinating newspaper account from Jan. 1, 1931 about a different
find. The article reported that an old burial ground was unearthed on
the Callen Brothers’ ranch “adjacent to the Bolsa Chica Gun club,
three miles west of Huntington Beach.” Old maps suggest that this
site was near the southwest corner of Slater and Springdale, now
developed.
Workers plowing three feet deep unearthed the first skull.
Enthusiastic, disrespectful, and totally unscientific digging brought
up more than 100 human skulls and other bones, as well as numerous
stone artifacts and a clay pipe. In addition to stone mortars
weighing up to 40 pounds with pestles weighing up to 9 pounds, the
diggers found obsidian arrowheads and spear points plus large shells
“resembling abalone” that they speculated were used as food
containers.
But the most exciting find was an unusual cogstone. The article
stated that “There was a stone found, which was four by five inches
with the edges slightly rounded, and 70 small holes in even rows in
the stone, the holes being near a quarter of an inch in diameter.”
Cogstones do not usually have a series of little holes in them. The
article stated that “people who were well-versed in Indian lore said
they had never seen such a relic.”
Cogstones, or cogged stones as they are sometimes called, are
biscuit-shaped disks, with usually fluted edges. Some have a hole in
the center. The stones resemble gears, but modern analysis reveals no
wear pattern that would suggest a functional use. Apparently they
were used for some long-forgotten ceremonial purpose. Hundreds of
them now lie in the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, the Riverside
Municipal Museum and other collections.
Archeological studies have determined that the Bolsa Chica Mesa
was a site of manufacture for these rare artifacts, with over 400
cogstones coming from a site known as ORA-83. The ancient people who
made cogstones lived here between 1,200 and 7,000 years ago, with
more recent occupation by a different people between 400 and 800
years ago.
Archeologists speculate that the cogstone makers were Chumash who
were displaced by the relatively more recent arrival of
Tongva/Gabrielino and Acjachemen/Juaneno, two related tribes of
Shoshonean derivation. Two hundred years ago, the Tongva lived where
the Mission San Gabriel was built and the Acjachemen (pronounced
A-ha-sha-men) lived where the Mission San Juan Capistrano was built.
These people were called Gabrielinos and Juanenos by the Spaniards.
Archeologists tell us that the Bolsa Chica had been unoccupied for
hundreds of years prior to arrival of the Spaniards, but both the
Tongva and Acjachemen claim this part of Orange County as part of
their former respective territories. We are content to speculate that
both tribes may have hunted and gathered in this area at various
times. We believe that both cultures should be recognized in
present-day interpretive programs, as well as the ancient cogstone
makers.
Preservation of the Native American history of our area is
important to us. We were thrilled to learn a few weeks ago that
Assemblyman Tom Harman had extracted a commitment from Gov. Gray
Davis to fund purchase of ORA-83, one of the most important
archeological sites in coastal Orange County. But in the usual roller
coaster of emotions associated with anything relating to the Bolsa
Chica, those celebratory whoops and hollers quickly turned to concern
when the recall movement gained strength. We wonder if Cruz
Bustamante or Arnold “Vote for me if you want to live” Schwarzenegger
will honor that deal if either of them becomes governor.
This weekend we will forget partisan politics and go to the pow
wow. We will be reminded of how the land provided everything the
native peoples needed -- food, clothing, shelter, medicine and tools.
Of course, planet Earth still provides everything that we need,
but modern people are using up non-renewable natural resources at an
alarming rate and are destroying the quality of the air, water and
land in the process.
We will use our visit to the pow wow to renew our commitment to
care for and honor Mother Earth and Grandfather Sky.
* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and
environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.
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