Tongva Sacred Sites

Like many other Native tribes, the Tongva have been loosing the battle to keep their sacred sites safe from developers and other people who are disturbing the land.

Kuruvunga Springs, a spring site of a former Tongva village, is now the campus of University High School in West LA. This was an issue for the Tongva people because it is considered to be one of their last remaining sacred sires for ceremonial events. In the 1990's it was revitalized thanks to the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation. Now you can visit the Springs and learn about the culture of the Tongva people; seeing artifacts, photos, and historical documents, as well as become educated with  the resources in the area. They also regulary hold ceremonial events and festivals.

Another issue with the destruction of sacred sites is the Tongva burial grounds are being repeatedly disturbed. An area called Puvungna, which some believe is the place of creation, is now located on the ground of CSU Long Beach. Part of the campus is on top of a burial ground, and developers have also frequently tried to build a strip mall in the area. Most of the sites of the area have already been destroyed by developers. The Tongva try to preserve these sites and their culture but a lot of the time these efforts do not do much.

More recently, human remains were unearthed at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a multi million dollar museum dedicated to preserving the culture of Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles. This happened in 2010 when the museum wanted to build a fountain. They discovered 90+ remains, and they have all been removed from the site in order to finish the building project. Even though they encountered these remains, no descendants were contacts when they should have been, as well the fact that the NAHC should have even contacted by law. The possibility that Native American burial sites are being dug up and removed with the consultation of the Tongva nation is illegal under California law, yet is happened anyways.


For more information: http://gabrielinofamilymembers.thelittleusedstore.com/tongva_nation.html
Gabrielino Springs Website

The Tongva People

The creation story of the Tongva stems from the god Quaoar, which means creator.
Quaoar comes into being through chaos. He was sad that there was so much emptiness so he began to dance around and sang a creation song. from his song, other gods came to life; the God of Sky, Goddess of the Earth, Grandfather Sun, and Grandmother Moon.

All these gods began to dance together and even more beings were birthed. All these divine gods and goddesses danced and sang the creation song and created everything else in existence that we know today. The sea, mountains, plants, animals, and of course the first man and woman.

To read this story in more detail you can visit this website:
Tongva Creation Story

This creation story is based around song and dance, which the tribe still holds very sacred today. They believe that dance is a way of creating harmony with the earth, dealing with emotions, and celebrating.

The Real Locals of Los Angeles

Los Angeles has a rich culture of Native American history, and it currently has the largest Native American population in the states. The two biggest tribes of Los Angeles are the Tongva, also known as Gabrielino, and the Chumash.

Both tribes have a history filled with many stories, and many tribe members still live in their native home of Los Angeles today.