California Indian Genocide and Resilience | Bioneers

Summary

The script discusses the erasure of California's Indigenous history, starting with the 1453 Papal Bull that deemed Indigenous people without souls and fit for slavery, leading to Spanish missions and cultural destruction. It details the brutal methods used to convert and control Indigenous populations, including raids, forced labor, and cultural suppression. The narrative continues through Mexican rule, American expansion, and the ongoing struggle for recognition and preservation of their history and culture.

Takeaways

• 📚 The script discusses the inadequacy of historical education regarding Indigenous Californian culture, which was reduced to a single page in third-grade history books.
• 🏛 The history of Californian Indigenous people is rooted in a 10,000-year-old culture, which is often overlooked in favor of the narrative starting with the Spanish arrival in 1769.
• 🕌 The script traces the origins of California Indian history to the Papal Bull of 1453, which deemed Indigenous people as heathens and justified their enslavement and land theft.
• ⛪️ Junipero Serra is revealed not as a benevolent figure but as an enforcer of the Papal Bulls, aiming to dismantle Indigenous culture and assert control over their lands.
• 👥 The missions' true purpose was not evangelism but the forced conversion and cultural erasure of Indigenous people, often through brutal means.
• 🔗 The script describes the violent tactics used to bring Indigenous people to missions, including early morning raids targeting women to draw out the rest of the community.
• 🚫 Once at the missions, Indigenous people were subjected to strict controls, including prohibitions on language, clothing, and cultural practices, and were often separated from their families.
• 🤝 The script highlights the enslavement and forced labor of Indigenous people during the Mexican period, as they were made to work on large ranches.
• 📜 The California state government actively opposed the ratification of treaties that would have provided land rights to Indigenous tribes, instead pursuing a policy of extermination.
• 💰 The script recounts the payment of bounties for Indigenous scalps and the state-sponsored violence against Indigenous people, including the formation of dragoon squads.
• 🏫 The boarding school system is mentioned as a tool for cultural assimilation, where Indigenous children were separated from their communities and forced to abandon their traditions.

Q & A

What did the third-grade history education in California traditionally include?

Traditionally, it included very little about the Indigenous people's history, focusing only on missions, acorns, primitive tools, and the arrival of the Spanish.

What significant historical event is mentioned to have initiated the California Indian history according to Valentin?

The issuance of the Papal Bull in 1453 by Pope Alexander, which declared all Indigenous people to be heathens, pagans, and savages, and subjected them to perpetual slavery.

What was the primary goal of Junipero Serra's mission system in California?

The primary goal was not evangelization but to fulfill the dictates of the Papal Bulls, which involved taking the land and possessions from Indigenous people.

How did the Spanish soldiers capture Indigenous people during the mission period?

They would conduct early morning raids, targeting women to form human chains, knowing that children would follow their mothers and men would eventually come to join their families.

What restrictions were placed on Indigenous people once they were in the missions?

They were not allowed to speak their language, wear their clothing, or sing their songs. Men, women, and children were separated to break the culture.

What was the impact of the Mexican period on Indigenous people in California?

The Indigenous people were enslaved again to work on huge ranches with cattle, pigs, horses, and sheep, which ruined their environments.

What happened to the treaties negotiated by the federal government with California tribes?

The State of California opposed their ratification, sent lobbyists against them, and eventually had them sealed for 50 years, sabotaging the treaties signed by the tribes.

How did the State of California plan to deal with the 'Indian problem' during the gold rush?

The State planned for extermination, paying bounties for dead Indians and employing militias to hunt them down.

What was the policy passed by the government in 1923 regarding Indigenous people?

The policy aimed to extinguish their religion, making it illegal to practice their religious customs, sing their songs, or use their regalia.

How did the boarding school system contribute to the historical trauma of Indigenous people?

It was a part of the assimilation process where Indigenous children were taken from their families, often experiencing abuse, and were forced to abandon their culture and language.

What is the current struggle of Indigenous people in California to preserve their culture and history?

They are working to revitalize their languages, practice their religions, protect sacred sites, and change mainstream historical records to include their true history.