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 [email protected].