A Presentation on The Tongva-Gabrielino People by Ms. Deb Ogden

If you would like to learn more about Ms. Ogden's research studies, please reach out to MOHPG.org.

The Monrovia Historical Museum would like to thank the Monrovia Historic Preservation Group (MOHPG) for bringing this opportunity to educate our community! On Sunday, February 11th, they sponsored Ms. Deb Ogden, a retired educator from Duarte, to give a presentation on the Tongva Tribe, a free event held at the Museum and attended by many! 

In her presentation, Ms. Ogden  covered The Tongva's beginnings, from around 4,000 years ago to the present. They brought their unique cultural traits to this bountiful region, teeming with natural resources. They did not see themselves as better than other creatures but as a part of the web of life.

That all changed with European exploration and colonization in the 1770s when the San Gabriel Mission was built. The Tongva people were used as slave labor and forced to drop their old ways and adopt Christianity. In the era of Mexican rule, they fared no better. When the Americans gained control of the region, the Tongva were criminalized and forced to work on chain gangs. In the 1920s Tongva children were sent to the Sherman Indian School in Riverside. In more recent times the Tongva have had some of their ancestral sites desecrated, and today there is no federal recognition of the tribe. 

Some additional reading on Tongva history: 
https://nahc.ca.gov/cp/tribal-atlas-pages/gabrielino-tongva-nation/ 
https://nahc.ca.gov/cp/tribal-atlas-pages/gabrieleno-tongva-san-gabriel-band-of-mission-indians/ 
https://claremontheritage.org/gabrielino_tongva.html