Native American Indians and the Palos Verdes Peninsula

Native Indians

While first described in 1542 by Portuguese Explorer Juan Cabrillo, for almost three centuries the Palos Verdes Peninsula remained undisturbed and the exclusive domain of the local Indians, whose artifacts are still being unearthed. The most recent Native Americans to live in Palos Verdes were members of the Tongva tribe who spoke a Shoshone language. The Tongva did not use a written language, but their myths and their superb knowledge of their environment were passed down from one generation to the next through storytelling and teaching. Large trees did not grow in this part of California, so they built houses with frames made of willow poles. The willow frames were covered with bundled reed called tule. The Tongva people also used large redwood logs that drifted in on the tides from the north to make dugout canoes. They also constructed reed boats, and sealed them with tar or asphalt found on the beach. The Spaniards called the native people after the names of nearby missions. The natives in the Los Angeles area became known as the Gabrielino, because they were the closest to the Mission San Gabriel.

During the summers, the Tongva camped along the ocean and hunted in places such as Abalone Cove for fish, seals, sea otters, abalone, and other shellfish using their canoes. During the cold, rainy season, they moved back to base camps on higher ground and hunted deer, rabbits and squirrels. The Tongva held many beliefs that helped them to understand the world around them. They worshipped one god called The-Giver-of-Life. They believed that The-Giver-of-Life had placed the world on the shoulders of seven giants. Whenever the giants moved, it caused an earthquake. They also believed that dolphins were responsible for swimming around the world to guard its safety.

Indian Artifacts from Palos Verdes (picture 4/3/26)

For over two hundred years after the first explorers came, the Spaniards occasionally met and traded with the Tongva people. In the late 1700’s, the Spaniards began to permanently settle the Palos Verdes Peninsula area. As they moved in with their cattle and horses, and new crops, the native animals and plants that the Tongva relied on for their survival began to disappear. The Spanish began to persuade the Native Americans to give up their old way of life and move to the Spanish missions and ranchos, where they would learn farming and cattle raising. (Information on the Palos Verdes indians was obtained from http://www.pvplc.org/naturenotebook.pdf)