Recently in our nation’s capital, thousands of Native Americans
from different tribes and bands stood as brothers and sisters on
hallowed ground between the capital and the Washington Monument to
proudly open the National Museum of the American Indian.
Dear Editor,
Recently in our nation’s capital, thousands of Native Americans from different tribes and bands stood as brothers and sisters on hallowed ground between the capital and the Washington Monument to proudly open the National Museum of the American Indian.
This museum represents more to American Indians than a celebration of our culture, heritage and ethnicity. This museum tells our own story through our eyes and voices. It says who we are, and what we hope to become.
Unfortunately, for my people – the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of San Juan Bautista – back home, the same cannot be said. That’s because after we have convinced private land owners to give back ancestral land – now named Sargent Ranch – it seems that everybody other than our tribal members seems determined to define who we are and our plans for the future.
At a time that the rest of the nation is listening anew to the history of Native Americans, allow me to do the same and tell the story of our tribe.
Members of the Amah Mutsun Tribe of San Juan Bautista all trace their heritage directly, and without interruption, to baptismal records at Mission San Juan Bautista. If a fellow Indian cannot prove a direct relation to Mission San Juan Bautista, the person might very well be a Ohlone/Costanoan Indian, but he is not an Amah Mutsun of Mission San Juan Bautista Indian. We are a distinct and separate tribe from other coastal California Indians, and are fiercely proud of our independent heritage.
In 1797, the establishment of Mission San Juan Bautista represented the first time our land was taken from us, but it wouldn’t be the last. As a tribe, we have experienced slaughter, enslavement and lived through one land grab after another. At the time of the gold rush, the U.S. government promised us a reservation in exchange for ancestral land. After stealing our land, the federal government promptly rescinded their agreement. Next, the California government acted even worse by doing everything within its power to remove us from the state.
Despite these efforts, we continued to teach our culture and language across the generations. A century and half have passed, but our people have not lost our identity or hope for future. Today, we are more than 450 strong. The vast majority of our people reside within 50 miles of the ancestral territories. All of us trace our heritage to Mission San Juan Bautista.
In the last five years, we have taken great strides at reclaiming our heritage and defining our future. We have filed a Petition for Acknowledgment with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to gain recognition by the federal government that we are a tribe. Members of our tribe have affirmed a Constitution that says we will not build a casino. This Constitutional promise is of paramount importance to our people. While I understand that other tribes have profited from gaming, we believe gambling is shortsighted and fosters more destruction than economic empowerment. Our tribe’s future will be different.
As the elected Tribal Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribe of San Juan Bautista, I am charged with the making this vision a reality. That is why I successfully approached the Pierces to reacquire parts of our ancestral land, so we can build an economic future for our tribe. We will do this in consultation with the local community. After all, we are members of the local area, too. And much of this land will remain pristine. It’s important to understand that the pain of our past compels us to treat others better than we, ourselves, have been treated.
As this nation celebrates the First Americans, together with my tribe, I reaffirm our commitment to gain tribal recognition. We are working to return land to those from whom it was taken centuries ago. We wish to accomplish it in a way that is respectful of my people as well as the community in which we live.
Irenne Zwierlein, Chairperson, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of San Juan Bautista
