Ballona Wetlands: Ceremony for Tongva-Gabrielino Ancestors

[Please scroll to the end for author's affiliations.]

(July 15, 2021). In a touching ceremony attended by a small group of invited guests, members of the Tongva-Gabrielino nation of indigenous people honored their ancestors by dedicating a monument in Ballona Discovery Park. The monument rests near the sacred burial site where the ancestors were reinterred over a decade ago, not far from the site where they were uncovered during Playa Vista construction.

Above: Monument to the Tongva ancestors in Ballona Discovery Park

Indigenous people occupied the region surrounding the Ballona Wetlands for nearly 10,000 years. They lived a peaceful and bountiful life around the estuary, subsisting on plants, shellfish, fish and small land animals. Archaeologists have long studied the Tongva-Gabrielino people, and several well-known archaeological resources are mapped in the area. Only Registered Professional Archaeologists are allowed to know the locations of ancient sacred village sites in order to prevent their disturbance.

Above: A painting by Mary Leighton Thomas, named "Wiyot’s Children", suggests the appearance of the indigenous people's village known by archaeologists as LAN-62.

The Playa Vista village of Guashna site, known to archaeologists as LAN-62, was occupied from around 8,000 B.C. until 1600 A.D. About twenty years ago, when the Playa Vista developer began earthmoving for the riparian corridor just east of Lincoln Blvd., the remains of several hundred indigenous people were unearthed under the watchful eyes of professional archaeologists. Uncovered with the people were offerings, personal possessions and other testaments to their lives. Archaeologists also recovered glass beads and china/porcelain pieces that indicated trade/contact with Spanish missionaries and Europeans during more recent times.

Above: Shell mounds, where indigenous people stored mollusk shells for a variety of reuses, aid archaeologists in dating the ages of various periods of village occupations. Several such shell mounds are hidden in the Ballona region.

Archaeologists recorded and preserved the remains unearthed from LAN-62, and about a decade ago they were quietly reinterred nearby with the blessings of Tongva-Gabrielino nation members. These ancestors, many of them children, were reburied traditionally, wrapped in animal skins and with the possessions found with them when first uncovered. The reburial site - vegetated with thick native scrub and cacti - lies near where the remains were originally uncovered.

At the dedication ceremony last week, the monument artist and most likely descendant of the Tongva people, Robert Dorame, led those gathered in songs and blessings. Guests were bathed in the smoke of burning sage to lift negative energy off their shoulders.

Above: Robert and Matt Dorame lead songs honoring their ancestors, joined by Marc Huffman of Playa Capital Corporation and Ruth Lansford, founder of Friends of Ballona Wetlands.

Above: Matt Dorame lifts negative energy from the shoulders of a nation member with the smoke of burning sage.

Above: The monument is dedicated with songs and offerings of ochre.

Ballona Discovery Park, located on Bluff Creek Drive in Playa Vista, is a public educational park owned and jointly managed by Playa Vista, Loyola Marymount University and Friends of Ballona Wetlands.

[Author's note on affiliations:]

Dr. David W. Kay served on the Board of Directors of the non-profit Friends of Ballona Wetlands from 2007 until 2015, and served as Board President in 2012-13. He presently serves on the Board of Ballona Discovery Park in Playa Vista. David is a staunch advocate for the state of California's plans to restore the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve.

Since 1984, David has been employed by Southern California Edison Company, exclusively in the company's environmental services organizations. His many responsibilities included restoration of the 440-acre San Dieguito Wetlands near Del Mar. He is presently Senior Manager for Major Project Environmental Management at the company.

David earned bachelor and masters degrees in biology and a doctorate in environmental science.
See David's Patch Community Contributor profile here.