Indigenous communities call for racist history of mission bell removal ceremony in California – Santa Cruz Sentinel

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SANTA CRUZ – Indigenous community members from across the state spoke out on Saturday – against the backdrop of Mission Santa Cruz – in support of the removal of the final mission bell from the land of the city of Santa Cruz, and stood up rallied to account with the oppression and slavery of their ancestors resisted the Spanish Franciscan missions.

Just hours before the Amah Mutsun tribal group held the ceremony at Mission Plaza Park, the bell was illegally removed.

Despite the unexpected pullout, chairmen of Amah Mutsun tribal group Valentin Lopez said the importance of the day would not be erased.

“That doesn’t change today,” Lopez said, addressing a crowd of over 100 people. “There are still hundreds of mission bells today, which represent the same lies, destruction, loss of indigenous culture, indigenous peoples and tribes. This message does not change.

Louise J. Miranda Ramirez, Tribal President of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation, spoke on Saturday about the hurtful connotation the California mission bells conjure for the indigenous peoples of California. She called for the primary school curriculum to reflect the brutal conditions indigenous peoples endured in the missions. (Hannah Hagemann – Sentinel of Santa Cruz)

There are hundreds of El Camino Real mission bell beacons displayed along California’s highways and in communities connecting 21 Franciscan missions from Los Angeles to Sonoma.

The marker system, launched in 1906, was intended to attract tourists and celebrate the state’s iconic missions. But for indigenous peoples, the mission period marks the forced erasure of tribal identity and rituals, Lopez said.

Indigenous peoples across California who built the state’s iconic missions were also often enslaved there by Franciscan missionaries and settlers, and suffered horrific abuse and violence.

According to the State of California Native American Heritage Commission, approximately 100,000 or nearly one-third of the Aboriginal population of California died as a direct result of the California missions.

For years, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has advocated for the removal of all of these bells across the state. In 2019, the Tribal Band successfully removed a bell housed on UC Santa Cruz grounds. As a result of this work, Santa Cruz is the first city in California to remove all “El Camino Real” mission bells on city-owned land.

“We do not take this honor lightly and we will be passing this seed on to other communities across California,” said Santa Cruz Mayor Donna Meyers. “Unfortunately, our government has taken over the tribal governments that were here before. We have to work in a system that I don’t necessarily think is the right system to do, but we have to use the local government system to do the right thing.

Morning Star Gali, member of the Ajumawi Band of the Pit River Tribe and Tribal History Preserver, prepares for the ceremony. “It is a time to celebrate and be in recognition, that we are a step forward, that there is visibility of our peoples, that we speak the truth, that we are not afraid to be here and to bring us together, ”Gali said on Saturday. (Hannah Hagemann – Sentinel de Santa Cruz)

Indigenous leaders from across the state spoke in the plaza, sharing words, songs and ceremonies.

Throughout the day, themes of resilience, empowerment and resistance resonated in the park. Speaking a few steps from the mission itself, speakers called for considering the racist and brutal history of the missions.

“These missions represent the institutionalization, slavery, incarceration of our indigenous peoples,” said Morning Star Gali, Ajumawi Band member of the Pit River Tribe and Tribal Historical Preserver.

“We are here today to celebrate the fact that we are taking one more step towards the removal of white supremacy, capitalism and racism, which is what the removal of this bell symbolizes,” said Gali.

Merri Lopez-Keifer, a member of the San Luis Rey Luiseo Indian Ban mission and director of the Bureau of Native American Affairs, said the bells triggered a deep sense of distress for her and her community.

“Mission bells are a very touching subject for me and my family members,” Lopez-Keifer said, bursting into tears. “Every time I hear them ring, I have an overwhelming sense of anxiety. It’s a historic trauma.

Lopez-Keifer and others have called for further action by state and local governments. Dozens of other bells are still part of the El Camino Real marker system across California.

More than 100 people gathered at Mission Plaza Park in Santa Cruz on Saturday to mark the removal of the only remaining “El Camino Real” mission bell on the property in the city of Santa Cruz. (Hannah Hagemann – Sentinel of Santa Cruz)

“Hearing everyone speak today gave me new hope,” said Lopez-Keifer. “Santa Cruz is an example for everyone. I hope I can bring what has been achieved here across the state.

Even in the city of Santa Cruz, the El Camino Real bells remain on private property, like the one near the Shadowbrook restaurant.

The speakers also called for the mission elementary school curriculum to include indigenous voices and discuss the brutal conditions indigenous peoples endured there.

City Council member Justin Cummings, who worked with Lopez and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band on the removal of the mission bell, condemned the illegal removal of the marker.

“Removing the bell under cover of night, on the eve of the day our Indigenous community planned to celebrate the removal of these bells in a way they deemed appropriate was selfish and unacceptable,” Cummings said. “These types of shameful and cowardly acts do not help bring about positive change and reconciliation.”

Canyon Mutsun Indian tribe member Kanyon Sayers-Roods performs a song during Saturday’s “El Camino Real” bell removal ceremony. (Hannah Hagemann – Sentinel of Santa Cruz)

According to Police Chief Andy Mills, an official police report has been filed and the department is currently following up.

At one point in the ceremony, a white man who repeatedly shouted “I don’t think you look like a Native American,” jumped onto the speaker’s podium and approached a volunteer.

The volunteer raised his hands in resistance, as members of the crowd rushed onto the stage, while others hooted, ultimately pushing the man away from Mission Plaza.

Despite the premature removal of the physical bell and the disruption of the ceremony, the procession to the corner of Soquel and Dakota avenues, where the bell was located, continued.

A temporary plaque now marks the location of the only remaining “El Camino Real” mission bell marker on the City of Santa Cruz property. (Hannah Hagemann – Sentinel of Santa Cruz)

Dozens of people marched from the square park to the site of the ancient bell, waving flags of tribal nations, singing and drumming.

Thomas Miller, a resident of Santa Cruz, attended a lecture on the history of the mission told from an Indigenous perspective on Friday, as well as the ceremony on Saturday.

“The first thing to do is listen. I listened all day yesterday and I am listening today, ”Miller said.

At the Hindquarter Grille parking lot, Indigenous communities honored the removal of the bell with songs and a ceremony.

A temporary plaque explaining the history of the missions and the reasons for removing the bell is now displayed where the bell once stood. This will be replaced by a more permanent memorial.

“I know this is the last bell for Santa Cruz, but it’s the first in a long series that is going to ring,” said Kagen Holland, citizen of the Fernandeo Tataviam tribe. “This is the start of a great movement to spread truth and history.”

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