Virtual field trip: Gabrieleno / Tongva / Kizh

Watch: Anthony Morales, Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians (Video run time 5:03)

While Chief (Morales) uses the name Gabrieleno/Tongva, some descendants of these first people use the name Kizh.

The way I understand it, “Tongva” was a misinterpretation by a white researcher early last century. “Gabrieleno” means belonging to the San Gabriel Mission, which was where the Kizh people were forcibly taken and enslaved. Some people prefer these names because that’s the identity their families have used for generations.

According to the Santa Monica History Museum, these people have lived in the area now called Los Angeles for about 7,000 years.

In August 2025, the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Council was in the news when they received a land-back transfer.

In earlier post, I described what I’d learned about the Kizh people.

Sources: Anthony Morales, Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Aug 2024, https://youtu.be/wcRg_jE_C2A?feature=shared , Video run time 5:03

Tongva Traditions, Friends of the Los Angeles River, Oct 2020, https://youtu.be/Ty2U3pg4jI0?feature=shared, Video run time 11:17