Caring for the Honuukvetam Pimuu've: Lessons from the Metropole Project, Avalon, Catalina Island, California

Summary

While conducting necessary structural upgrades to the electrical system in the City of Avalon on Catalina Island, Southern California Edison (SCE) came upon Gabrielino (Tongva) ancestral remains. The ancestral remains were considered a possibility since the work was within the boundaries of a known village site (CA-SCAI-29) and the location had produced ancestral remains in the past. Prior to the start of the project, SCE consulted and worked with the Most Likely Descendant (MLD), as identified by the California Native American Heritage Commission, to create a treatment plan for the removal and care of ancestral remains and other items uncovered. Balancing Native American spirituality, respect for the ancestral remains, as well continuing to make forward movement on upgrades under a short time was not easy. From the view of the Gabrielino (Tongva) participants, this paper will discuss that even with a treatment plan in place, each day brought new challenges which required new assessments and directions to be made to ensure that the ancestral remains were honored and their story told.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Research Designs and Damage Assessments: Appropriate Response to Treat Irrevocably Effected Places

Keywords

Spatial Coverage