Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal Council
Caretakers of Our Ancestral Homeland
Tribal website: http://GTIOC.org
Email: Contact@GTIOC.org
Mercedes Dorame, Woshaa’axre Yaang’aro (Looking Back). Getty Museum, Los Angeles
The Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal Council (GTIOC) actively engages in meaningful collaboration with the community for the preservation of our culture and people. Utilizing the fine arts to express the revitalization of our Tongva culture has left an enduring and indelible mark on the history and identity of the First People in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
River Tikwu Garza, The Land of Milk and Honey, Autry Museum, Los Angeles
Under Spanish, Mexican, and American rule during the 18th and 19th centuries, our ancestors were forcibly removed from their well-established villages in an effort to assimilate them into the ruling governments. Our people’s lands were seized and redistributed to settlers, leaving no homeland to which they could return. Laws were enacted that promoted indentured servitude and the forced removal of Indian children from their families.
Katie Dorame, Mission Revolt. Autry Museum, Los Angeles
The arrival of European settlers brought widespread abuse and disease that devastated the Tongva population. Mass graves discovered at the Ballona Wetlands (Guashna Village) stand as stark evidence of the vulnerability and suffering our ancestors endured. In honor of those lost, GTIOC artists were commissioned for two monuments to memorialize the loss of our ancestors’ and can be found at Discovery Park and Loyola Marymount University in Playa Vista.
Mat Dorame, Tongva Memorial. Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Tribal Chairman Robert Dorame, Tongva Memorial. Discovery Park, Los Angeles
Our culture is also powerfully communicated through the words of GTIOC Tribal Poet, Megan Dorame.
GTIOC Poet, Megan Dorame at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles
The Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal Council (GTIOC) actively participates in alternative media platforms, such as the Netflix series City of Ghosts: Tovaanga, to educate young audiences about Tongva culture in an engaging and impactful way. Poet, Megan Dorame and artist, Mercedes Dorame were featured on the Emmy winning show.
GTIOC is directly involved in consultation and partnership with city, county and state agencies for a renewed understanding that the Tongva people remain present, resilient and deeply connected to our ancestral lands. Our neighbors in Tovaangar recognize our position as the First People and we celebrate the goodness of Tovaangar together.
Tribal Chair Robert Dorame giving a blessing at the California Park and Recreation Society in Long Beach (Puvungna Village)
Christina Conley blessing the Baywatch production team, Venice (Guashna Village)
Adrienne Kinsella’s artwork on the cover of the 2024 Native American Heritage Month publication, Los Angeles City Hall
Tribal performance at the Moompetam gathering at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach
Toypurina Children’s book illustrated by Katie Dorame
The Tongva community continues to face ongoing challenges of erasure including the routine use of past-tense language when referring to the First People, the imposition of blood quantum standards as a measure of authenticity, and the widespread misconception that the Spanish were the original inhabitants of this land. Through partnerships with institutions, universities and local governments, we have a goal of educating the next generations for an accurate understanding of who the Tongva are and that we are still here thriving and contributing within our ancestral homeland.
For further understanding of the First Peoples read the Los Angeles County Harms Report and the City of Los Angeles First Peoples of Los Angeles Report.
https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/lac/1137966_AREPORTONHARMSCountyofLosAngeles.pdf
