City collaborates with Tongva community to revive time-honored Ti'aat practice
October 9, 2023 8:22 AM
by David Gardinier
As we observe Indigenous Peoples' Day on Oct. 9, Santa Monica is making strides to develop more positive and meaningful connections with the Indigenous people whose land we are on. In this spirit, on Sept. 30, the city's Annenberg Community Beach House, in partnership with the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy, welcomed members of the Tongva community and their supporters to commemorate a Tongva practice that hasn't taken place in Southern California since colonization.
The city of Santa Monica sits on Tovaangar (Tongva for "the world"), which is the unceded territory of the Tongva people. In the 1700s, the arrival of Spanish missionaries brought the beginning of colonization, and during this time, Tongva people were enslaved at missions and displaced from their ancestral homeland.
In 2023, there are still about 1,500 Tongva-identified people living in Southern California and elsewhere, and there is a growing interest in reviving the nearly-eliminated religion and peoples of Tovaangar. As a part of this movement, Tongva artist and Santa Monica native L Frank Manriquez set out to recreate a ti'aat, a steamed, sewn and glued plank canoe the Tongva people used to visit family on the islands and trade with other nations, and which served as an important part of Tongva cosmology. Manriquez called the recreated ti’aat “‘iitar” (coyote) and made it by hand with two other Tongva people and many other nations. And on Sept. 30, after an earlier expedition with other tribes in Washington State, the 19.5 foot canoe and members of the Tongva tribe made the first ti’aat voyage in the waters of Tovaangar since colonization.
The event was both visually and emotionally stunning as the ti’aat and her crew made their way into the Santa Monica waters. On the second attempt, the ti’aat was successfully launched, to cheers from onlookers on the beach. After a short journey, the crew returned the ti’aat safely to the shore, having successfully pulled in their ancestors footsteps.
“‘Iitar has never been more happy than in her home waters and I hope to see the beaches covered by these canoes because that will mean that our people are okay,” said L Frank.
This ceremony was made possible through the collaboration of the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy, other members of the Tongva community and the city of Santa Monica.
“It was thrilling to witness the Tongva Conservancy community and supporters coming together to launch and welcome back the canoe for this brief yet deeply significant journey,” said Nan Friedman, venue manager for the Annenberg Community Beach House.
Tongva participants said they look forward to their next ti’aat journey in Tovaangar, potentially out to Pimu (Catalina), and both the City and the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy look forward to continued collaboration.
For more informaiton and to support Tongva people this Indigenous Peoples’ Day and everyday, kuuyam (guests) can go to tongva.land.
Authored By
David Gardinier
Assistant Administrative Analyst