California Mission
San José
43300 Mission Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94539
Native Life
Mission San Jose was established in Ohlone territory. By the time Mission San Jose was established in 1797, the Ohlone had already encountered the Spanish and their missions. Across the bay, also in Ohlone territory Mission San Francisco de Asis had been established 20 years earlier. Mission Santa Clara de Asis too was established 20 years earlier in Ohlone territory and was only 13 miles away from Mission San Jose.
Indians from Mission Santa Clara were sent to build and work in Mission San Jose. With three missions so close together each mission had to go further and further to capture enough Indians to labor in the mission. For the first decade most of the Indians enslaved at Mission San Jose were Ohlone but soon the Spanish would enslave Miwok, Yokuts, Patwin, Wappo and Nisenan.
The Bay Area region was home to the largest native populations in what is now California. It is estimated that over forty different tribal groups with more than a dozen different native languages thrived in this area. The bay was abundant in nutritious resources. The native people living here harvested acorns and hunted deer, rabbits, fresh fish and shellfish. Some native people describe these traditional areas of hunting and harvesting, now referred to as estuaries, as “Indian Shopping Malls.” They were full of diverse resources that could be used shelter, food, clothing and everyday living.
The Yokuts ancestral homelands are the San Jaquin Valley region, which includes parts of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the Fresno River. Yokut homes were traditionally made from tule and bark. Yokuts hunted a variety of fish and small game and harvested acorns. Boats or balsa canoes, called ay yah, were produced for fishing and travel. The ay yah, were made from five bundles of tule and typically ranged in size from one man to five man hulls. Large ay yah were made during summer months to transport families on long outings. They were over thirty five feet in length and a fishing or swimming hole was cut in the center bundle. The rear section was reserved for cooking, large discs of mud were fashioned to support fires for grilling freshly caught fish on willow spits.
Cultural Impacts
Mission San Jose enslaved Ohlone, Miwok, Yokuts, Patwin, Wappo and Nisenan Indians. Although many of these tribes participated in commerce and special events throughout the year, the groups did not all live in close proximity to one another. The Indians spoke many different languages and had different cultures and customs. When members of different tribes were confined to small spaces and cramped quarters they were very uncomfortable. The diversity of Indian people at Mission San Jose was greater than some other missions. Records indicate that Indians tended to stay close to those they associated with outside of the mission.
The Spanish attempted to force Indians to assimilate into Spanish culture and give up their traditional way of life. Indians were forced to change their religious beliefs, diet, and daily routines, though many Indians resisted. Missionaries required Indians to study Christianity, Spanish language, and Spanish customs in order to assimilate into Spanish life. California Indians were forbidden from speaking in their native languages, practicing traditional religious ceremonies, and eating traditional foods. Sugar and milk was introduced to the diet of Indians working the missions, leading to tooth decay, life threatening infections, diabetes and other health issues. Within two years of living in the missions, many Indians lost all of their teeth.
Indians also struggled with the livestock and diseases that the Spanish brought to California. Indians used various techniques, like burning small areas of the forest to restore nutrients to the soil, in order to work the land and harvest plants for food and medicine. Cows, goats, pigs, and chickens overgrazed the lands tended by Indians, turning Indian crops into trampled wilderness. Livestock forced native animals to compete for food, throwing the ecosystem out of balance. The Spanish also brought diseases like Measles, Influenza and Small Pox to California. Unlike the Spanish, the native peoples did not have the opportunity to build up natural immunities to these diseases. The introduction of European diseases devastated native populations, wiping out entire villages.
Colonization & Governance
The Spanish plan for governance and maintenance of the missions in California was supposed to be carried out over a ten year period. The plan called for the missionaries to “convert” the Indians to Christianity and “train” them to perform manual labor. After a period of ten years it was anticipated that the Franciscan missionaries would turn their missions over to parish priests and the Indians in the missions would live “assimilated” into Spanish culture in Indian “pueblos” or towns. This ten year plan was actually carried out over the course of fifty years. There were many factors that contributed to things not going as they had planned. There were large scale resistance efforts by California Indian tribes. The rate of disease and death was high among populations of Indians at the missions. Thus the military and church expended vast resources on continual expeditions to “capture” Indians in the regions of California that had thus far been untouched by disease. Additionally, California Indians did not adopt religious practices and Spanish culture in a way that was satisfactory to the church and government authorities. Thus, the Indian people would have to be forced to maintain the lifestyle the Spanish planned to assimilated them to under a colonial authority.
The Esselen population was too small to support the large labor force required to construct and maintain a mission. The Spanish built the mission in six years because they lacked the labor force in the area; normally missions took one year to complete. Missions were usually built near large populations of Indians to use as a labor force, but this mission may have been built as a halfway point between two other missions.
Resistance
Indian villages tried to resist when the Spanish came to capture them. In 1805, Father Cueva took two soldiers and five mission Indians east in search of new Indians to capture. The group was met with resistance when they entered the Ohlone-speaking Luecha territory. One soldier and three mission Indians died during the resistance and the Spanish retreated. In response to the resistance, the Spanish then sent 18 soldiers and 15 settlers to attack the Luecha village. Ten Luecha died and four Luecha men and twenty five Luecha women and children were captured and taken to Mission San Jose. The captives were baptized and forced to labor for the mission.
In 1828, an Indian named Estanislao living at Mission San Jose planned an escape and resistance. Estanislao, members of his Yokuts tribe and some other Indians escaped and fled to their homes in the mountains. Estanislao stood up to the mission system and refused to return to Mission San Jose, he told the Father he would fight rather than return. Spanish soldiers went after and attacked Estanislao and his allies on two different occasions, both ending with Spanish retreat. The Spanish enlisted the Mexican military to help them the third time. With more than 150 men attacking, Estanislao lost most of his men as well as several women. Estanislao escaped the third battle and returned voluntarily to Mission San Jose to avoid capture and death. Father Duran was able to obtain a pardon for Estanislao. In 1839 he died from disease epidemic that broke out in Mission San Jose. More information on Estanislao can be found in the biographies section.
California Indians engaged in widespread resistance to Spanish colonization. Resistance came in many forms. Large scale revolts were organized simultaneously among multiple Indians at several missions. Many individuals and groups attempted to escape. Stock raids were organized with other tribal groups. Others refused to work, attend church services, or bear children fathered by Spanish soldiers. Some groups continued to practice their traditions and ceremonies in secret. Indians were punished by the missionaries for exercising these forms of resistance. Native accounts of punishment describe executions, whippings, shackling, confinement, being made to wear wooden collars with metal hooks and many other forms of physical and psychological humiliation and cruelty.
Secularizations
Mexico won their independence from Spain in 1821 and took control of California. The Mexican government passed laws in 1834 to secularize the missions, meaning that the government took control over the missions away from the priests and gave it to the Indians. The initial plan was for the secularized missions to become Indians towns, or pueblos, and to divide half of the land for the Indians and the other half for the priests. The Indians were also instructed to tend the common area between the two pieces of land. A Mexican government administrator was assigned to each mission to inventory property, livestock and other items of value. Upon the completion of the inventory the official was in charge of distributing the land and valuables to the Indians. Five Indian pueblos were established in total: Flores, Pala, San Dieguito, San Juan Capistrano and San Pasqual.
General Information
San Jose
CA aboriginal people:
Ohlone
Current CA Indian tribe(s) in area:
Rumsey Rancheria, Wintun (Yocha Dehe); Yolo Co (Federally Recognized)
PO Box 18
Brooks, CA 95606
(530) 796-3400 Phone
(530) 796-2143 Fax
Elem Indian Colony, also known as the Elem Band of Pomo and Sulfur Bank Band of Pomo Indians (Federally Recognized)
PO Box 1968
Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423
(707) 998-4551 Phone
(707) 998-9348 Fax
Cortina Rancheria (Wintun) (Federally Recognized)
PO Box 1630
Williams, CA 95987
(530) 473-3274 Phone
(530) 473-3301 Fax
Muwekma Ohlone Tribe
2574 Seaboard Avenue
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 383-9318 Phone
muwekma@muwekma.org