Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Toypurina - Historical Society of Crescenta Valley


It's important to know the local history. The story of Toypurina will be the subject of the next meeting of the Historical Society of Crescenta Valley.
Our next meeting will be the story of one of the most dynamic leaders of the local Indian tribes. Toypurina, was a Tongva medicine woman who opposed the rule of Spanish missionaries in California, and led an unsuccessful rebellion against them. Born in 1760, Toypurina was 9-years-old when the Spanish settlers first invaded what is now the Los Angeles basin. She was 11 when Mission San Gabriel was begun. She was 21 when Governor Felipe de Neve founded the City of Los Angeles. In time, Toypurina rose to be a powerful spiritual leader, respected for her bravery and wisdom.

It's for this reason we chose to portray her on our La Crescenta Library History Plaque to represent the Tongva period of history in the Crescenta Valley.

Our speaker, Dee Dominguez is the Tribal Chair of the Kitanemuk Tribe of Tejon Indians, and is a famed storyteller and basketweaver.

According to the Suppressed Histories Blog: "In 1785 the 24-year-old medicine woman Toypurina led an Indian revolt at San Gabriel mission in southern California. She allied with two chiefs from traditional villages and the 'neophyte' Nicolas Jose, who was angry that the monks forbade the mission Indians to hold their native dances. A soldier who understood the language overheard people talking about the revolt, and the rebels were captured. The military governor of California ordered them flogged to prove 'that the sorceries and incantations of the woman Toypurina are powerless in the face of the True Faith.'

Toypurina told the Spanish military judges that she had instructed chief Tomasajaquichi to tell the mission Indians not to believe the friars. 'I commanded him to do so, for I hate the padres and all of you, for trespassing on the land of my forefathers...' She was forced to convert and ended up marrying a soldier and dying young."

Stay tuned...

HOME PAGE OF Historical Society of Crescenta Valley

Toypurina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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