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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAAC Min 1993-04-08 . -'. . . . f!lE COpy CITY OF SEAL BEACH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES APRIL 8, 1993 The Archaeological Advisory Committee met on April 8, 1993 at 3:05 p.m. in City Council Chambers. I. ROLL CALL Present: Members Belardes, Cole, Fitzpatrick, Frietz (3:45 p.m.), Goldberg, Price, Rice, Unatin (3:30 p.m.), Wolff Absent: None Staff Present: Lee Whittenberg, Development Services Director 2. INTRODUCTIONS Director Whittenberg thanked the members of the Committee for their desire and willingness to serve the City in this capacity, introduced himself, and asked each member of the Committee to introduce themselves. 3. & 4. SELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN After discussion on the Committee members, it was the consensus of the Committee to continue the selection of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to the next committee meeting. 5. REVIEW OF CHARGE TO COMMITTEE Mr. Whittenberg reviewed with the Committee members the provisions of City Council Resolution No. 4186, which established the Committee, and sets forth the duties and responsibilities of the Committee. He further explained the role of staff and of archaeologists in providing assistance to the Committee. 6. REVIEW OF SOURCE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE AT CITY Mr. Whittenberg indicated the listing of archaeological resources documents was provided to the Committee members as additional information resources available to the Committee in the conduct of its responsibilities. He also explained that many of the C'\WP51\ARCHCOMM\4-8-93 MIN\I.W\1l4-11CJ-Q3 . ~ . . . Archaeo!o}fica! Advis01Y Committee Minutes April 8, 1993 documents listed are confidential, since they provide information as to actual archaeological site locations. Those confidential documents may be reviewed by members of the Committee at City Hall, but should not be released to the general public. Mr. Whittenberg indicated that staff is compiling an additional list of general interest documents relating to archaeological issues in the Los Angeles-Orange county area for information of the Committee. 7. REVIEW OF nCULTURAL RESOURCES REPORT for the UNOCAL PROPERTY at 99 MARINA DRIVE, SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIAn, prepared by CHAMBERS GROUP, INC. and PROPOSED MITIGATION MONITORING PROGRAM for CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 92-7, UNOCAL. Mr. Whittenberg presented an overview of the project proposal as submitted to the City by UNOCAL, indicating the review process before the Archaeological Advisory Committee, the Planning Commission and the City Council. He also reviewed the selection process taken by the City in retaining the three archaeological consulting firms. Mr. Whittenberg indicated the Committee should focus on the proposed archaeological impact conditions of approval and the mitigation monitoring and reporting requirements as proposed by staff. These have been prepared by staff, based upon the recommendations of the archaeological consultant, and staff determinations. It is the ultimate responsibility of the Committee to determine its recommended conditions to be forwarded to the Planning Commission for consideration during the formal project review process. The committee discussed the proposed conditions of approval and the proposed mitigation monitoring and reporting program, as presented by staff. After lengthy discussion, the Committee requested staff to: 1) prepare an additional condition requiring UNOCAL to inform the City if excavation is determined to be necessary and schedule a meeting with the Committee, with the applicant and archaeologist, to: a) consider the location and extent of the proposed excavation, b) if a test phase analysis is determined to be appropriate, and c) if a research design is appropriate. 2) Increase the proposed notification periods from 72-hours to 10 days. 3) Include Native American monitor notification and reporting. C'\WP51 \ARCHCOMM\4-8-93. MIN\L W\1l4-11CJ-CJ3 2 " r _ . . ArcJ/(/e(}!(}~ic(/! Adl'i.\'(1)' Committee Minutes April 8, 1993 Mr. Whittenberg indicated the requested modifications could be prepared and presented for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee. Committeemember Unitan indicated he has the contact name for the responsible person at the Naval Weapons Station who deals with archaeological resources. The Committee determined to contact this person regarding a future presentation to the Committee regarding actions by the Weapons Station relative to archaeological resources. 8. REVIEW OF nDRAFT GUIDELINES FOR THE CURATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONSn, prepared by the STATE OF CALIFORNIA, revised October 23, 1992. The Committee determined to review this matter at their next scheduled meeting. 9. ADJOURNMENT The Committee determined to adjourn to April 26, 1993 at 5:00 P.M., and adjourned at 4:50 p.m. . Chairman, Archaeological Advisory Committee Whittenberg, Secretary Archaeological Advisory Committee Note: These Minutes are tentative until approved by the Archaeological Advisory Committee. The Archaeological Advisory Committee Minutes of April 8, 1993 were approved on April 26 , 1993. . C:\WP51 \ARCHCOMM\4-8-93 ,MIN\I.W\1l4-119-CJ3 3 ~, ." Mr. Karl W. E. Anatol 1250 Bellflower Blvd Long Beach, California 90840-0115 /\, G~ - ( :: \ /r ~/, ~q,1 . . August 20,1993 Dear President Anatol, In response to your letter of August 13, 1993, there is no evidence that the University administration is sincerely concerned with the response of the Native American community to it's efforts to destroy the site of the village, Puvungna. . I attended the July 29, 1993 Public Hearing on the Draft Research Design held at the University. I found it insulting that neither you nor any other authoritative member of your administration was present to answer the concerns of the capacity crowd of Indians and their supporters. Approximately two hundred people missed work in order to attend the hearing, which your administration had scheduled at 2 p.m. on a weekday, and there was no one available from CSULB to discuss the University's policy, or to listen and respond to our questions. The University is now being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and legal counsel for the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) because, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen E. O'neill decided in court yesterday, the Indians' legal representatives had exhausted administrative avenues to remedy their concerns about your development of Puvungna. This further illustrates the level of contempt with which the legitimate concerns of the Native American community have been met by your administration and it's consultants. Aside from the issues of ethics and morality that have been violated by the CSULB administration, it appears that CSULB is embarking on a course that will result in the expenditure of a great deal of our tax dollars on a case which the presiding judge has determined that the University has a probability of losing. Sincer~ly, AAtw-c/U l~tL Moira Hahn 1732 Harbor Way Seal Beach, CA 90740 . cc: Seal Beach City Council Seal Beach Archaeological Advisory Committee State Attorney General Daniel Lungren State Assemblyman Richard Katz enclosures - . . . ~24 FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 1993/R i LOS ANGELES J Plans to Build on Indian Site Blocked '1 II Courts: Judge issues restraining order until a hearing on whether to allow a mini-mall on Cal State Long Beach land held sacred by group of American Indians. By JILL GOTTESMAN TIMES STAFF WRITER A Superior Court Judge on Thursday ordered Cal State Long Beach officials to halt development of a piece of university -owned land that Amerlcan Indians consider to be sacred. Judge Stephen O'Neil issued a .porary restraining order that s any univerSity activity on the d until the matter can be heard in court next month. He said that American Indians may enter the fenced-off area for spiritual pur- poses until the Sept. 13 hearing. At that time, O'Neil will consider a complaint filed this week by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of about 30 Amencan Indi- ans who are demanding permanent access to the site. University officials announced earlier this year that the site-on the west side of the campus along Bellflower Boulevard- would be developed as a mini - mall. Earth moving was scheduled to begm I I I, . today in preparation for an archeo- logical dig. American Indians praised the judge's ruling, "[The court) is finally giving the original people of this land the recognition and the freedom of religion that we deserve," said Jimi Castillo, a spiritual leader of the Gabrielinos, whose ancestors in- habited Southern California centu- fl ries ago. Castillo is among hundreds r.ijl American Indians who believe t.l2e land is the site of an ancient Gabrielino village called Puvungr\k and the birthplace of the\deity Chunquichnish. However, Gregort W, Sanders, the university's attopJ ney, argued that there is liWe evidence that the site is cultur . slgnificant, He said the pro~' archeological survey of the I .J WhlCh is scheduled to begin' fall, would make that dete . tion. ~ Please see M1NI-MALL~ 1 ~ ... ... It. MINI-MALL ;. q,.6DtiDued from AM I Sanders also argued that allow- iJjg religion to be practiced on Iblic property is unconstitutional. "This results in the virtual dedi- tion of 22 acres of public proper- 4ir for specific religious purposes," ~ said. I fUntil this year, the land had Jeen used by organic gardeners I cfpd was accessible to American I "dians. In February, the garden- ~s were asked to abandon the land and a chain -link fence was erected I ~ound much of the site. 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Si iJ;l :8.s8:a~~ t-"CU ~i Ii1 ~ - 'S ;g ;; II) e s I'z1 5 II) ~ 1> B: if ~ c:a. ti -! -a; c:a.t.> >-i '" ~ t' ti ~ i~if&lS &IS~~~~II) ~~=se <II .... II)-_!;l~c~ lIIov"'<II2 'ic,:,'S &IS .a~;e", ~'g III_III at.... S~~ia&.c::~{io~ tB~....c:: :lic:a.u~ ~=-5'" .!Il<ll-ii~ ~"'&IS~t=a~~tl&lS~~ ~~~~i .". 0 CI) 0 II) Q) 0 c:a._ c ge CI) CJ III C -- = s;. t) III S-i CIS ~ -"'! = &IS .... as ~ 0 ~ >> &IS i~ 8 CI)~o~~5~-5c::~ -~ ~CJ Grt~~~egJ~.s".9 .~~ ~'S ;"~~~So.c::~Q)>t.>c~- ..... III .... &IS ~ Io:! .. 0 c:a..... CI) QJ - CI)..!Ill ~~~~~~55~~~&!~~5~~ . . . . Page 4 ~fI4, rI~ ~ ___ The only newspaper published exclusively fOr'the"l:.os Altos area Puvungna News Update from the opposition to CSULB's proposed development along Bellflower 'Boulevard Submitted by Sandy McMillan Puvungna History People have lived on the lands of what is present-day Long Beach for at least 7,000 years. A, Shoshonean-speaklng people who are the ancestors of today's indigenous descendants arrived approximately 2,000 years ago. Rancho Los Alamitos Historic site and gardens, much of Los Altos, and aU of the California State University, Long Beach campus are parts of what was once a large and Important Native American village called Puvungna. Rancho Los Cerritos was also built at a Native American village site, Tibahangua. There existed other smaller villages along the Long Beach coast, many of whose place names have not survived. When the Spanish Missions were established in the late 1700s many Indians were coerced or forced into servitude and their desirable lands were stolen. Those from the present-day Los Angles and Orange County areas were arbitralily divided and named after the various missions, hence, Gabrielino, Fernandeno, Juaneno, Luiseno. The Indians residing at Puvung:1.a were generally subsumed under the San Gabriel mission, as Spanish church records verify. These so-called Gabrielino of Long Beach and Los Angeles were especially hard hit by the great influx of Europeans over a peliod of a few decades. Most of the Gabrielino who survived did so by fleeing to live with northern and interior tribes who had been able to retain some land base. But a few remained near the mission in San Gabriel and on the ranchos or in Los Angeles. Many of their Juaneno and Luiseno brothers and sisters from areas throughout present-day Orange County and northern San Diego County reportedly moved north into the rancho areas and burgeoning urban areas in present-day Los Angeles County to slave as laborers and domestics in the mid and late 1800s. The general locale where CSULB now stands was still referred to as Puwngna well into the 1800s until eventually Los Alamltos (Spanish for the cottonwoods which grew at the major sweet water spring of Puvungna) supplanted it as the place name. Puwngna remained a term in general usage up through the Bixby ranch era and, in fact, until about two decades ago was used to refer to an area now called Hard Fact Hill on the university campus. Despite overwhelming circumstances, the Native American presence in Long Beach has been continuous. In recent times, there has been a sharp increase in the Native American population of Los Angeles COlmty as members of many tribes across the country migrated here, initially in large response to the Bureau of Indian Affairs relocation program of 1952 through 1978. And the Indian population of Long Beach grew considerably during those decades. In 1970 there were . .. ~ -. ; \ 1,173 Native American residents; ir\ 1980 there were 2,982. The 1990, census shows that 2,781 now reside in I..a1I Beach. : Current membership in ,the Tribal Council, of the Gabrielinoifongva is approximately 300 from the Los Angeles area~ It has been estimated that a tOtal of almost 700 Gabrielino/Tongva descendants reside in this vicinity. Chlnlgchlnlch Religion One of the reasons that the Puwngna site remains so important is its spiritual history. It was at this village that -the main weight of the creation myth of the indigenous coastal Indians -was centered. The oldest of the creation myths involve a being called Wiyot after whose death a great, council met at Puwngna where yet another god, Chinigchinich, would reveal himself. Stories, songs, and interviews indicate that Chinigchinich may have actually been born a real and Continued on Page 8 The sign erected by the unluerslty to commemorate Puvungna two decades ago at the reburial site has been recently updated from past to present tense by GabrlellncVfongua who haue been maintaining the prayer vigil there. Now the sign's lettering is painted red except for the word "once" and the past tense "ed" on "Inhabited." A map of the unluerslty's proposed West Village Center deuelopment shows a building couerlng euen this area where the sign and reburial are now located. . . . . . . .' ,-' ----------- -~ Page 8 Puvungna News Contrnued from Page 4 common man at Puwngna who unden.uent an obscure pertod of preparabon and then appeared again at Puvungna where he assumed a role as prophet and lawgiver, The 01tnJgch1n1ch religion IS docwnented an:haeologtca1ly at San Juan Capistrano and at Catalina Island as dating back thousands of years, It 'was documented hlslorlcally, albeit derogatorily, In great detail by Franciscan priest Geronuno Boscana at San Juan Capistrano In 1822, probably In response 10 a survey request of the Catholic church, Numerous ethnologIsts, historians, archaeologISts, and writers recorded addJlIonaI materials In the late 19th and early 20th centunes, The ChlnlgchJnlch religIOn had already begun to spread before European contact, And although the Gabnellno were destroyed as a group, by invading Europeans. their religJon appears 10 have expenenced a revival and would ull1mately Influence peoples throughout Southem California, Partlcu1arly the Lulseno, but, also the Juaneno and others. have kept aI1ue traditions and ceremonies Into contemporary lime, This highly moralistiC rehglon which placed much emphasis on truth-telling and SOCial responsibility also 1n\Olw!d a complex cosmology, Among their most important ceremonies were those honoring the dead as well as 5epal'llte initiation rites for boys and girls, The Lulseno, Juaneno, and Gabrlellno haw the most exten5lW reconled repertoire of sacred music and dances of aU the CalIfornia indians, Dunng the 20th century the few praclllloners of what had been a wry secret religIOn began to share thell' knowledge for fear It would be lost Natlw Amencans have faced unending persecullon for their religIOUS beliefs as well as extenslw other civil rights abuses since the arrival of Europeans Following the passage of the indIan CIVIl Rights Act In 1968, and more especially fOllOWIng the American Indian Rehglous Freedom Act of 1978, many Nal1lle Amencans have tned to reassert and reestabhsh protections for theIr sacred SItes and rehglous praCtiCes, [t was In such a Splnt In 1979 thalNatlve Amencan students and alumni at CSUU3 requested the rebunal of prehistOriC remains of a Nallve American which had been unearthed there by workers In 1972 The onglnal bunal and rebUrial are both Ul the Bellflower stnp. the only undeveloped land that remains of the Puwngna III1lage Sites Ancient shell midden left by the Vlliage's former reSidents IS also heavily eVident especially around the former organic ganlen and at the rebunal site whlcn was marked WIth a large wooden sign reading. "Gabnehno Indians Once Inhablled thIS Site, Puwngna, Birthplace of Chunglchmsh, lawgiver and God" (Chung.chnlsh IS a vanant spelling ) In modern times thiS remaining remnant of Puvungna With lIS marked bunal site has again been used by many Nallve Amencan groups and indiVIduals as a place of worshiP. espeCially slllce the early 1970s Much oral and wnlten testimony has been supplied to document thiS fact ~"Sl-L '-\' ?. ~- \013 \ ~fJ4, ~tttJ4, 'Jtei,4IM The only newspaper publ1shed excluslwly for the Los Altos area Raleigh Leulne. ACLU representa- tlue, and Voue Belardes, Tribal Chair of the Juaneno Bond of MIssion Indians, confer pnor to the hearing before the Callfornfa Natlue Amen- con Heritage Commission In Mollbu, Coalition Update Following an Investigation and hearing. the California Native American Heritage Commission wrote to CSULB President Karl Anatol on June 21 recommending "complete allOidance of the site as the appropriate and only acceptable mitigation measure," On June 17 the ACLU wrote Gregory Sanders, a private attorney now representing the university. explaimng the significance of the site and the Inappropriateness of further archaeological digs being planned I1Y the university prior to their stili proposed development. CSULB administrators have been requested by both the NAHC and the AQ.U to cease degl'lldatlon of the site. to remove the Ilmce, and to allow' NalM! Americans access, At press time, the university has not complied, but Instead has Issued' a genertc research deSign for an archaeological dig on the site and has scheduled a pUblIC heanng on the design for July 29 Meanwhile coalll1on members are mvestigatlng other legal actions and continuing to orgamze Another action bemg pursued by the coahllon IS the Inwstlgallon of poSSible misuse of state funds in conjunction WIth the university administrators' efforts to develop the SIte, Although PreSident Anatol had stated that "No State Genel'lll Funds are bemg used for construction," the coahtlon has obtained a copy of a CSU Standard Agreement form dated Apnl 15, 1993. whICh authonzea a $24,000 payment to SClenllflc Resource Surveys for the "anbclpated cultural revIew" (proposed archaeological dig) from the State Genel'lll Fund The salaries of several admInIstraIofs ,iit' CSl.lLB Who.haw been dewlIrig eidenstw lIIIIOIIIIIs of lime 10 this ~.~ proJect are also P,8kI ~'the, State General Fund. It Is reported that lbe salary of Mo, Tldemanls, . siH:aoed CS~ "Property Development Offtcer,. - whose fulltlme iesponsIbWly lt'I5'1o ol'Q8llblB. and promote the West VIllage proJecIls beJn9' paid 'by -the FoundatIon; lbe ultimate souri:8 of ' - those fmllfs Is -nOt knDwR at'thls time, University anthropology professor Eugene Ruyle has Identified these and a considerable list of other questionable expenditures by CSUU3, such as the retainer for the private attorney, Gregory Sanders. As lilcf!cated In last month's colunm. IDItwrsily offtctaIs have IIIM!I' once stated IhaI any potential profits ffom the proposed dewIopment wou1d 90 10 instructional needs such as hIJlng more faculty or pnMdIng classroom support, Whi1e It would be desirable 10 excuse CSULB administrators as merely being Ignorant of the Significance of the site they are spending so much time and effort 10 develop, there Is evidence that they have made a conscious effort 10 conceal Puwngna's wry exlslence For example, the coaUtton has a series of four unM!rsIty maps cIiltq from 198810 1993 which document the gradual process of elimination of aU references to ewn the portion of the site already listed on the NatIonal ~ _O!~_PIaCeS The most current 'map' of the proposed West. VUlage, Center development shows' liutldlngs covering even the smaD reburial and hlSlOrlc sign location, To volunteer time and money to help Saw PUIIIIIlgna, caB (310) 597-1415 or 498-2690 For information on upcoming Puvungn< coalition actlvrt1es, call the PuvungnG Hotlllle. (310) 985-4619, Also, a reminder that the Los Altos Branch i.Jbl'llty has books on the Gabrlebno a new blbllography of other sources of Information partlcularl, concerning Puwngna and the - Chlmgchllllch rehgion has beer, newly donated, Next month's column will Include interviews WIth Gabnellno/Tongva, Juaneno, ant Lulseno members of the coallbon a, weU as further news updates Dr SandI! McMillan has hued m Long Beach for almost 30 veer" and has taught at CSULB Since 1972 L,llian Robles and her husband LOUIS (lejl) ar the Puuungna Slle With Ji- Castillo Spiritual Leader of the GabrlehnaiTongua, and Clndl AluJ:' Cultural Educator and past Chairperson of Ihe GabrlehnafTonSl lillian, a Long Beach reS/den I and Juaneno Elder held a contmuc praver ulg,' for ouer Iwo weeks at the site and conrrnues 10 lead a u.c around the mile penmeler each euemns at 630_ The public IS Inulted to}< ", ~ ., i'" . . . . LN.RJAw 28JO EMt 56d W" '-18'M~, C.. ~ August 18. 1993 Trustees Cal~iornia State University S~nce many of you do not live in this area. you may not know ~bout the r~ch culture of our people, the Ga.br~el~no. the Juaneno. the Luiseno. or about our ancient villages. A happy way for you to begin to learn would be to attend "Puvungna: A Gathering of the People" at the Rancho Los Alamitos memorial gardens on September 26 from noon until 4: 30 p, m. That day the cultural heritage of the Tonqva/Gabrielino people will be celebrated with traditional Native American danceB, authentic story-telling, Singing. games, etho-botany d~splays, foods. and demonstrations. I would like to extend an invitation to you to attend this fest1vity on behalf of all the Native American descendants. Besides hav~ng an enJoyable time, you would perhaps beg~n to understand why it is so very ~portant to us to preserve those last little 22 acres of our sacred village along Bellflower Boulevard on the CSULB campus. why we are fighting so hard to stop the dumping and the desecration, why we want the fence taken down so we can resume our worship and take care of the plants and animals. I am the Juaneno elder who started the prayer vigil on the land at Puvungna last June. I wish I had had more time to talk to you when we were at your meeting ~n July, There is so much I would 11ke to say. If you have heard about me from the Cal State administrators who want to do the development there, I doubt you have heard the truth, Most of them do not tell the truth. I have always truly valued education, My own four children are all college graduates, One of my daughters holds an advanced degree. My son Louis Jr, is an alumnus of CSULB. My husband and I took care of 300 foster children and I worked for 12 years as a school-commun1ty liaison at McKinley Elementary. I have always encouraged the young people whose lives I was privileged to touch to stay in school as long as possible, So I cannot tell you how sad and disillusioned it has made me to see university adnunistrators acting in such a disgraceful, disrespectful, and greedy manner to the land and to our people, The un~vers~ty was g~ven this land by the oity to be stewards of for our future generations. And they want to build a mini-mall! It is shameful and short-sighted. And it hurts not Just us, the descendants of the first people, but all of you and your children, I pray that you the Trustees will live up to your titles and decide on your own without the necessity of a legal battle to do the right thing. Preserve the land. Preserve Puvungna, I sincerely hope to see you at the Puvungna Gathering. If you need more information or directions to the Rancho, which ~s located at 6400 B1Xby Hill Road, call (310) 431-3541. Very respectfully yours, .......' ". I \ " .' '(~C~~ ~( II l~~ . CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT (310) 985-4121 August 13, 1993 Ms. Moira Hahn 1732 Harbor Way Seal Beach, California 90740 Dear Ms. Hahn: Please forgive the delay in responding to your letter of July 15, 1993, but when it arrived I was away from the University. ; . In spite of everything you have been led to believe, let me assure you that the University is prepared to do the right thing. No development to the portion of the campus identified as a sacred site will proceed until the University completes an investigation of the Native American claims. The investigation will be guided by a research design which will include an ethnographic study, as the Native American community has requested. No investigation will proceed that does not take Native American concerns into consideration. The University's only objective in this matter is to seek the truth. No plans for site thought to be sacred will go forward that are inconsistent with that .objective. California state University, Long Beach has a strong tradition of support for the Native American community. As you know, the University conducts a highly regarded Native American studies program. You may also be aware that the University has already dedicated a site in perpetuity in commemoration of the Gabrielino Indians within ~he area listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the puvungna village. In 1980, human remains discovered in a shallow trench on the campus were reinterred there in accordance with the wishes of the Gabrielino tribal representatives. .' Please be assured that the concerns expressed by all'Native American groups and individuals will be taken into consideration as this matter is resolved. Si cery, \ _ rl \./lsAn~~\ President . KWEA: sr ~ Beach City Council Seal Beach Archaeological Advisory Committee state Attorney General Daniel Lungren State Assemblyman Richard Katz cc: 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90840-0115