The Brief

Los Angeles is home to the largest indigenous population of any city in the country.

Today, some of those tribes include the Kumeyaay in Baja, the Serrano across the Mojave Desert, the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians in San Fernando and the the Gabrieleno Tongva people right here in the LA basin.

Some local tribes are federally recognized; others are not. Many local Native Americans are descendants of local tribes; most of them are not. Through massive displacement efforts and settler practices, Native people from tribes across the country were brought to Los Angeles and are part of the rich and complex history that makes this city so unique.

LAist's daily news program AirTalk with Larry Mantle is kicking off a new weekly series that will air Mondays on 89.3 FM looking at various aspects of SoCal history. In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we start this series with a conversation about the history and modern revitalization of indigenous culture, language, and community right here in Los Angeles.

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Art Moreno. Map copied by Samantha Morales Johnson

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San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians/Gabrieleno Tongva

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LAist itself operates on the homeland of the Gabrieleno Tongva people in what is now Pasadena. You can find Southern California Public Radio's Land Acknowledgement here.

Long before European settlers, SoCal was bustling with Native Nations

Long before the arrival of European settlers, L.A. County was home to a number of indigenous tribes. Just how long those tribes have been here is a moving target, with the date moving backward.

"Now, we're well past 10,000 years ago," said James Fenelon, a professor of sociology and director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at California State University, San Bernardino.

Fenelon said there is strong evidence supporting the presence of Native Americans 7,000 to 10,000 years ago. The contemporary nations that we know today date back 1,000 to 3,000 years.

The arrival of European settlers brought the construction of Spanish missions from San Francisco all the way to San Diego. The religious outposts served to evangelize indigenous people and expand the colonialist agendas. In addition to missionaries, indigenous people were forced into settlements know as "reductions."

Representing the Tongva tribe at the 228th Celebration of Los Angeles (Photo by La Angelena via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)

"There were rebellions at every single mission," Fenelon reminded us, with one of the largest taking place at the San Gabriel Mission in modern day Alhambra. The rebellions came as a result of massive oppression, rampant sexual assaults and the attempted destruction by the mission systems of subordinate indigenous culture and way of life.

Reviving Native traditions and culture

There has been an increasing push over the last several years for more thoughtful recognition of Native peoples and more accountability on behalf of government agencies for the harm they've caused. In 2020, the Land Back movement gained momentum when then President Trump visited Mt. Rushmore and gave a divisive speech. In 2022, following allegations of abuse and erasure of indigenous peoples in Canada, Pope Francis went on what he called a "Pilgrimage of Penance" and issued an apology for the Catholic Church's role in establishing residential boarding schools where so many of the horrors inflicted upon indigenous people took place. And in 2021, President Biden declared what is now formerly known as "Columbus Day" as "Indigenous People's Day."

Chief Anthony Morales of the Native American Tongva tribe watches as his son Andrew leads those gathered in prayer during a celebration of the first Indigenous People's Day, in place of previously celebrated Columbus Day, on October 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. - The City Council had voted last year to replace Columbus Day for Indigenous People's Day. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Kimberly Morales Johnson is the tribal secretary for the Gabrielino-Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians. She said keeping their story front and center is not just about maintaining visibility but reclaiming and revitalization their traditions and values. "Due to colonization, our people were stripped apart, moved around from mission to mission," she said. So trying to instill "traditional values" in this next generation is of utmost importance, she added.

Morales Johnson recommends the books "The First Angelinos" by William McCawley and his follow up book "O, My Ancestor" for those looking for educational resources. While the culture and physical presence in indigenous people in Los Angeles and beyond has been shattered, leaders, educators and activists are reminding us of just how deeply woven into the fabric of our city their stories are and always have been.

Listen to the conversation

For the last three years, the record store and music venue Healing Force of the Universe has been operating on a sleepy street corner not far from Pasadena City College. Nearby businesses include a shoe repair store, a nail salon and several auto shops.

“We're kind of in a dead corner,” owner Austin Manuel said. “No offense if anybody lives here, but not a very foot-trafficked area, kind of a hard place to have a store.”

In spite of the location, Manuel said Healing Force has become a home away from home for musicians and music fans. One of them is Bobby Bradford, a jazz trumpet legend who lost his house and personal archive in the Eaton Fire. He performs regularly at the venue. (Healing Force has also partnered with LAist on fire recovery events.)

Its current location is set to close this month, but Manuel and his team are already raising funds to cover a move to another space: G-Son Studios in Atwater Village. The repurposed ballroom was the Beastie Boys' home base when they recorded their classic albums Check Your Head and Ill Communication. Run-DMC and Biz Markie stopped by at one point, and Beck also laid down tracks for his album Odelay there.

Inside Healing Force's space in Pasadena.

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The vibe

Healing Force sells records, of course, but these days it’s more of a nighttime performance space. Manuel said he wants people to feel comfortable striking up conversations after a show.

“I grew up in the church in the South, and I was like, ‘How do I design this so that it feels like a Southern church lady could come in here and feel welcome?’" Manuel said. “ I didn't want it to be too cool.  I wanted it to feel kind of suburban in a way.”

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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist

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Though the name might call to mind a cult slogan — and Manuel said they lean into that aesthetic on purpose — it’s actually a reference to the 1970 album Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe by saxophonist Albert Ayler.

At the venue, “people can kind of get … into a meditative zone,” Manuel said. “After the [January 2025] fires, it felt so good to come back together in this room and feel the healing of community.”

Healing Force's stage setup.

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The performances

The shows Healing Force puts on share a common thread: They’re meant to promote peace and relaxation, as well as deep, careful listening on the hi-fi sound system. But they’re an eclectic mix of genres. On one night, you might see L.A. spiritual jazz band Phi-Psonics, who turned a residency at the venue into a live album, Expanding to One.

On another night, you might catch a spaced-out electronic set, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter or a group of session musicians who’ve played with the likes of Paul Simon, Elton John and Lucinda Williams.

About the fundraiser

With the new space on Glendale Boulevard, Manuel said, Healing Force would triple its capacity for concerts, get a bar space and be closer to other venues in Northeast L.A.

“If 1,000 people gave $25, we would get there,” Manuel said – though he also said most people have been giving more.

You can read more about the fundraiser and donate at Healing Force’s GoFundMe.

See the Pasadena space before it closes

The venue is still open at 1200 E. Walnut Street and is holding events through this Halloween weekend. You can see their events calendar on their website.

The racist DNA of Jim Crow discrimination may be embedded in your housing documents.

The language in housing documents that restricts sale or use of a property only to a person of the white race is called a “restrictive covenant,” and in California the practice goes back to the 19th century and continued into the mid-20th century. While housing discrimination persists, the practice was found unconstitutional in 1948.

California counties are reporting mixed progress in meeting the demands of a 2021 law to excise the language from property records.

According to Sylvia Manzo, deputy recorder in the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office, the county finished the job in March of this year, removing racist language from more than 27,000 property documents with the help of computer software.

This 1924 property document from Bakersfield includes racist language limiting use of the property in question to people of "the white or Caucasian race."

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L.A. County is far from done. It says that with the help of an outside company hired in 2024, 50 million pages will be examined yearly, which would take about 10 years to finish the job.

Public agencies could use the public’s help.

Language examples

Here’s a 1924 example from a property in Bakersfield. The text reads, “That the lands herein conveyed shall never, at any time, be sold to or rented to or occupied by any person not of the white or Caucasian race.”

Or this language from a 1936 document relating to a Costa Mesa property: “That said premises shall not be sold, conveyed, rented, or leased to, or occupied by any person of African, Mexican, or Asiatic descent.”

How to get it taken out

The Restrictive Covenant Modification Form is at the heart of the effort to remove the racist language from housing documents. Each county has its own process. Some charge a fee; others don’t. Some require a notary certification for the signature; others don’t.

L.A. County:

Registrar-Recorder officials recommend these steps:

• Highlight or underline the unlawful provision on the recorded document
• Complete the Restrictive Covenant Modification Form
• Submit the form and the recorded document by email: RCM@rrcc.lacounty.gov or in person at the Norwalk headquarters at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk
• Mail instructions are here.

Orange County:

The Orange County spokesperson says there may be some properties not caught by its software and urges the public to report them. Here’s the form

Riverside County:

Here’s the Riverside County form

San Bernardino County:

Here’s the San Bernardino County form

San Diego County:

Here’s the San Diego County form

Santa Barbara County:

Here’s the Santa Barbara County form

Ignoring the racist language in property documents, some say, reinforces the legacy of segregation, while taking steps to remove restrictive covenant language is a way individuals and organizations can repudiate policies that sought to discriminate.