“Standing in the Corner of a Garden at Cahuilla”
National Archives Identifier 170101027 Photograph circa 1936-1942
Original caption: "Cahuilla — Susie Arenas in the corner of the garden at Cahuilla [Reservation]. Susie is an optimist, always smiling, and turns out woven baskets of high quality when not engaged in other duties."
This was among some old photos from Inland Southern California Native American reservations from 1936-1942, which is where we’re headed today.
“Mike Kretch services general reference requests,” Laguna Niguel, CA, Series: Still Photography, 1951-2001. Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 - ca. 2007. (National Archives Identifier 29011090)
Before we travel in time: This photo is how we tend to think of the National Archives and Records Administration, the billions of permanent records of the federal government. Researching Native American records once meant traveling to far-flung facilities and fishing amid a sea of sometimes-mysterious minutiae.
The Door Opens
Fortunately, more and more records are becoming visible online, giving the opportunity for our U.S. national history to include Native American voices.
Note: The National Archives includes a statement on potentially harmful content.
Also note: Our intent today is to help make these photos accessible, with the hope that their stories can be saved and shared.
Here is the online tool helping us:
This Bureau of Indian Affairs Finding Aid sorts through more than 18,000 photos in the National Archives Catalog. You can search by tribe, state, and topic. I asked and quickly was looking through more than 1,400 photos from area reservations.
A few examples:
Morongo: “Photograph of One of the Football Teams Organized at Morongo”
National Archives Identifier 170102465 circa 1936-1942
Original caption: "Morongo — Football Team. Under ECW we organized 3 football teams and nine baseball teams.”
[E.C.W. was the Emergency Conservation Work Act of March 1933, which enabled the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps and gave jobs during the Great Depression to many unemployed. The Act also offered range, forest, and other improvements on reservations.]
Palm Springs: “Photograph of William Marcus Standing in the Shade of his Date Palm Trees.”
National Archives Identifier 170102703 Circa 1936-1942
“Original caption: Another view of the date palms on the William Marcus place, Palm Springs. In the upper right hand corner note the Indian boy on the ladder picking the fruit."
[While the native California fan palm (maul) grows in the Coachella Valley on Cahuilla homelands, date palms were imported from the Middle East starting in the early 1900s, turning the region into one of the top date producers.]
Los Coyotes: “Photograph of Marcus Segundo and Manuel Chapparosa at the Location of the 1878 Survey Marker on the Los Coyotes Reservation”
National Archives Identifier 170101255 Circa 1936-1942
Original caption: "Los Coyotes. Boundary Survey. Marcus Segundo, Manuel Chapparosa. Partially destroyed bearing tree to old survey corner."
Morongo: “Photograph of Will Pablo”
National Archives Identifier 170102417 Circa 1936-1942
Original caption: "PWA — Will Pablo, 72 year old full blood Indian. Leader on Morongo reservation and timekeeper Public works — roads."
[Will Pablo was a Cahuilla puul or medicine man. His daughter, Jane Penn, later was a tribal leader and co-founded the Malki Museum on Morongo Reservation.]
“Photograph Showing a Small Portion of the Apricot Orchard of Lee Arenas at Palm Springs”
National Archives Identifier 170102707 Circa 1936-1942
Original caption: "Showing a small portion of the apricot orchard of Lee Arenas, Palm Springs."
[Apricot groves were part of a major Southern California agricultural industry during the 1930s, especially west of Palm Springs in the San Gorgonio Pass.]
“Photograph of Indian Operator John Linton Driving an AC-35 Caterpillar on a Sub-Grade at Morongo”
National Archives Identifier 170102397 Circa 1936-1942
Original Caption: "Roads — Morongo — Indian operator, John Linton, working AC-35 Caterpillar on sub-grade."
Thank you!
Please tell us what you find as you explore photos with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Finding Aid .
EMAIL. Thank you from Editor Pat Murkland, March 9, 2022.
Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, led by Elder Ernest Siva (Cahuilla-Serrano), is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that saves and shares Southern California Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts. We welcome your donations. (MORE INFO.)