History of the Land and Its Original Peoples

This space is meant to serve as a resource and gathering place for shared knowledge and information on the history of this land (currently the site of De Anza College and the California History Center) and its original peoples. We expect that the content will evolve and grow over time, and we invite the community to share knowledge and resources that may add to our collection.

Land:

1) Historical Vegetation and Drainage Patterns of Western Santa Clara Valley: https://www.sfei.org/scvheproject

2) Cultural and Natural History of Santa Clara:
 
3) Important Geographic and Cultural Sites:
This list is part of ongoing efforts and is therefore not conclusive. We welcome contributions and suggestions.
  1. New Almaden Quick Silver State Park - http://www.newalmaden.org/AQSPark/  
  2. Brushy Peak - https://www.ebparks.org/parks/brushy-peak#history
  3. Mt. Diablo -  https://www.mdia.org
  4. Warm Springs - mentioned in "Up and Down California in 1860 - 1864", by William Brewer and edited by Francis P. Farquhar,  University of California Press, Berkeley. Published 1966.
  5. Mt. Shasta - See Frank LaPena, "The World Is A Gift,"  1987 and "Dream Songs," 2004 - Frank was a Wintun artist who taught art at Sacramento State University. He exhibited some of his work at CHC in about 2007.
 

Original Peoples:

1) Muwekma Ohlone Tribe: http://www.muwekma.org/
2) Tamien Nation: https://www.tamien.org/
3) The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone: https://www.ramaytush.org/
4) Amah Mutsun Tribal Band: https://amahmutsun.org/

5) Additional Resources: 

  1. SOCIAL COST OF STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE: ONE NATIVE CALIFORNIA FAMILY’S EXPERIENCE By Nancy Olsen, Ph.D., Anthropology Dept., De Anza College and Ruth Orta, Elder, Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Oakland, CA. Social Cost of Structural Violence: One Native California Family's Experience
  2.  OHLONE ELDERS & YOUTH SPEAK: RESTORING A CALIFORNIA LEGACY By Ann Marie Sayers, Project Director Ruth Morgan, Photographs Janet Clinger, Oral Histories  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c6c4dc69b7d1576549ac2ec/t/5c7772c0b208fc79a08b96aa/1551332109352/OHLONE+ELDERS.pdf
  3. Charlene Eigen-Vasquez: Descendant of the People of Chictactac, Council Woman, Confederation of Ohlone People, Californian, Number 47, April 2018. 

De Anza Name Exploration Project:

This webpage is maintained by the California History Center.

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