Indian Graves: A Race to Save Antiquity

As the rainy season approaches, a race is under way to protect a large ancient Indian burial ground found earlier this month in a Ventura County flood control channel by a team of researchers from California State University, Northridge.

The skeletal remains of at least 16 Chumash Indians dating back to the 5th Century have been unearthed, leading to the possibility that the human remains could be washed out to sea once seasonal rains begin flowing through the channel. Test digging in the channel indicates there could be hundreds, or even thousands, of other graves.

“A lot of people are going to have to make a lot of decisions, and soon,” said CSUN archeologist Mark Raab, leader of the dig near Mugu Lagoon that was stopped when the remains were found.

Raab said that from an archeological point of view, the cemetery is a historical gold mine, an opportunity for researchers to study an ancient civilization by analyzing its mortuary practices.

But archeologists must contend with Chumash Indians, who are trying to protect the remains of their ancestors in what is now considered the largest ancient Indian cemetery in Southern California.

Trying to remain both sensitive to Indian tradition and practical about the repair of the flood channel, officials from Ventura County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said they do not know quite what to do. By all accounts, it will likely cost several million dollars to save the grave site, but just who will shoulder the financial burden has not yet been decided.

The leaders of Indian groups said they will go before the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to ask officials to follow Indian tradition by finding a way to preserve the grave site without moving the skeletons.

With winter rains approaching, officials acknowledge they will have to move quickly.

“The standoff has been created,” said Bill Haydon, a senior engineer for the Ventura County Flood Control District. “The ball is in the Indians’ court.”

Jessie Roybal, executive director of the Candalaria American Indian Council, which represents various Indian groups, said she will ask officials from the county and the Corps of Engineers to consider three courses of action. They are: Capping about an acre of land in the middle of the channel with a thick layer of cement to protect the remains and allow the flow of water to continue unimpeded; building a cement underground wall around the graves and then covering the area with cement; or rerouting the channel, which is fed by Calleguas Creek, to go around the cemetery.

“The problem is that all of those steps would be extremely costly,” Roybal said. “It is very important that our heritage be preserved. I only hope our concerns fall on sympathetic ears.”

Roybal said the remains could be dug up and hauled to a site that has been provided to the Indians by the county and then re-interred.

But a Chumash descendant, Richard Agulano, of Thousand Oaks, said moving the bones would enrage many Indians. “When you disturb our ancestors, you are disturbing us,” said Agulano. “When you remove an Indian from burial, he is no longer in peace. They must not be taken out and played with like toys.”

Pat Martz, senior archeologist for the Corps of Engineers in Los Angeles, said her office will study the alternatives the Indians have presented.

“The first thing we have to do is define the boundaries of the cemetery,” Martz said. “The Chumash tended to bury their people in a very small space, which means there could be many, many, remains. . . . What we don’t need is a high-velocity storm.”

The Chumash, one of the largest tribes in California, typically lived along the coast in an area stretching from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles. A peaceful tribe, the Chumash were largely known for their sophisticated fishing skills.

This area around Point Mugu is considered to have been a regional capital for the tribe between about 300 A.D. and the early 1800s, archeologist Raab said.

Three villages in the vicinity are known to have existed and, for years, land erosion has caused many of the artifacts to be exposed. Bones, pottery and beads are frequently stolen by looters, and many of the items later turn up at swap meets and garage sales or as decorations in homes, Indians and archeologists said.

Chumash graves have been found often in the past by archeologists, but infrequently in cemeteries and rarely with the bones preserved as well as those found by CSUN, said Chester King, an expert on the Chumash.

Judging from the number and quality of relics found, Raab said the skeletons are those of “the wealthy and those high up on the social ladder in the tribe.”

Dig Began in July

The CSUN dig began July 23 as a routine excavation required by federal law because of the area’s listing on the National Registry of Historical Places, a designation made because of the earlier finds of Chumash Indian relics. The $50,000-dig was commissioned by Ventura County because the flood control channel, which the county wants to dredge, had become clogged with silt and other debris.

The original agreement between the Corps of Engineers, the county and Indian groups stated that if any human remains were found, they would be unearthed and reburied elsewhere. But the policy did not cover cemeteries, as opposed to individual skeletons.

“With the enormity of what’s been found, there’s going to have to be a renegotiation of that policy,” corps archeologist Martz said.

While attempts have begun to protect the cemetery, known only by its state classification as “CA VEN-110,” Raab has started covering the graves with loose dirt to prevent damage and theft. CSUN researchers have taken many bags of dirt and artifacts back to their campus headquarters, where they have been studying the articles using screen filters.

“The single most revealing glimpse into the structure of prehistoric societies is through mortuary practices,” King said. “They are just like time capsules, invaluable for research. It would be a tragedy if this situation is not addressed as soon as possible.”