Bulldozing Indians’ Sacred History

North American Indians always have held close spiritual ties with their ancestors. So when charges surface that human remains and religious artifacts from sacred Indian burial grounds have been unearthed by developers and tossed in a scrap heap, kin groups and tribal elders go on the warpath.

“We believe the remains of our people are sacred,” says Vera Rocha, chairwoman of the Gabrieleno Indian Tribe, whose ancestors once occupied the hilly lands near Newport Beach. “Every time one of our burial sites gets destroyed, a piece of our religion also gets destroyed.”

Orange County is fast becoming a treasure trove of fossils and cultural resources with historical significance. Indian villages and burial grounds are scattered throughout the county, and as residential and commercial construction continues many more are likely to be found.

The Irvine Co. has spent roughly $6 million over the last three years on excavations within the 9,432-acre Newport Coast property between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach. To date, the project has yielded natural rock shelters, grinding tools and spearheads, and the remains of a young Indian woman who lived 4,000 years ago.

These treasures and others have allowed researchers and archeologists to study the Indians who once inhabited the area--Gabrielenos and Juanenos. Human remains, in particular, help reveal a culture’s diet, environment, evolution.

But members of these two tribes say that development has not only threatened the sacred sites along the coast and elsewhere but has sent the spirits and souls of their ancestors into a sort of earthly void--all in the name of progress.

“Our religious beliefs deserve the same respect as anyone else’s,” Rocha says.

Some of the more than 12,000 American Indians living in Orange County are starting to assert their right to speak to the final destination of their ancestors.

Thanks to a strong revival of Indian culture and an increasing awareness of their political and social identity, Indian leaders have organized protests and demanded that developers leave the bones of their ancestors undisturbed.

“Our people should not be removed with a scooper and a hopper,” argues David Belardes, chief of the San Juan Capistrano-based Juaneno Indian tribe.

The question of how best to protect the bones and burial sites already found, and those yet to be found, still remains at the center of a dispute among Indian groups and developers.

In the past, developers performed only cursory review of Indian burial grounds, says Michael Macko, former archeological director at the Newport Coast project. Macko surveyed the unincorporated area where the Irvine Co. now is building 2,600 housing units.

“Up until a few years ago, it was helter-skelter review,” Macko says.

These days, archeological and paleontological studies are routine. Under state law, American Insians’ remains that are unearthed by developers either must be turned over to the most likely descendant or reburied within the project site.

Of 92 archeological sites identified on the Newport Coast property, 67 will be preserved in open space--Crystal Cove State Park and Irvine Coast Wilderness Regional Park.

So far, researchers have found evidence of two Indian groups. The first tribe arrived about 9,000 years ago but mysteriously vanished. The second tribe arrived about 1,500 years ago and used bows and arrows.

“I realize they’re not going to stop development because of a few arrowheads,” says Belardes of the Juanenos. “But if we can’t stop progress, at least allow us some dignity in how we bury our ancestors.”

The vast majority of sites offer little more than “shell debris and rock features,” says Robert Selway, chief of cultural and historical programs for the county.

Yet it’s not as though developers and Indian leaders are fighting over mere fragments. Or are they?

Four years ago, for example, the Juanenos asked the Mission Viejo Co. to allow tribal representatives on site during grading of an area near where the remains of 11 Indians were found in 1978. The company refused their request since state law already required it to have on site a certified archeologist.

Developers and Indian groups still have yet to agree on the extent of the find at Hellman Ranch in Seal Beach. The Mola Development Co. conducted a subsurface investigation and found one finger digit. “The site was never classified as a burial, but some people are using this to try and stop development,” says Kirk Evans, project manager for the company.

Mostly charred bones have surfaced at Pelican Hill in the Newport Coast project--quite possibly the largest single archeological excavation in California.

Some developers claim that these delays in construction schedules merely drive up their cost of doing business, thus raising prices of new homes.

A few developers such as the Irvine Co., however, hire on-site Indian monitors or consultants when artifacts are likely to be found. Monitors ensure that sensitive burial sites are not disturbed and Indian relics are preserved. Occasionally, these monitors perform reburials.

The requirements for Indian monitoring vary from county to county, and state guidelines are vague. Developers have complained about the fees charged by Indians, while the issue of who qualifies as a likely descendant has started tribal warfares among American Indians.

“A lot of developers don’t use Native Americans as monitors because we’ve gotten a bad rap over the years for charging big bucks and then standing around doing nothing,” Belardes says.

Jim Valasques is a coastal Gabrieleno descendant and is employed as an Indian observer at the Newport Coast project. He also is on the Irvine Co. payroll.

“Whenever human remains are discovered, I am consulted as to how I would like to dispose of them,” he explains. “My job is to see that they are exhumed by hand with dignity and returned to the earth with dignity.”

Most of the remains from the Newport Coast project were placed in a wooden box about the size of a small suitcase and reburied.

“We’re not always sure what’s going on with regard to reburials,” says Rocha of the Gabrieleno Indian Tribe, who has long refused to recognize Valasques as a member of the tribe. “We’re typically informed about these burials at the last minute when everything is either plowed under or bulldozed. Up until a month ago, we were involved in only one reburial.”

A powwow, of sorts, was held earlier this year between one developer, the Irvine Co., and the Gabrielenos and Juanenos.

The Irvine Co. assured the two Indian tribes that they will have a new role in monitoring future archeological digs.

“All the human remains and funeral-related items found on the Newport Coast site have been returned to Mother Earth,” insists Bernard Maniscalco, project director for the Irvine Co. “All other artifacts will be donated to the Orange County Museum of Natural History and Science.”

In fact, the company is eager to turn over the artifacts and to put to rest all Indian remains and descendants’ concerns.

“Clearly, this is a racial issue because we’re not digging up the bones of any other ethnic group,” says Dr. Dudley Varner, executive director of the Orange County Museum of Natural History and Science. “But the Irvine Co. has done everything in its power to mitigate the issue of burial sites and funeral-related artifacts.”

Archeologists typically excavate about 5% of artifacts before the bulldozers level the land. The Irvine Co. reviewed close to 20% of the Newport Coast area.

“It’s all a matter of sampling,” says Roger Mason, current archeology director at Newport Coast. “Do you have a big enough sample? That decision has to be made on a site-by-site basis.” (A final report on the human remains and religious artifacts found at Newport Coast will be released sometime next year.)

Human remains probably can be found at every one of the roughly 1,200 recorded archeological sites in Orange County, says Belardes of the Juanenos and Macko. The problem is it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Meanwhile, battle cries from developers and Indian leaders continue to echo in Orange County canyons.

“I don’t profess to have all the answers, but we’re talking about our cultural heritage,” adds Belardes. “If we don’t do something now, we’re not going to have a heritage.”