Details
The Los Angeles Basin, where the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Pasadena, and many others now cover the land, was once home to many Indian people. We know no Indian name for these people and they are usually called Gabrielinos and Fernandinos after the Spanish missions which were established in their territory. Today no one speaks the language which was spoken by thousands of Indian people who lived in this region and on some of the Channel Islands. Fortunately, some of the words of the Gabrielino language were recorded many years ago before the last speakers died. Gabrielino is related to other Southern California Indian languages. Its nearest relatives are Cahuilla and Cupeno, with Serrano and Luiseno as more distant cousins. This 36-page booklet is packed with Gabrielino words, accompanied by illustrations based on the rock art of Southern Californias First People.
About the Malki Museum:
Malki Museum, Inc., is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to saving and sharing the knowledge, cultures and languages of the Indian people of Southern California. The Museum, founded in 1964, was the first Indian-run public museum on a reservation in the United States. Malki has been instrumental in preserving Southern California Indian languages, Cupeno, Luiseno, and especially Cahuilla, with grammar and language books, a bilingual language tape, and videos. All of these are opportunities for Malki to share with Indians and non-Indians knowledge of traditional foods and customs. People of different cultures get to know each other better by working together in a mutual cause and learning to respect each other's differences.
