Recommended Resources

1. California Missions Native History:

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center aims to educate the public about the history, culture, and contemporary life of California Indians and honor their contributions. Its website features this interactive map of all twenty-one missions, including video testimonials and California Indian biographies.

• Select the Missions tab, then select Basilica San Diego de Alcalá.

• Research the following sections: Native Life, Cultural Impacts, Colonization and Governance, and Resistance.

American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges:

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian developed this resource through its Native Knowledge 360° education initiative and in collaboration with the Campo Kumeyaay Nation. The interactive website introduces the Campo Kumeyaay and the environmental challenges they currently face because of changes to their homeland that began with the Spanish mission system

• Explore the following sections: Meet the People, About Our Homeland, Our Environmental Challenge, Our Strategies, and Our Future.

• How does this resource contribute to your understanding of the Kumeyaay?

• How is the Spanish mission system connected to current issues the Kumeyaay face today?

1. California Missions Native History:

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center aims to educate the public about the history, culture, and contemporary life of California Indians and honor their contributions. Its website features this interactive map of all twenty-one missions, including video testimonials and California Indian biographies.

• Select the Missions tab.

• Select Mission Dolores San Francisco de Asís.

• Research the following sections: Native Life, Cultural Impacts, Colonization and Governance, and Resistance.

2. Native Peoples of the East Bay: Past-to-Present Map (PDF):

The East Bay Regional Park District offers this map resource. Explore it to learn more about the Ohlone, Bay Miwok, and Delta Yokuts of the East Bay and San Francisco Bay area. Recommended featured maps include:

• By Land and Sea, 1542–1776.

• Spanish Missionization, 1770–1833.

• A Land of Many Languages.

• A Land of Many Tribes.

3. Ohlone Student Resources (printable PDF):

Beverly R. Ortiz, PhD, created this curriculum for the East Bay Regional Park District. It includes supplemental resources for expanding the units.

• Unit Four: “Folklore Traditions and Religious Systems,” Lessons One and Two

  • Sacred Places and Narratives, p. 31.

  • Ohlone Spiritual Beliefs and Ceremonies, p. 35.

• Unit Six: “Objects of Daily Life: Beauty and Usefulness Combined,” Lesson Two.

  • Baskets and Basket Materials, pp. 131–133.

  • Basketry Today (featuring Linda Yamane), pp. 134–135.

• Unit Seven: “Spanish, Mexican, and American Impacts,” Lesson One.

  • Europeans Arrive from Spain, pp. 149–150.

  • Ohlone Resistance to the Mission System, pp. 151–153.

  • Spanish Missions, pp. 154–155.

4. Bay Miwok Student Resources (printable PDF):

Beverly R. Ortiz, PhD, created this curriculum for the East Bay Regional Park District. It includes supplemental resources for expanding the units.

• Unit Four: “Folklore Traditions and Religious Systems,” Lessons One and Two.

  • Sacred Places and Narratives, pp. 11–15.

  • Spiritual Beliefs and Ceremonies, p. 16.

• Unit Six: “Adapting to the Environment,” Lesson Two.

  • Objects of Daily Life: “Beauty and Usefulness Combined,” pp. 28–34.

• Unit Seven: “Spanish, Mexican, and American Impacts,” Lesson One.

  • Europeans Arrive from Spain, pp. 41–42.

  • Spanish Missions, p. 43.

1. California Missions Native History:

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center aims to educate the public about the history, culture, and contemporary life of California Indians and honor their contributions. Its website features this interactive map of all twenty-one missions, including video testimonials and California Indian biographies.

• Select the Missions tab.

• Select Mission Dolores San Francisco de Asís.

• Research the following sections: Native Life, Cultural Impacts, Colonization and Governance, and Resistance.

2. Ohlone Student Resources (printable PDF):

Beverly R. Ortiz, PhD, created this curriculum for the East Bay Regional Park District. It includes supplemental resources for expanding upon the units.

• Unit Four: “Folklore Traditions and Religious Systems,” Lessons One and Two.

  • Sacred Places and Narratives, p. 31.

  • Ohlone Spiritual Beliefs and Ceremonies, p. 35.

  • Basketry Today (featuring Linda Yamane), p. 134–135.

• Unit Seven: “Spanish, Mexican, and American Impacts,” Lesson One.

  • Europeans Arrive from Spain, p. 149–150.

  • Ohlone Resistance to the Mission System, p. 151–153.

  • Spanish Missions, p. 154–155.

3. Bay Miwok Student Resources (printable PDF):

Beverly R. Ortiz, PhD. created this curriculum for the East Bay Regional Park District. It includes supplemental resources for expanding the units.

• Unit Four: “Folklore Traditions and Religious Systems,” Lessons One and Two.

  • Sacred Places and Narratives, pp. 11–15.

  • Spiritual Beliefs and Ceremonies, p. 16.

• Unit Seven: “Spanish, Mexican, and American Impacts,” Lesson One.

  • Europeans Arrive from Spain, p. 41–42.

  • Spanish Missions, p. 43.

4. Native Peoples of the East Bay: Past-to-Present Map (PDF):

The East Bay Regional Park District offers this map resource. Explore it to learn more about the Ohlone, Bay Miwok, and Delta Yokuts of the East Bay and San Francisco Bay area. Recommended featured maps include:

• By Land and Sea, 1542–1776.

• Spanish Missionization, 1770–1833.

• A Land of Many Languages.

• A Land of Many Tribes.

OPTION: If these resources were already examined for “Art and the Ceiling at Mission Dolores,” students can research the Yokuts in relation to the cradleboard featured in the collection connection:

1. California Missions Native History:

• Select Mission San Jose, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, or Mission San Juan Bautista.

2. Delta Yokuts Student Resources (Printable PDF):

Beverly R. Ortiz, PhD. created this curriculum for the East Bay Regional Park District. It includes supplemental resources for expanding the unit.

1. Weaving Community: How Native Peoples are Rediscovering Their Basketry Traditions (15:31):

In this short film from KCET, “Tending the Wild” (season one, episode three), Šmuwič Chumash basket weaver Tima Link explains how plant gathering is not just about taking but also about giving. Returning to gathering places continues an important relationship between the basket weaver and the land: “This place is really special because it’s a place where the old basket weavers grew up. They were born here, they died here, and their baskets, the actual Juncus that they made their baskets out of, it’s from here. So, I feel that, we feel that when we come back here, that there’s a continuation going on of not only a skill and an art, but also of tending.”

2. California Missions Native History:

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center aims to educate the public about the history, culture, and contemporary life of California Indians and honor their contributions. Its website features this interactive map of all twenty-one missions, including video testimonials and California Indian biographies.

• Select San Buenaventura.

• Research the following sections: Native Life, Cultural Impacts, Colonization and Governance, and Resistance.

3. Basket Rush Juncus textilis:

Once Upon a Watershed (OUW) actively engages youth in protecting and restoring the Ventura River watershed. Its website provides more information about this important basket plant and the relationship it has with other living beings in its habitat.

4. Chumash Indian Museum Educational Resources:

The Chumash Indian Museum invites you to learn about Chumash history, science, language, and culture. Explore kid-friendly activities, videos, and the Chumash Indian Museum Plant Guide.

1. Kumeyaay Stories and Songs, told by Stan Rodriguez (18:46):

This video is part of the Learning Landscapes curriculum produced by the Kumeyaay Diegueno Land Conservancy. Stan Rodriguez shares traditional songs, explains the different types of Kumeyaay rattles, and describes the stories and history that are contained within the songs.

2. California Missions Native History:

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center aims to educate the public about the history, culture, and contemporary life of California Indians and honor their contributions. Its website features this interactive map of all twenty-one missions, including video testimonials and California Indian biographies.

• Select the Missions tab.

• Select: San Luis Rey De Francia.

• Research the following sections: Native Life, Cultural Impacts, Colonization and Governance, and Resistance.

• Select California Indian Biographies.

  • Select Pablo Tac.

3. Native Voices: Protecting Language and Culture (8:18):

Nicole Myers-Lim (Pomo) and the Sound Ideas Collective produced this film for the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center. It illustrates the continuation of dance, song, language, and oral traditions from the mission period to today.

The following historical fiction and nonfiction titles can be shared as class read alouds or in small reading groups or assigned as independent reading to further an understanding of California Indigenous perspectives.

Robinson, Gary. Lands of Our Ancestors. Books One to Three and Teacher’s Guide. Santa Ynez, CA: Tribal Eye Productions, 2017.

Book One: This historical-fiction chapter book centers on twelve-year-old Kilik, his eleven-year-old cousin Tuhuy, and their families as their Chumash culture, traditions, and way of life are drastically changed by their forced move to a Spanish mission. The Teacher Guide includes comprehensive questions, discussion prompts, vocabulary, and activities. Books Two and Three follow the family through the rancho and gold rush periods.

Scott, Judith, and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. When the Mission Bells Rang. Pala, CA: Tribal Print Source, 2021

This picture book is dedicated to the Amah Mutsun people of the Monterey Bay region impacted by Mission San Juan Bautista and Mission Santa Cruz. A fictional story about agency and resistance, it is told through the eyes of animal relatives who were also impacted by the Spanish and changes to the land from the mission system. Historical facts, cultural information, and defined Mutsun language terms are also provided. You can access a free PDF version or purchase the book here:

Wallace, Cathleen Chilcote. The Gift Basket: Story and Unit of Study. www.nativetalk.org, 2012.

In this historical fiction short story, a Luiseño girl learns basket-weaving and plant-gathering traditions from her grandmother. When she discovers that someone has taken all the basket-weaving plants from her family’s gathering area, the Animal People come to her aid. The unit of study includes background information on tribes and homelands within present-day San Diego County, with a focus on the Luiseño. Three lessons that address ELA, HSS, and NGSS standards complement the story. Access a free PDF version here:

Lowry, Chag, and Weshoyot Alvitre. My Sisters. Pala, CA: Tribal Print Source, 2020.

This comic story, created by Chag Lowry (Yurok/Maidu/Achumawi) and Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva), is endorsed by The California Indian Basketweavers’ Association. The unique story honors the special relationship basket weavers have with their homelands and is told from the perspective of the baskets themselves. Free curriculum materials to accompany the book are available for fourth grade and middle school at

Elliot, Eric. Dear Miss Karana. Berkeley, CA: Heyday, 2016.

Dear Miss Karana, a historical-fiction chapter book, is seen through the eyes of ten-year-old Tíshmal, who is learning about the real woman from San Nicolás Island as her class is reading Island of the Blue Dolphins. While listening to a recording of the woman, Tíshmal hears similarities to her own Chamtéela (Luiseño) language spoken on her reservation. She seeks the help of her uncle to learn more about the language and help the lone woman’s spirit. It was developed in accordance with Common Core Standards for fourth grade.

Salazar, Alan. A Tataviam Creation Story. Ventura CA: Sunsprite Publications, 2021.

“A representation of Alan Salazar’s deep-rooted passion for and commitment to our unique Tribal heritage. Through another powerful and timeless story containing brilliantly painted imagery, Alan Salazar gifts our youth with an origin story that will live through future generations.” – Rudy Ortega Jr., tribal president, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. One chapter covers Tataviam culture and history, including Spanish colonization, the Mexican period, and early California statehood.

Heyday:

Great Oak Press:

Birchbark Books:

Supahan, Sarah. A Time of Resistance: California Indians during the Mission Period, 1769–1848: An Integrated Thematic Unit. Hoopa, CA: Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District’s Indian Education Program, Humboldt County Offices of Education, 1997.

• Historical background, timeline, and maps, with an emphasis on Native perspectives.

• Lessons and student activities to support social studies, math, science, and language arts.

• Printable handouts and unit assessment.

California Indian Museum and Cultural Center. California Missions Native History.

• Interactive map on all twenty-one missions, including video testimonials and California Indian biographies.

• Teacher Materials.

Teaching California. Mission Inquiry Sets: Grade 4.

• Missions’ Impact on Indigenous Traditions and Beliefs, 4.2a.

• Missions’ Impact on Environment and Economy, 4.2b.

• Varying Perspectives on the Missions, 4.2c.

Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. Amah Mutsun Youth Walk for Juristac Mini-Lessons.

• Lesson One: The Amah Mutsun and Juristac.

• Lesson Two: Mission San Juan Bautista.

• Lesson Three: Agriculture and Amah Mutsun Traditional Foods.

The New York Historical Society. Women & The American Story. “Life Story: Toypurina (1760–1799).”

• Middle- and high-school resources adaptable for 4th grade.

• YouTube video recommended.

KCET. Lost LA Curriculum Project.

• The Tongva Before and After Spanish Arrival. Historical Inquiry Lesson, Grade 4. https://www.pbssocal.org/lost-la-curriculum/the-tongva-before-and-after-spanish-arrival (link is external)

• Toypurina: Indigenous Woman. Historical Inquiry Lesson, Grade 11. https://www.pbssocal.org/lost-la-curriculum/toypurina-indigenous-woman (link is external)

California Indian Education for All.

• Classroom Resources.

• Native Ways of Knowing Micro-Courses and Professional Development.

Redbud Resource Group. Educational Resource: Ethnic Studies Support Materials.

• Grades 6–12.

• Lesson Four features Deborah Miranda’s poem, “Lies My Ancestors Told for Me.” The poem explores the idea that “assimilation” is a form of resistance, as it allows a community to survive into the next generation.

Digital Inquiry Group. Reading Like a Historian. California Missions History Lesson.

• Please note: The site requires a free login and password to access.

Beutler, Ruth Anne, dir., California State Parks of Santa Cruz. It Needs to be Told: Native Californian Perspectives on the Missions (10:30). June 7, 2024

The California Indian History Curriculum Coalition. College of Education, Sacramento State.

The California Native American Heritage Commission. Digital Atlas of California Native Americans.

• This website features an option to show information about missions and tribes throughout the state.

Chumash Indian Museum. Chumash Science through Time: Chumash Revolt of 1824 (9:16).

Critical Mission Studies. YouTube Channel.

Humboldt State University. Humboldt Place-Based Learning Communities. Department of Native American Studies. History of Native California (12:57). August 19, 2019

LFK Media, dir., with Gregg Castro and Kanyon "Coyote Woman" Sayers-Roods, consulting dirs. Ohlone People: Survivance to Thrivance. Video (39:36). Crowded Fire Theater, 2022.

• This website features educational and background information, as well as the link for free access to the film.

Murray, Wallace, and Tim Campbell, dirs. Gather Together. Storyteller Video, 2005. DVD.

Murray, Wallace, and Tim Campbell, dirs. Julia Excerpt from Gather Together. Storyteller Video, 2005. Basketry and acorn preparation (7:34).

Murray, Wallace, and Tim Campbell, dirs. Julia Parker: Grandmother’s Prayer. Storyteller Video, 2005. DVD.

Rau, Ann, and Corbet Jones, dirs. Tending Nature: Decolonizing Cuisine with Mak-’amham. Season one, episode two (26:40).

Remove the El Camino Real Bells

Strauss, Terry, dir. Precious Cargo: California Indian Cradle Baskets and Childbirth Traditions. Marin, CA: Marin Museum of the American Indian, National Endowment for the Humanities, 2004. DVD.

Walk for the Ancestors

Yuan, Christine. Tending the Wild. Six-part series. Los Angeles: KCETLink Media Group and The Autry Museum, September 15, 2016.

Akins, Damon B., and William J. Bauer Jr. We Are the Land: A History of Native California. Oakland: University of California Press, 2021.

Arkush, Brook S. “Native Responses to European Intrusion: Cultural Persistence and Agency Among Mission Neophytes in Spanish Colonial Northern California.” Historical Archeology 45, no.4 (June 2011): 62–90.

Bear, Lindsie, and James Luna. “Saying Our Share: Surviving the Missions,” News from Native California, 28, no.2 (Winter 2014/15). Special Edition.

Beebe, Rose Marie, and Robert M. Senkewicz. “Revolt at Mission San Gabriel, October 25, 1785: Judicial Proceedings and Related Documents.” Boletín: The Journal of the California Mission Studies Association 24, no. 2 (2007): 15–29.

Chavez, Yve. "Basket Weaving in Coastal Southern California: A Social History of Survivance." Arts 8, no. 3 (2019): 94.

Chilcote, Olivia. “Pow Wows at the Mission: Identity and Federal Recognition for the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseño Mission Indians.” Boletín: Journal of the California Mission Studies Association 31, no. 1 (2015): 79–87.

Duggan, Marie Christine. “With and Without an Empire: Financing for California Missions before and after 1810.” Pacific Historical Review 85(2016): 23–71.

Geiger, Maynard J., and Clement W. Meighan, eds. As the Padres Saw Them: California Indian Life and Customs as Reported by the Franciscan Missionaries, 1813–1815. Santa Barbara, CA: Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library, 1976.

Haas, Lisbeth. Pablo Tac, Indigenous Scholar: Writing on Luiseño Language and Colonial History, c.1840. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.

Jackson, Robert H., and Edward Castillo. Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization: The Impact of the Mission System on California Indians. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995.

Laduzinsky, Paige. Basketry: An Art That Lives Across Generations. KCET: Arts & Culture. April 15, 2018.

Learning for Justice. Critical Practices for Social Justice Education. Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center, 2023.

Learning for Justice. Let’s Talk: Facilitating Critical Conversations with Students. Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center, 2020.

Lightfoot, Kent G. Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on the California Frontiers. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.

Lorimer, Michelle M. Resurrecting the Past: The California Mission Myth. Pechanga, CA: Great Oak Press, 2016.

Milliken, Randall, Laurence H. Shoup, and Beverly Ortiz. “2009 – Ohlone/Costanoan Indians of the San Francisco Peninsula and their Neighbors, Yesterday and Today.” Government Documents and Publications 6, 2017.

Miranda, Deborah A. Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir (10th Anniversary Edition). Berkeley, CA: Heyday, 2022.

Miranda, Deborah A. “Lying to Children about the California Missions and the Indians.” Zinn Education Project: Teaching People’s History. March 23, 2015.

Newell, Quincy D. Constructing Lives at Mission San Francisco: Native Californians and Hispanic Colonists, 1776-1821. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2009.

Panich, Lee M. “‘Sometimes They Bury the Deceased’s Clothes and Trinkets’: Indigenous Mortuary Practices at Mission Santa Clara de Asís.” Historical Archeology 49, no. 4 (December 2015): 110–29.

Ramirez, Renya K., and Valentin Lopez. “Valentin Lopez, Healing, and Decolonization: Contesting Mission Bells, El Camino Real, and California Governor Newsom.” Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture 2, no. 3 (1 July 2020): 91–98.

Rizzo, Martin. “‘If They Do Not Fulfill What They Have Promised, I Will Accuse Them’: Locating Indigenous Women and Their Influence in the California Missions.” Western Historical Quarterly 51, no. 3 (Autumn 2020): 291–313.

Rizzo-Martinez, Martin. We Are Not Animals: Indigenous Politics of Survival, Rebellion, and Reconstitution in Nineteenth-Century California. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022.

Sandos, James A. Converting California: Indians and Franciscans in the Missions. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004.

Schneider, Tsim. “‘Dancing on the Brink of the World’: Seeing Indigenous Dance and Resilience in the Archeology of Colonial California.” American Anthropologist 123, no. 1 (2020): 50–66.

Schneider, Tsim, Khal Schneider, and Lee Panich. “Scaling Invisible Walls: Reasserting Indigenous Persistence in Mission-Era California.” The Public Historian 42, no. 4 (November 2020): 97–120.