Census forms of Native American tribes in the Mission Indian Agency of southern California : typescript and manuscript

Census forms documenting Native American tribes in San Diego County, completed in typescript and with extensive manuscript emendations by Charles L. Ellis, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Mission Indian Agency. The tribes include the Campo, Capitan Grande, Cuyuapipe [i.e. Cuyapaipe], Inaja, Laguna, La Jolla, La Posta, Las Coyotes, Manzanita, Mesa Grande, Sycuan, and Volcan (Santa Ysabel). The census totals for each tribe range from as little as three persons (Laguna), progressing to five (La Posta), seven (Cuyapaipe); and 233 (La Jolla). A manuscript table of contents on the makeshift front cover summarizes the document, noting total population numbers for each Mission tribe and the page number ranges devoted to each group. The completed forms collect a wealth of information about the Native American residents of the Mission Agency. The form sheets include "Indian Name," "English Name," "Relationship" (married, single widowed), date of birth, and gender. There is also a category for "Degree of blood," typed above an improvised column on the first leaf only. This was used to record individuals with a certain percentage of Native American lineage, i.e. the traditionally pejorative "half-breeds," which are indicated by the fraction "1/2" listed next to several names throughout the document. Other notations include "1/4," "3/4," "3/8," "and "5/8." The additional typed comments and manuscript notations provide vital, detailed information on many of the individuals listed. Examples include information on health conditions ("feeble minded - in Sonoma State Home" or "pronounced blind by Dr. Grant of San Diego), current whereabouts ("lives in LA" or "husband is a white man and this family have lived in Oakland for years"), employment ("herds cattle for Lucy Elliott, Manzanita" or "works in El Cajon; has 2nd hand Buick auto"), and various other notes ("attends El Centro High School," "said to be a Mexican," "said to be a Seminole Indian," or "has not been heard of since 1918 when he enlisted in the Army; no record under this name in the Army"), among others. The present document was maintained and updated until at least June 1928, the latest dated manuscript note found here.

• 1923-1928

• Ellis, C. L. (Charles L.)

1 item (83 leaves) ; 27 x 21 cm

Each section bound with copper brads along top edge. Wrappers for the whole item fashioned from repurposed printed broadsides issued by the San Diego County Health Office demanding "ISOLATION" for anyone "afflicted with any communicable disease."

The Mission Agency began in 1865 in an attempt to organize various small tribes in southern California who had traditionally associated with various Spanish missions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Indigenous peoples from various tribes or bands were often forcibly removed from their native living spaces and taken to Catholic missions where they were made to live among numerous other tribes upon arrival. This relocation and tribal commingling, along with involuntary labor, forced conversion to Catholicism, and the lack of immunities to European diseases all helped to decimate Native American populations in the area over the subsequent century. Native Americans who survived in San Diego suffered losses of linguistic, spiritual, and cultural practices.

• Campo Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Campo Indian Reservation, California
• Capitan Grande Indian Reservation (Calif.)
• Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians, California
• Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, California
• La Jolla Reservation (Calif.)
• La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the La Posta Indian Reservation, California
• Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, California
• Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Mesa Grande Reservation, California
• San Diego County, California

• Census data
• History
• Indians of North America
• Sources

• text

• English

Mms: 991023443757406535

compiled by C. L. Ellis

San Diego County

Public domain (US)

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Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0175 (https://lib.ucsd.edu/sca)

2022-06-08