tongva are known for being very connected with their land.ngva people were a very wealthy society due to the abundant natural world that they surrounded with. they were able to stay in one place. they were not migratory. they traded with surrounding ribes, and they were able to trade some very unique resources due to this location. you may have heard of the -- large, basically a pond filled with tar between downtown los angeles. today it's near one of our large los angeles county museum of art, and that was a resource, so the tar or pitch was a sticky black substance. we use today to make asphalt, and the tongva used that to make tools. they used it to pitch their canoes, so they did have where they canoes would go out to the islands in orta monica bay and this tar pitch was important for that as well as to other local societies that they traded with. another unique resource that the utilized was soap stone. soap stone is a type of rock known for being very malleable. cups, can carve it into bowls, small implements, and it doesn't break. plac

we will visit the santa monica history museum to learn about the area's earliest inhabitants, the tongva. the city of santa monica's geography is something that has always d

we will visit the santa monica history museum to learn about the area's earliest inhabitants, the tongva. >> the city of santa monica's geography is something that has always drawn people to the area. the ocean has always been a great source of abundance, from fish to abalone to all sorts of things that help people survive

we had serrano indian, we had what they themselves called the tongva in historical records, they were part of the san fwab real mission and others, that probably goes back in the 9,000 to 10,000 year range for here. when you start talking about nonindian settlement, that starts in the 1780's when a number of spanish explorers are coming through the area. that's later supplanted by the mexican times here which is then of course supplanted by the american annexation of california starting in 1850 when we become a state. we had kind of a perfect storm of a number of things coming together at this time. 1870's, 1880's, the railroads come through here. obviously california is on the far west end of the country and most everybody lives in the midwest and back east. so in order to get out here, we -- the government subsidizes railroads to come out. that's one big thing. because that becomes more comfortable for people to come out here. the climate is another one. we've got a very unique, what was called mediterranean type of climate out here. so it's like going to italy or greece or what hav

it comes from all over the country, including the people that are tongva. you will see many murals honoring torporina. if you see a native woman in a mural, that is most often a representation of her. a tongvan phrase means we are still here. our cities tour staff travel to santa monica, california to discover its rich history. learn about santa monica and other stops on our tour at c-span.org/citiestour. you are watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. >> american history tv, a panel of historians discuss the ways white settlers, federal troops and native americans and directed and challenges they faced on the western frontier. topics include gender identity, examples of survivalist cannibalism, and immigration detention. this 90 minute discussion is part of the western history association's annual meeting. by name is diana distefano. this is a roundtable called "reimagining expansion: some race, gender and violence." as you can see we are being found today. that is kind of exciting. c-span is here. prettyndtable is set up norma

the tongva lived in santa monica and the los angeles basin. they had a very large tribal valleyom the san gabriel to the northern parts of orange county, all the way out to the islands in santa monica bay, san nicolas island and santa catalina. they also extend as far as malibu and border with chumash territory. the indigenous people in santa "tongva" comese from several different sounds in the language that mean "mother earth" and "place within that earth." they are known for being very connected with their land. were a veryeople wealthy society due to the abundant natural world they were surrounded with. they were able to stay in one place. they were not migratory. they traded with surrounding tribes and they were able to trade some very unique resources due to this location. large, basically pond filled with tar between here and downtown los angeles, and it is near one of our large art museums, the los angeles county museum of art. that was a unique resource, so the tar or pitch was a sticky, black substance. tools,used that to make pitch t

tongva used that to make tools, pitch their canoes. they did have oceangoing canoes where they would go out to the islands in santa monica bay and this tar or pitch was important for that, as well as other local societies they traded with. another unique resource that the tongva utilized was soapstone. soapstone is a type of rock that is known for being very malleable. you can carve it into cups, bowls, small implements, and it does not break. it can be placed directly in the fire without cracking. the tongva are known for not making any pottery or ceramics, and it is believed the reason is because they had access to soapstone. most of it was mind on catalina island, and that was another item they would trade with the surrounding communities. european contact had a significant impact on the indigenous people. it was detrimental. in 1542, juan rodriguez cabrillo came and discovered california, and claimed it for spain. after that, in 1769, gaspar de portolla came with spanish fathers and soldiers to establish the mission system in calif