Public Version Draft Ethnographic Overview of the Native American Communities in the Simi Hills and Vicinity Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration April 2017 Public Version Ethnographic Overview of the Native American Communities in the Simi Hills and Vicinity Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 Prepared by Natalie Lawson, M.A., RPA With contributions from Jennifer Whiteman, M.A., and Dorothea Theodoratus, Ph.D., and the local Native American Communities CH2M HILL 6 Hutton Centre Drive, Suite 700 Santa Ana, CA 92707 April 2017 Statement of Confidentiality Stipulation II.B of the 2014 Programmatic Agreement (PA) (Appendix A) requires the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to conduct an ethnographic history, which was completed in March 2017. This stipulation also requires NASA to post a public version of this report on its website at https://ssfl.msfc.nasa.gov/default.aspx. The confidential report on the results of the ethnographic study, Ethnographic Overview of the Native American Communities in the Simi Hills and Vicinity (NASA, 2017), identifies the locations and details of sensitive cultural resources. Disclosure of this information to the public may be in violation of both federal and state laws. Applicable United States (U.S.) laws include, but may not be limited to, Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S. Code [U.S.C.] 470w-3) and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 470hh). California laws that apply include, but may not be limited to, Government Code Sections 6250 et seq. and 6254 et seq. Furthermore, disclosure of site location information to individuals other than those meeting the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's professional standards or California State Personnel Board criteria for Associate State Archeologist or State Historian II violates the California Office of Historic Preservation’s records access policy. Because of the sensitive nature of the cultural resources described in the ethnographic study, it is a confidential document and should be withheld from public distribution, in accordance with Title 43 Code of Federal Regulations 7.18(a)(1) and Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public version of the Ethnographic Overview of the Native American Communities in the Simi Hills and Vicinity does not include any of the sensitive information, including locational information, which is contained in the confidential version. The confidential version of this report, including the appendixes, will be sent to the South Central Coastal Information Center of the California Historical Resources Information System. This page intentionally left blank. Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... v 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1-1 2 Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 2-1 3 Methods ................................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Interview Methods................................................................................................................. 3-1 3.2 Interview Questions ............................................................................................................... 3-2 3.3 Archival Research ................................................................................................................... 3-3 4 History of Research ................................................................................................................... 4-1 5 Environmental Setting ............................................................................................................... 5-1 6 Archeological Overview............................................................................................................. 6-1 6.1 Archeology from a Native American Perspective .................................................................. 6-2 7 Ethnographic Overview ............................................................................................................. 7-1 7.1 Language Identification and Synonymy ................................................................................. 7-1 7.2 Traditional Territories and Cultural Perspectives of Simi Valley ........................................... 7-2 7.3 Trade Routes and Trails ......................................................................................................... 7-3 7.4 Subsistence and Settlement Patterns .................................................................................... 7-3 7.4.1 Culturally Important Plants and Animals .................................................................. 7-5 7.5 Social Identification ............................................................................................................... 7-6 7.6 Mythology, Religion, and Ceremony...................................................................................... 7-7 7.6.1 Oral Histories and Stories Associated with the Project Vicinity ............................... 7-8 7.7 Astronomy and Solstice Ceremonies ................................................................................... 7-13 7.8 Other Special Events ............................................................................................................ 7-16 7.9 Caves of the Simi Hills .......................................................................................................... 7-17 7.10 Cultural Perspectives on Rock Art ........................................................................................ 7-18 8 Ethnohistory ............................................................................................................................. 8-1 8.1 Mission Period ....................................................................................................................... 8-1 8.2 Rancho Period ........................................................................................................................ 8-3 8.3 Treaty Making ........................................................................................................................ 8-4 8.4 Effects of Contact ................................................................................................................... 8-5 8.5 American Period .................................................................................................................. 8-10 8.6 Government Policies ............................................................................................................ 8-10 8.7 Contemporary ...................................................................................................................... 8-12 9 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 9-1 10 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 10-1 Appendixes A Glossary B Project Personnel Qualifications EN0721161140MGM III CONTENTS Figures 1 Location Map Note: Graphics 2 through 6 contain confidential information and are not included in this public version. 7 Survey Map for the Vincente de la Ossa Holdings at Rancho El Encino (1868) 8 Map of El Escorpión and El Encino (1871) Photos 1 Juan and Juana Menendez (Undated) 2 Juan Menendez (1918) 3 Fernando Librado during place name trip (1913) 4 Espíritu (Undated) 5 Espíritu (Undated) 6 Rogerio Rocha picking prickly pear (1898) 7 Native American women at San Fernando Rey de España Mission (circa 1880s) 8 Sherman Institute Class of 1919 (1919) IV EN0721161140MGM Acronyms and Abbreviations Boeing The Boeing Company CFR Code of Federal Regulations DOE U.S. Department of Energy EIS Environmental Impact Statement ha hectare(s) LanVen Los Angeles-Ventura Cultural Research Alliance n.d. not dated NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration SSC Sacred Sites Council SSFL Santa Susana Field Laboratory TCP Traditional Cultural Property U.S. United States EN0721161140MGM V ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS This page intentionally left blank. VI EN0721161140MGM SECTION 1 Introduction Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) consists of 2,850 acres of open, rocky terrain above the Simi Valley in southeastern Ventura County, California, roughly 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles (Figure 1). SSFL is situated within a relatively undeveloped, continuous corridor of the Simi Hills. Ownership of the property is divided between The Boeing Company (Boeing), which leases 90 acres to the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE), and the federal government. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has administered the approximately 450 acres owned by the federal government since the 1970s. Activities at SSFL have included the research, development, and testing of liquid‐fueled rocket engines and components since 1948. From the mid-1950s through 1988, DOE conducted nuclear energy and liquid metal research in Area IV of SSFL. In 2009, NASA determined that the property and structures within NASA-administered