Native Americans call attention to struggle to preserve sacred sites

Published: 2004-10-27

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Native Americans in California took part in a pilgrimage in early October to call attention to an ongoing struggle to preserve some of the last remaining ancient Indian sites in Southern California. Sylvia Salazar, coordinator of the Native American Ministry for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, said preserving her ancestors' spiritual and physical legacy falls in line with the tenets of Catholic social teaching by emphasizing the necessity of creating a place in society that honors the history of all groups. "The preservation of the land is so much a part of who we are," commented Rebecca Robles, one of the pilgrimage organizers. Robles said her mother, Lillian, who originated the pilgrimage walk eight years ago, began working for preservation when she saw the sacred Indian burial sites she knew as a child being desecrated and destroyed by commercial development. The pilgrimage went to sites in three Southern California counties and culminated with a nighttime ceremony at Puvungna, a site at California State University Long Beach that once served as a spiritual center for the Gabrieleno and Tongva and other native peoples.

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