Rebury our ancestors - La Placita cemetery

The Plaza Church cemetery (also called "Campo Santo") is the oldest and most historic cemetery in Los Angeles. This site was originally the largest Gabrieleno village of Yangna before Spainards forced their Catholic influence on the Native Americans.

The church was built on the blood and sweat of local Native Americans. The Gabrieleno Indians were the original inhabitants of the greater Los Angeles Basin and once lived in many villages throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties as well as the Channel Islands. Many died and were buried in the "name of Christianity" at this cemetery.

The construction to build a Mexican-American heritage museum called LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes has resulted in the unearthing of some 100 human remains at this cemetery. Not only does the desecration of Native American remains of Gabrieleno descent have us angered and saddened but we also feel similarly for the many races that are also known to be buried there.

Here's the facts as we know them:

* The Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians was not notified through the EIR or any other organization about this proposed construction
* The Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians was never notified directly as to the finding of such remains - even to this date
* The Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians were the first to go on site and protest the desecration of the cemetery
* LA Plaza's archaeology firm states that extensive research revealed no proof such a cemetery still existed, however documents and lists of those buried there are readily available to the general public online
* The Los Angeles Coroner's office has thus far declined to state that any of the remains are of Native American descent despite proof provided by archaeologists
* The Native American Heritage Commission has little enforcement until the Coroner redetermines their statement
* The remains have been so badly damaged that we are demanding that the incompetant and unethical archaeologists be fired from the project and in their place put an acceptable archaeological team to work with sensitivity and professionalism to restore the cemetery and each skeleton as much as humanly possible
* LA Plaza has made no effort to locate living descendants
* Los Pobladores have also identified numerous remains to be of direct lineage to the original founders of Los Angeles (Alvarados, Sepulvedas, Picos, etc)
* Mr. Miguel Corzo, president of LA Plaza, refused to sign a Memorandum of Agreement showing good faith to work together with us in properly restoring the cemetery - He also made no apology for his organization's actions
* The Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians has priority of interest and we will relentlessly assert our rights until the cemetery is restored to our satisfaction
* The Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians demands that a Prayer Park owned and maintained by the County of Los Angeles be put over the cemetery
* The Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians has made 1st district supervisor Gloria Molina and Mr. Corzo aware that we are direct descendants of our grandfathers and grandmothers that are buried at this cemetery

We urge the City of Los Angeles without delay to replace and rebury the human remains that have been unearthed in the name of "celebrating culture." The cemetery should commemorate all who gave their lives in building this great city irregardless of race - Native American, Spanish, Mexican or Anglo. A prayer park built independently of the museum and run by the City should be built over this site to give the descendants a public place to memorialize the forgotten.

The Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians (under Ernest Perez Salas, Chief) are the original, true, documented Native California Indians recognized by the State of California as the aboriginal tribe of the Los Angeles basin. Archaeologists have dated our tribal existence back 8000 years. Our tribal membership consists of individuals who have shown and proven lineage back to specific villages or rancherias of the 1700s.

We have survived the exploitation by the Spanish who enslaved us to build the San Gabriel Mission. Lack of federal recognition has caused many setbacks such as lack of enforcement of preserve native village sites and it also inhibits our repatriation rights.