Before the Mission

• Before the Spanish arrived in the Los Angeles area, when the Gabrielinos were the dominant people of the land, members of the tribe worked mainly as hunters and gatherers. They hunted squirrels, rabbits, antelope and grizzly bears, and they used their kill for both fur and food. They were skillful craftsmen known for their canoes, or Ti'ats, which enabled them to be prosperous fishermen and tradesmen. They traded their harvest and fish with tribes in the surrounding areas. However, as Mission San Gabriel began to grow, the tribe's land was destroyed, its food sources and trade routes depleted, and they were forced into the mission.
  
  

Inside the Mission

• Life in the mission was difficult for the once peaceful Gabrielinos. Now under European rule, they were obligated to perform grueling manual labor. They became farm workers, planting crops and herding animals. They also made wine and soap and worked tediously to build the mission that would eventually lead to their demise. They worked long, hard hours in the hot California sun, moving heavy stones to add to the mission. Conditions were ghastly, and the tranquil, prosperous life the Gabrielinos once knew was gone.
  
  

After the Mission

• Poor diet, unsanitary living conditions, hard labor, brutal treatment and murder had devastated the tribe's population. The Gabrielinos had not even known disease until the Europeans introduced it, namely smallpox. The Spanish controlled the mission for 62 years, though after this time few Gabrielinos were left. Some of those that remained worked as livestock handlers on the rancheros. Others received land and worked as farmers but ended up in debt or had their land taken away by the Mexican government. Due to the disunity that plagued the Gabrielinos, some found new tribes to join.
  
  

Present Day

• By 1891, when the first American settlers arrived in Los Angeles, remaining Gabrielinos were scattered throughout the land working on Mexican land grants. In 1994, the Gabrielino-Tongva tribe received California state recognition, though to this day they continue to seek recognition by the federal government, largely due to the fact that four separate groups claim to be representatives of the Gabrielino people. In the beginning of the 21st century, only a few hundred to a few thousand Gabrielinos were still living in California.