Our lands were where our responsibility to the world was enacted, sacred ground. It belonged to itself; it was a gift, not a commodity, so it could never be bought or sold.
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Toypurina was a revered medicine woman of the Tongva people. She was 9 when the missionaries arrived and 25 when she rose up against them. In response to the banning of traditional Tongva mourning rituals—a move that compromised the peace of their ancestor’s spirits—Toypurina mobilized six villages into resistance. The resistance failed. She was captured and put on trial where she gave an impassioned speech. “I am angry with the padres and all of you, for living here on my native soil, for trespassing on the land of my forefathers, and despoiling our tribal domains.” She was imprisoned, given the name Regina Josepha, baptized, and required to live out the rest of her life in exile—as a Christian.
Inspired by Toypurina, tribal women formed a religious-political movement centered on guarding the well-being of their communities – resisting and asserting their power through dialog and symbolic medicine rituals. Her story continues to resonate with and inspire oppressed women in the world today.
As we approach Indigenous People’s Day (Monday, October 10th), I encourage you to take a moment in meditation with this Four Directions Land Acknowledgment Ritual. It is created based on land acknowledgment resources developed in collaboration with Tongva people in what is now called Los Angeles County. You can customize it for where you live. If you would like more information on the traditional people and the best practices for land acknowledgment where you reside there is a list of resource links below.
A FOUR DIRECTIONS RITUAL FOR LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
Find some peaceful space outdoors where you can see in all four directions. Use your phone compass to mark north, south, east, and west with something from nature (stone, shell, branch, feather).
- Turn to the West: I gratefully acknowledge my presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Tongva people and their ancestors who made their homes here – from where I stand to as far as I can see and beyond including the Santa Monica Bay and the San Fernando Valley.
- Turn to the North: I gratefully acknowledge my presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Tongva people and their wise stewardship of the land – from where I stand to as far as I can see and beyond including the San Gabriel Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains.
- Turn to the East: I gratefully acknowledge my presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Tongva people and honor their cultural practices – from where I stand to as far as I can see and beyond including parts of San Bernadino and Orange Counties.
- Turn to the South: I gratefully acknowledge my presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Tongva people and honor their existence, continued struggle for recognition, and contributions to society – from where I stand to as far as I can see and beyond including Long Beach and the Catalina Islands.
RESOURCES
Note: Toypurina’s narrative lives on via the mural above by Raul Gonzalez, Ricardo Estrada, and Joseph Montalvo at Ramona Gardens in El Monte, an architectural installation by Judy Baca at Baldwin Park’s metro platform, through a fictionalized story of her life in Zorro by Isabel Allende (in this telling she is Zorro’s mother), and the play about her life Toypurina.
