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COMMITTEE NEWS | THE COLONY NEWS | NOVEMBER 2021 | 11 Until this issue of the newsletter, the Outreach to History Committee has been providing snippets of information to increase your interest in what we are finding in our research. We are compiling an historical timeline for this community, with each committee member taking on an area that suits her interest. Working with the Murrieta Historical Society, Lennie Martin has prepared the following article for us to enjoy. She was going to start with the dinosaurs that lived on The Colony lands way back when, but we felt that would be too much. So, the committee opted to start with the Native Americans who lived in the area, probably on this very property. Not all of our articles will have this level of seriousness, but we had to start someplace. I promise you that next month's article will be much lighter. I invite you to join the Outreach to History Committee. There is so much to learn from our friends and neighbors. If you need more information, please give me a call. Native Americans have lived in the Temecula-Murrieta Valley region for 11,000 years. Bands called Luiseño (after Mission Saint Luis Rey) that spoke Shoshoni languages have occupied the region for 3,000 years. They call themselves Payómkawichum (People of the West) and their land Temetngna (Place of the Sun). There are seven bands from the San Diego to Carlsbad coast, along the San Luis Rey and Santa Margarita Rivers, Temecula Valley, Mt. Palomar, and the San Jacinto Valley. All the rancho lands, later part of Temecula, Little Temecula, Pauba, and Santa Rosa Ranchos, were in this territory. Before the Spaniards arrived, they had about 50 villages with a population of 10,000. Located near streams, each village controlled specific hunting and gathering areas for acorns and wild grass seeds, and for game such as quail, dove, rabbits, wood rats and deer. After Mission San Luis Rey was built in 1798, many Luiseños worked there or raised grain in Temecula Valley for the Mission. The Pechanga Band village was near Old Town Temecula. Pablo Apis, a Luiseño, was raised at the Mission, learned Spanish, and served as alcalde (mayor). Mission officials granted him 2,200 acres in 1843 (Little Temecula Rancho). Spanish Governor Pio Pico officially confirmed the grant in 1845; it was unusual for Native people to receive land grants. A thriving village developed as Apis allowed other Luiseños to live and work on his land. Another band lived on riverbanks near Ivy Street in Murrieta. Their village was named Avaxat (cottonwood tree). Surrounding ranchos were acquired by ranchers as the region changed hands from Spain to Mexico to the United States. Disputes arose over rancho boundaries, and in 1875 Rancho Temecula owner Juan Murrieta got a court order to evict the Luiseños from Little Temecula. Over the years, the Apis family had sold most of their land, keeping the family home on three acres. But this was taken away, and ranchers drove the Luiseños off with only what they could carry on wagons. They lost their homes, crops and livestock. The Luiseños relocated to Pechanga Canyon after several difficult years. This became the Pechanga Indian Reservation in 1882. It now has 7,080 acres and a thriving culture and economy. Saving their sacred Pu'éska Mountain from a granite quarry was a major recent accomplishment. OUTREACH TO HISTORY By Rita Nastri, 951-698-8640 Native Americans Of Temecula And Murrieta: Honoring Native American Heritage Day – Friday, Nov. 26 By Lennie Martin Luiseno basket maker and traditional dwelling (1898) Luiseno adobe (1910)

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