The Pasadena Public Library is hosting an online event, “Discover and Learn about the Ohlone,” which features the history of the Native American tribe that at one time came to be known as Costanoans – from the Spanish “conteño,” meaning “coast dweller” – that lived on the Northern California coast.
When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley. They spoke a variety of related languages that made up a sub-family of the Utian language family.
British ethnologist Robert Gordon Latham originally used the term “Costanoan” to refer to the linguistically similar but ethnically diverse Native American tribes, but the term “Ohlone” has been used since the early 1900s by some tribal groups.
In 1967, American anthropologist Clinton Hart Merriam first published the term “Ohlonean” to refer to the Costanoan peoples. Since then, the term “Ohlone” has been adopted by most ethnographers, historians, and writers of popular literature.
Wednesday’s free online lecture is presented by Richard Quiroga, a descendent of the Rumsen Ohlone People. Among the topics he will discuss is the Ohlone’s mission to bring community healing through indigenous celebrations and cultural experiences while preserving and sharing the Ohlone’s practices and teachings.
Located in Hesperia, Quiroga serves the high desert area and hosts sacred healing ceremonies, children’s activities, educational presentations and community gatherings.
The lecture is presented in Zoom and begins at 5 p.m.
To sign up visit https://pasadena.evanced.info/
For more information, call the Pasadena Public Library at (626) 744-4066.
