In 1775, Indians burned down the mission and killed the priest. The death rate among these enslaved workers was staggeringly high the average lifespan once an Indian was forced into the mission system was just six years. In truth, the Spaniards enslaved the Kumeyaay people, forcing them to make adobe bricks and do the back-breaking labor of building the mission. One is the myth that San Diego’s Native Americans welcomed the missions. The film dispels myths perpetuated by Euro-centric history books. In 1769, when the first Spanish missionaries arrived in San Diego, an estimated 30,000 Kumeyaay Indians lived here. They had a system of laws, living freely and independently-until the Spaniards arrived. They had villages including coastal communities and migrated from the desert to the sea each year. They lived in huts made of willow branches, built villages and hunted with spears, darts, bows and arrows. They studied astronomy and predicted eclipses. The ancient Kumeyaay had a sophisticated civilization. Sophisticated tools found here date back to the beginning of that time – such as a gleaming, clear quartz arrowhead recently unearthed locally. That’s 10,000 years before Christ and thousands of years before the cultures of the ancient Assyrians and Romans. The Kumeyaay trace their history back 12,000 years to prehistoric times. San Diego is home to 18 Native American tribes –more than any other county in America. 'We want the people of San Diego and this country to know who we are as a people,' Chairman Tucker told East County Magazine.

This powerful film also documents a triumph of the human spirit, detailing the Sycuan band’s struggle to survive and thrive as a new generation rediscovers a heritage nearly lost. The film reveals a side of San Diego history that most area residents have never been taught-the exploitation and near extermination of the Kumeyaay people. Our People, Our Culture, Our History premiered this week and will be distributed to local schools. A new documentary produced by the Sycuan band of the Kumeyaay nation aims to change that. Novem(El Cajon ) – History books in California schools teach a view of our past that focuses on Spanish missionaries, conquistadors and other Europeans while omitting the Kumeyaay Native American people who had lived here for thousands of generations before the first settlers came. To hear our exclusive interview with Sycuan Chairman Daniel Tucker, click here. Facebook Journalism Project covid-19 reporting.

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