Local+Indians

=Local Indians=

Life Before the Mission
Before the Mission was founded, Indians lived in family groups that they were related to with an elder called a chief and they had ceremonies to celebrate special birthdays. Their main food was from acorns. The women would grind up the acorns and let them bake in the sun. The men would go in a smokehouse and then go in the ocean so their scent would be undetectable by fish. The men would be able to catch fish with their hands. The most prized fish was the pike. They would make canoes out of wood and let them bake in the sun. They would get bundles of Tules (tall, sticky dried out grasses), make them into skirts, canoes, or houses. Whenever an animal would die, the Indians would thank the animal for giving them a resource, such as skin or food. The Indians lived in peace in their environment before the mission was founded.

Life After the Mission
The Mission Santa Clara was built to teach the local Indians Christian religion. The Spanish names for the two tribes were Costanoans (people of the coast) or Ohlones. There were almost 1,250 local Indians living at the mission. They learned Christian songs in an Indian choir, raised farm animals like cattle and sheep (used for food and clothing), made saddles, weaved clothing and baskets, and planted crops such as grapes, grain, and corn. The padres used to do all the work at the mission, but the padres decided to make the Indians do the work instead. The Indians did not like doing all the work and wanted to go back to their families. The Indians life changed forever and once they were baptized they could never go back to their families.