Before the Spaniards came to the San Juan Valley the Mutsun Indians were the ones in control of the valley. The Mutsun is one of the 25 American Indian tribes that makes up the Ohlone Peoples. The Mutsun’s where hunters and seed gatherers. They mostly used flint and obsidian arrows to go hunting and fishing. The men where the ones that did all the fishing while the women would go out and gather berries and seeds for them to eat. Their homes were the shape of bee-hive huts and were made out of sticks from the willow tree and coarse grass. The women who did not go out to gather food would sometimes wove beautiful baskets, you can see two at the museum in San Juan Bautista. Their clothing was not much. I cannot say if the temperature then was as warm as it sometimes gets here today which is in the 80’s. During that time the women would wear skirts, and the men usually wore nothing during the warm weather. During the winter time the men wore a cape that was make out of rabbit skins.
The Mutsun’s did not get along with their surrounding tribes like Ausaymas Indians and the Pacheco Pass Area Indians. But they never fought each other. The last full blooded Mutsun Indian died in January of 1930, she was buried in the Indian cemetery that sits next to the Old Mission Church.
Before the Spanish padres came in 1795, their goal was to save everyone (including the Indians) from becoming immortal souls in this world. The location of the mission was set because it was easily to access through the El Camino Real, which today runs through highway 101.
During this time the Spanish and the priests came to see the land where the next mission would be built. They went a bit too far and came to San Juan Bautista. This was not a success because from Carmel Mission to San Juan Bautista’s mission it was over 50 miles away, which meant their travel would be more than one day. They found a site where Indians inhabited what is now Third St and Mariposa St (where the bank use to be). There was about 27 cabins also called as Indian Rancherias which is where there was a big group of Indians living I one place.
This was a perfect place to live because there was the river in which the river carried a lot of fish for the natives to eat. There was plenty of wood for the fires to cook their dinners and to keep warm from the cold when needed. There was also spring water that came from the canyons which would flow year round.
Father Antonio Danti was the one who chose this place. The exact place he chose was where the mission sits today. He picks this place because it sat in a small hill and overlooked the valley and the San Benito River. It was also a convenient place since it was only half a mile away from El Camino Real highway (hwy 101).
During this time there were many different Indian tribes that helped build the mission which consisted of 36 different tribes. Father Arroyo was in charge of the mission during that time in which he also was a linguistic scholar. He was able to learn seven different languages in which he was able to give his sermons in these different languages as well.
During the time that there was no work the Indians would play three different games. Or there are three games that are registered in book today. One of the games is called Stick Games, Hoop and Pole Game, and Hand Game. All these games where played with some stick, and they usually kept score with other sticks and sometimes shells. The children also played games, one they enjoyed playing was a guessing game. They would continue playing until there was one that lost and continued down the line with the other children.
Many of the Indians were the ones that worked on these missions. From bringing water from the canyon, to building the baked bricks to build the buildings. During the time of 1806 there was in increase in Indian deaths. Which totaled to 70 percent of the population. This caused shortage of labor workers in which they did not have enough workers to keep up with the mission. Most of their deaths were due to European diseases, another reason a lot of them died was because of them eating too much food. Since they were not use to eating in big amounts and the foods were new to them.
Neophyte population averaged about 750 between 1801 and 1819. There was an equal division between the men and the women. To be able to marry the men had to ask for permission from the missionary who would then ask if the woman if they were agreeing to marrying them. If they agreed they had to go to church and take special instructions in which consisted of catechism, three successive Sundays or holidays of obligations. They would then marry in church during mass.
After the missions closed in 1834, many of the Indians did not know how to farm, nor did they own any land. This made it hard for them to survive, so many of them would try to go back to where they were originally from. Most local Indians had died, so the only ones that were left were from Tulares and/or the San Joaquin Valley.
In October of 2005, in the Oakland Tribune it talked about how some members of the Matsun did not give up hope to being able to get federal assistance. The Mutsun people were waiting to be able to receive this to be able to improve their lives. From recieving child care assistance to getting prescription drugs. Today they continue to teach their children about their culture and tell stories that were told to them. Many of the Indians want people to know that they continue here and want others to know that they continue to have their culture. There is also Indian Canyon that is in San Benito County where many of the natives get together. The only way to go up there is by appointment, unless they have an event opened to the public. There they have tried to restore some of the plants they used and continue to use for herbal and medicine use.
San Juan Bautista, CA 