• This piece of writing is an assignment from my California history class. The writing is about a book on a group of native Indians that occupied California thousands of years ago. I choose this assignment because I had to use a creative approach and include my point of view as a individual from that time and the perspective of Malcolm Margolin, Author of The Ohlone Way.

Dear Father Serra,

I want to first apologize for my untimely response about the strange text artifact. The exciting discovery had to wait a while due to strenuous and constant mission work along with conquests to retrieve runaway Indians. On a different note, the text has to indeed be a sign from the Lord about his purposeful will that we are doing. I say father converting these gente sin razon are both a burden and blessing. I am thankful for the God given task to saving and civilizing these obscure Indian people. This strange sign from God being tough to understand seems to talk about a lively ancient group of Indians and customs. The text is called The Ohlone Way, by a sir Malcolm Margolin. The ways described from the weird book as traditional Indian life seems very strange to a man of standards. The tribe was called Ohlone, these people must have been the ancestors of the present day Indians being converted in our missions. Thank God because now there is some substantial idea linking why these Indians are so backwards culturally and socially. According to the book, the tribe seemed to be as a child-like and undeveloped people from my sane thinking. Just a reminder that it God’s will for us to manage and direct California. Margolin strangely states that the ancient Ohlone Indians occupied areas where our missions today stand. This data infers that our missions in San Francisco and Monterrey are laying on ground where thousands of ancient Indians once resided. This speaks to the sign from God that it is our life’s purpose to convert and save these lost indian people. The people of Ohlone were a pointless society and were politically and religiously inert. All of these gente sin razon are in desperate need of assimilation. We must advance our conversion process. The souls of these Indian people are at stake. Our teachings must be flawless and learn-able for them. To me the odd text suggests the Ohlone were worshipers of some higher power; which leads to the descendents of them being worshipers of this higher power as well. These people had no one God let alone a real God. The text declared these people would worship inanimate objects and things of nature like the sun, a tree, or dirt. From my intuition I can state these people were on their way to hell. Secular and idol worshipers. A shame how lost they were. The people of the Ohlone were said to be smart and innovative, yet back then and even now I can not imagine how such a thing could be thought of. Any person of common sense knows food is to be raised and not hunted or gathered. They are more like idiotic barbarians. Strange and simple these people, their tools and technology were made up of  twigs and rocks. How smart and innovative does this sound to you father? I tell you there is a heavy need for guidance in all California native people. Though the need is great, something comforting is the amazing work of our marvelous missions. They are doing a very good job of civilizing the Indians we do have. Most are actually looking and speaking like a civilized people. The king of Spain would be astonished and Spaniards back home would be proud. The with exception of a few faithful remnants these natives are catching on to christian culture. These Indians working on the missions is an extra blessing at the same time because it is helping them reach the goal of becoming civilized. The work also contributes to the livelihood of their catholic beliefs. It is a cycle father, our missions are civilizing and helping guide the spirits of these lost Indians. I visualize the day when our pueblos will teach the people true tradition and ways of Catholicism itself. Yet, after reading this artifact text, it constantly reminds me of the satanic savage people we are conforming. Some just seem to not be taking hold of our catholic customs. Soldiers have been getting antsy with some of the fellow friars and I about the bottom line message we are delivering the Indians. They are complaining about groups practicing native dances and rituals that should have been lost long ago by now. Under constant scrutiny from soldiers, we are being faced with the pressuring question that soldiers won’t understand. Are these Indians worthy to be humanized and are they able to be? We punish Indians who are disobedient and not converting to the religion of reason. I believe God would want us to teach those who disobey. For salvation is something natives just don’t understand. Through harsh and cruel punishment these gente sin razon will learn. Although far gone, through our missions these people will become civilized. The odd text talks about how eccentric the Ohlone people’s customs were. According to it the women of Ohlone heritage during pregnancy were said to go under strange diet and rituals. They avoided meat, fish, and salt during their pregnancies to increase chances of a smaller child. The father of the unborn child is said to go under peculiar diet and rituals as well. I am sure the Ohlone are ancestors of these natives because the bizarre cultures are almost identical. Logic for normal things are definitely gone in both generations of the people. Both senseless and pointless. The women of Ohlone after their pregnancy were said to have burned the after birth and umbilical cord from conception in fear that trouble would overcome the mother and child. See father, the pointlessness of rituals and odd superstitions of these people. This world is far from heaven and as human everyone will be confronted with troubles, catholic or savage. This book is clearly a sign from the lord of the needs of these natives. By God! we must attend our duty by taking hold of the hairy hand from these primitive people and edify them. Deep need father, such a deep need. The Ohlone Way talks about how these Indians were simple yet spiritual. It seems to say they would learn from the land and actually feel connected to it. These natives believed everything had energy. Literally, these Indians seemed to worship everything because they felt everything contained a spirit. At a lost for words father, I think this connection was through a black magic or witchcraft.  Father it is indescribable sadness these Indians get their heritage from a whacked out group of people. They were said to believe in multiple Gods. Any person in their right mind knows there is only one God, our Lord and savior. Sir Margolin confirms these Ohlone people’s spirituality by inferring a genuine connection to animals of the land. Before and after hunting or eating these people would pray in regards of their prey. Unfortunately father, our Indians pick up the lineage of their backwards ancestors. A progressive being knows their dominance over animals. They also surely know how to maintain food; they know it is not prayed for nor hunted but instead raised. Father, I am still in confusion about the amazing spiritual connection the Ohlone were said to have with the beast of the land. Bears, wolves, coyotes, how in the world did these people feel linked to these creatures? Father is it not obvious these Indians are not competent to live successful sanctified lives on their own based off the knowledge of their more than likely ancestors. To conclude this mysterious and divine sign from the lord we must advance our tactics completely as superiors. We must control our missions, strengthen our presidios, and possibly recruit friars from Spain or Mexico to help horde Indians into the light of our Lord. We need all our natural given resources to carry out the plan of God! We must use everything in our arsenal to save and civilize these Indians of California for the sake of the kingdom. Father you of all leaders have to understand the desperate need. These Ohlone people were savages with hunting and gathering and pointless faithfuls with their multiple Gods, paving the way for their descendants. Hopefully, you can see and would agree; the Ohlone were probable imbecilic ancestors to these present Indians with silly superstitious, rituals, and odd child birth practices. Savage barbarians with beliefs of connectivity to things of nature like, animals, trees, or the sun. To me, the Ohlone were a truly lost people and I say so because of their customs. We are doing what is needed and expected for the greater good of the lives of these savages but more importantly Spanish tradition. We must advance our efforts for God’s sake. Father the need is great.

Sincerely,

Friar Lee U. H