The Enduring Aramai

Who were the first people of these lands? The Enduring Aramai Outdoor Exhibit

NPS Photo

Who were the first people of these lands?

The Aramai settled at Calera Creek and used lands at Mori Point for over 3,000 years. Their villages, Timigtac and Pruristac, totaling 50 people, made up a distinct tribe among dozens of independent Ohlone tribes that lived from the Carquinez Strat south to Monterey Bay.

One Remarkable Family

Utchus and Muchiáte are the Timigtac couple whose descendants make up the only known surviving lineage from the original 1400 native people of the San Francisco Peninsula. The story of their family embodies native survival at the heart of this tragic chapter in California history. Their daughter, Xilaite, was born a year before the Spanish Portola expedition reached San Francisco in 1769. She married Jose Ramos, the mission blacksmith from New Spain, in a rare pairing of native and colonial individuals. One of the very few to survive the harmful effects of mission life, Xilaite lived long enough to see the birth of her granddaughter in 1811. By that time nearly 95% of the Aramai had died, but Xilaite's descendants endured. They intermarried with other tribes, with others of Mexican heritage, and with European Americans, and they continue to flourish today. One of those descendants is Dr. Jonathan Cordero, Professor of Sociology at California Lutheran University. He is Xialaite's 9th generation grandson, and, like other Bay Area Ohlone's, he continues to honor his ancestors by writing about their past with the hope of inspiring interest in their future. You can see an portrait of Dr. Jonathan Cordero on the exhibit. 

Images

Image 1: An illustration depicting a large group of Native Americans. In the background is a large, two story, Spanish style mission building. Five Native Americans perform or speak to a group of seated individuals. The caption reads, The Aramai were among the first native people brought to the Spanish colonial Mission Dolores where they were joined by a diverse tribal people from the Bay region. Mission Dolores natives became the Doloreños, one of several new world communities of diverse native people that formed at the California missions.

Image 2: This is a scientific illustration of Arroyo Willow, Salix Iasiolepis . The caption reads, Willows, which currently grow in abundance at Mori Point, have served Ohlone people for countless generations, providing the framework for thatched houses, a pain reliever found in the bark, and material for weaving the various baskets so important in everyday life.

Image 3: A garter snake. The caption reads, Two Native Words and a Vow of Protection: The park honors the heritage of the Aramai by naming two of its trails in the San Francisco Bay Ohlone language - Timigtac after their village at Calera Creek, and Lishumsha for the resident garter snake. As we restore the habitat of the San Francisco garter snake and other wildlife, let us remember the first people who lived here and their descendents.