Mission San Francisco De Assis (Mission Dolores) by Mia Handojo

1776: Mission San Francisco de Assis (Mission Dolores) was built

miahandojo — 2024-03-12 04:09:32 UTC

Captain Juan Bautista de Anza arrived in San Francisco in 1776. Previously, the Ohlone people were already displaced, and stripped of their homes as their villages were attacked by a nearing tribe. Several instances of violence with Spanish soldiers made them fear the Spanish. Young Indian generations were first brought into the missions. Their mothers followed, then their fathers followed. 3 young Ohlone men became the first baptized Indians in 1777. In 1783, the Ohlone further constructed Mission San Francisco de Assis with forced native labor. The converted Ohlone native people were either forced or driven to come and join the mission due to many tactics and factors like food scarcity, interest in European technology, loss of land, and gifts given by monks. The native people were tricked in a way however, since once they converted, they were not allowed to leave the mission. At this point, in order to survive, the native people had to join the missionaries. If the baptized "neophytes" changed their mind or tried leaving the mission, they would be hunted down and punished by the Spanish.

Source:https://www.sfchronicle.com/chronicle_vault/article/Mission-Dolores-dark-legacy-for-Indians-From-14785648.php

1796: Native converts fleeing Mission Dolores

miahandojo — 2024-03-12 04:35:41 UTC

In 1796, about 200 "neophytes" had fled the mission due to their fear, depressive way of life, intense labor, harsh living conditions in packed segregated housings, and violence. A priest at the mission, Father Antoni Danti, was known to be violent to the Indians who would whip them. Those who had fled were hunted and most were recaptured, facing even more violence, such as getting put in shackles, getting crosses burned and imprinted on their foreheads, and other violent punishments. Other small Indian rebellions had occurred in 1796 as well. If deaths had occurred at the Mission, Junípero Serra saw these deaths as good, as Christian souls were entering heaven. The native people were being exploited and dehumanized.

Source: https://hoodline.com/2016/03/the-lesser-told-story-of-the-california-missions/

1802-1844: Disease rid many Native or Indigenous peoples

miahandojo — 2024-03-12 05:05:10 UTC

The native tribes were used to living their life in vast land, never being introduced to cramped spaces and environments for disease to outbreak. However, women and children would be forced into windowless, hot, crowded rooms at night, allowing for disease to outbreak. Sickness spread throughout, causing death rates to climb up. Mostly women and children had died of measles in 1806. 471 neophytes were dead. To make up for the loss in population, indigenous tribes were brought into the missions as well, like the Olemaloque and Libantone, and Olemas, Tamals and Omiomis in 1807. Eventually, from 1821 to 1844, other measles or influenza outbreaks killed many indigenous and native tribes.

Source:https://eltecolote.org/content/en/masked-heroes-and-masked-memories-of-epidemics-in-the-mission/