Members of tribal nations from Southern California and beyond joined members of the Juañeno Band of Mission Indians in San Juan Capistrano on Saturday to dance and share food and customs during a powwow at the cultural museum dedicated to displaying the history of the area’s first peoples.
The all-day event began at sunrise with members of the Juañeno tribe blessing the ground outside the Blas Aguilar Adobe Museum. Other members of the community members, and other Native American nations, descended on the site for a day of music, dancing, and storytelling.
The powwow is being billed as the first ever to be held at the Blas Aguilar Adobe building, which is one of the oldest homes in San Juan Capistrano, dating back to the 1790s. The building was repurposed in 1996 into a museum displaying Acjacheman history and culture.
Organizers aimed to make the pow wow an “inclusive” event by inviting many Native American nations, as well as all members of the fractured Juañeno Band of Mission Indians. Also known as the Acjacheman Nation, the Juañenos are considered the original inhabitants of Orange County, along with what are now parts of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside counties.
Infighting over leadership and politics has splintered the tribe, and three separate groups now exist, each led by a different chairperson.
Sean Acuna, chair of the faction known as the Juañeno Band of Mission Indians 84B, which organized the powwow, said the Native American event historically is “a gathering of multiple nations together to break bread, celebrate, (enjoy) music.”
Most years, Acuna said, his tribe holds a summer powwow in August, with members celebrating their heritage among themselves. This year, however, he said he had an “aha moment,” asking himself: “Wouldn’t it be great to invite a few people from other nations? Wouldn’t it be great to have some resources, some Native American resources, available if we invite people from the outside?”
After blessing the grounds Saturday morning, the day’s events included a market with small businesses selling Native American food, jewelry, and crafts. Lupe Lopez, another organizer, said the day also would include a traditional grand entry showcasing tribal dancing by members of all ages.
Tribal members competed in traditional dancing contests, and Juaneño members shared stories of their ancestors.
Acuna said a reason for opening the event to everyone is “to be inclusive to the entire Acjacheman community,” adding that, “we know that together we’re stronger.”
Joyce Stanfield Perry, cultural resource director for another faction of the Acjachemen — known as the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation – Belardes — welcomed the powwow as a way to bring together members. Part of a committee that is focused on supporting events that encourage interaction and communication between all Acjachemen people, Perry said members are “yearning for unification.”
But some had vowed not to attend Saturday’s event. Jerry Nieblas, who said he recognizes Heidi Lucero as the officially elected tribal leader of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation 84A, called it “offensive” that the 84B group chose to hold the event on sacred land in San Juan Capistrano because his ancestors weren’t known to host powwows. Their practice, he said, featured intimate gatherings that were spiritual ceremonies.
“It’s great for other tribes to do powwows. And that’s part of their traditions … that’s part of their heritage,” said Nieblas, who can trace his lineage to the inhabitants of the village of Putuidem, part of which is located on what’s now the Northwest Open Space in San Juan Capistrano.
“But for our people here, the Juañeno Acjacheman people here in San Juan Capistrano, especially the ancestors in the elders, they frowned on powwows. They thought it almost embraced a carnival-type atmosphere.”
Acuna acknowledged “some disputes, some disagreements, and some conflicts,” among the Acjacheman tribes. He said he believes the discord “prevents us from moving forward as a people. And I want to put that behind us.”
