Where was our Native-American Village?

Members of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley recently discussed this question. From historical records we know that there was a Tongva village called “Wiqanga,” and that it was associated with La Tuna Canyon. Wiqanga means “place of the thorns,” referring to the prickly pear cactus that grows there.

But which end of La Tuna Canyon? There have been several maps produced over the years showing the locations of Native villages in the Los Angeles area. Some show Wiqanga at the Crescenta Valley end of La Tuna Canyon, and some show it located on the San Fernando Valley end. Archeologically, a village site for Wiqanga has never been recorded, unlike Tujungna and Hahamongna to the west and east, where village sites have been excavated.

For a perspective on this question I turned to Rich Toyon. Rich is a local community leader but more importantly is Native-American, from Southern California tribes. He studies local Native history, and represents the Tongva tribe in local issues.

Rich favors the Crescenta Valley end of La Tuna Canyon, specifically the location of the former Verdugo Hills Golf Course, and I’ll quote him here on his reasoning:

“A number of things support Wiqanga being in and around the golf course site.

The water sources at that time at the site of Wiqanga included three creeks (whose Native names have all been lost): Blanchard Canyon, Cooks Canyon and Las Barras creek (now under the 210 Freeway). In addition, there are two vernal springs on the golf course site at the hole 10 fairway and the hole 4 green. In conversation with the former greens supervisor, both fairway and green had to be rebuilt numerous times because of the water intrusions, even in dry years. All four of these water sources were most likely credible enough to support a small village for their fresh water daily needs. Please also note that the creeks were probably manipulated to suit their fishing/bathing/leaching needs. In dry years, this area of the valley would be a reliable source for water and this end of the Crescenta Valley is where the most vernal sources have been found and the reason why the CV water district places their wells here.

“The site was located nearest to the oak forests of the Verdugo mountains, which were probably managed for production of acorns (please note that the average Tongva family required about 500 pounds per year for subsistence). The oak trees extended further into the Crescenta Valley than they do now, although the forest is largely intact. This oak forest is one of the most contiguous live oak forests anywhere in the foothills and this would have been a prize resource to the Tongva people who depended upon it so readily. The Wiqanga villagers probably traded directly with Tujungna and Hahamongna.”

Rich speaks further about the lack of archeological evidence for Wiqanga: “It is hard to say if artifacts were found at the VHGC site specifically. As far as we know, none have been reported but, given that the site has been graded again and again in the last hundred years, they were most likely lost or not identified as an artifact. There is enough evidence of Native activity in the Crescenta Valley to warrant an archaeological monitor when construction begins at the golf course site.”

Homeowners in the area of the golf course have anecdotally reported finding village artifacts, but the finds were never investigated.

Rich relates that village sites moved occasionally, not surprising when one realizes they were inhabited for thousands of years. Hahamongna had several different sites, as did Tujungna. The villages moved as their ecology and economy demanded. Small camps were established outside the main villages seasonally, further distributing village artifacts. For instance, an acorn grinding mortar found in Pickens Canyon back in the late 1800s was perhaps from a seasonal camp.

As a historian, it’s incredibly frustrating that the major part of the Crescenta Valley’s human history, going back thousands of years, is largely unrecorded. Perhaps we’ll never know for sure where Wiqanga was located. For now, we can only make educated guesses.

Mike Lawler is the former

president of the Historical Society

of the Crescenta Valley and loves local history. Reach him at

lawlerdad@yahoo.com.

  mike lawler