Sebastian Indian Reservation facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sebastian Indian Reservation(Tejon Indian Reservation) |
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Sebastian Indian Reservation home in 1899
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| Location | Tehachapi Mountains, Kern County, California |
| Built | 1853 |
| Demolished | 1864 |
| Official name: Sebastian Indian Reservation | |
| Designated | January 31, 1934 |
| Reference no. | 133 |
The Sebastian Indian Reservation (1853-1864), also known as the Tejon Indian Reservation, was a special area set aside for Native Americans in California. It was located in the Tehachapi Mountains in southern central California, near the southwestern part of the San Joaquin Valley.
This reservation was in the southwestern Tehachapi Mountains, stretching from Tejon Creek and Tejon Canyon west to Grapevine Canyon.
Contents
History of the Tejon Reservation
Starting the Reservation
In 1853, Edward F. Beale, who was the government's leader for Native American affairs in California, created this reservation. It was the very first Indian reservation in California.
The Tejon Reservation covered about 75,000 acres. This land was actually part of a large private land grant called Rancho El Tejon. Beale hoped the government could buy this land later. To get support for his plan, Beale named the reservation after United States Senator William K. Sebastian. Senator Sebastian was in charge of the Indian Affairs Committee and supported Beale's idea to create reservations on government land, protected by military posts.
The plan was for the Native Americans to grow their own food by farming. However, during the reservation's time, farming was very difficult. There were droughts, insects, and plant diseases that ruined the crops. A new road, the Stockton – Los Angeles Road, also ran along the reservation's edges.
The reservation officially opened in September 1853. Some California Native Americans chose to move there. Among them were about 300 Emigdiano Chumash people, whose homeland included Tejon Canyon. By 1854, Lieutenant Beale reported that about 2,500 Native Americans were living on the Sebastian Reservation.
In 1854, Fort Tejon was built about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the reservation. Its purpose was to protect both the Native Americans on the reservation and the white settlers nearby from attacks by groups like the Paiutes and Mohave from the desert. It also helped control the Native Americans living on the Tejon Reservation and protected them from attacks by American immigrants and settlers.
Life and Challenges on the Reservation
Farm tools, cattle, and sheep were brought to the Tejon Reservation. White employees were hired to teach the Native Americans how to farm and to oversee their activities. Hundreds of acres were plowed and planted with wheat, barley, and corn. Tejon Creek provided water for gardens, vineyards, and fruit orchards. Native Americans also brought timber from the forest in upper Tejon Canyon to build structures. They could also hunt wild animals in the Tehachapi Mountains and the San Joaquin Valley. In 1854, the Native Americans had a very good wheat harvest.
In early 1854, Edward F. Beale faced accusations of misusing government money. Also, settlers in the San Joaquin Valley were unhappy about the Native Americans growing their own crops, as they saw it as competition. The settlers also felt too much land was given to the Native Americans. Beale was removed from his job, but he was later cleared of the charges.
Colonel Thomas J. Henley took over as the new Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California. When Henley arrived, he noticed fewer Native Americans and less land being farmed than Beale had reported. Henley created other reservations in California and appointed Colonel James R. Vineyard as the local agent at the Sebastian Reservation.
In 1855, some Native Americans left the reservation. Vineyard asked Fort Tejon for help to find them and bring them back. However, the fort's commander refused. He said their job was to protect the Native Americans and punish those who caused trouble, not to force people to stay on the reservation if they wanted to leave.
In 1856, there wasn't much rain, but the harvest was still enough for the 700 people who remained. New buildings were constructed, including a flour mill, a storage building, and homes for the agent and chiefs. A doctor was also provided. In November 1856, the reservation's size was reduced to 25,000 acres. The 700 Native Americans were reported to be farming 700 acres that year.
In 1857, the drought continued, causing most crops to fail unless they were irrigated. Grapevines and fruit trees, however, started to produce fruit. Native Americans were also encouraged to gather wild food during the winter. Despite these problems, new buildings were constructed, and more people arrived, increasing the population to over 1,000.
A post office opened at the reservation in September 1858. However, it moved in 1859 to Sinks of Tejon Station, which was a stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach. By 1858, most of the people living on the reservation were in houses. Several families were raising animals, and the women had learned to make American-style clothing.
By 1859, Henley had been replaced as Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
The winter of 1861-1862 was very wet, causing the Great Flood of 1862. This flood ended the five-year drought. Because of the rain, the Native Americans on the reservation planted larger fields of grain, and they had a good harvest in 1862. More Native Americans were encouraged to settle at the Sebastian Reservation, adding to the thirteen hundred already living there.
During the 1863 drought year, almost all the crops were lost, except for 30 tons of hay. Settlers began moving onto the reservation's land, which wasn't clearly marked or fenced. Their cattle and sheep ate the reservation's crops.
The End of the Reservation
By 1863, former agent Edward F. Beale had bought five large ranches in the Tejon area, which included the Tejon Reservation land. He was raising 100,000 sheep there. In 1863, he offered to rent 12,000 acres to the government. However, he changed his mind when he found out the government planned to move Owens Valley Paiute Native Americans there. He said he had only offered the land because the Native Americans already on the reservation were his friends.
In the summer of 1863, over 900 Owens Valley Paiute people were forced to march through the Mojave Desert towards the Tejon Reservation after a conflict. They eventually ended up at the Tule River Indian Reservation.
The Sebastian Indian Reservation was ordered to close in June 1864. Fort Tejon was also closed that same year.
Jose Pacheco, a leader from the Tejon area, wrote a letter on April 16, 1864, saying:
"I should not have troubled you with this letter, Dear General, did I not think the agents here had wronged us. You and our great father at Washington do not know how bad we fare, or you would give us food or let us go back to our lands where we can get plenty of fish and game. I do not think we get the provisions intended for us by our Great Father; the agents keep it from us, and sell it to make themselves rich, while we and our children are very poor and hungry and naked."
On July 11, Austin Wiley wrote: "I have the honor to inform you that all the Indians on the Tejon Farm and in the vicinity of Fort Tejon, some two hundred in number, have been removed from there to the Tule River farm." Wiley noted that there was no food left for the Native Americans at Tejon.
Soon after, D. N. Cooley, who was the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, explained why the reservation failed:
"The lack of legal title to the land severely restrained investment in construction and development, leaving the reserve and the Indians on it in a state of constant uncertainty. The ideal of converting Indians from food gathering to settled agriculture was never realized."
California Historical Landmarks
The Sebastian Indian Reservation is recognized as California Historical Landmark number 133. It was officially marked on January 31, 1934. The marker says:
- NO. 133 SEBASTIAN INDIAN RESERVATION - The Sebastian or Tejón Indian Reservation (headquarters ten miles east of here) was established in 1853 by General Edward Fitzgerald Beale as one of several California reservations. The number of Indians quartered here varied from 500 to 2,000. General Beale acquired title to this area under Mexican land grant of 1843. In 1864 the U.S. government transferred the Indians to other reservations.
Rose Station, also known as Vaquero camp or Rancho Canoa, is another California Historical Landmark. It was marked on May 1, 1939. The Rose Station marker says:
- NO. 300 Rose Station - From 1853 to 1875 this site, originally a vaquero camp of the Sebastian Indian Reservation, was known as Rancho Canoa (trough). In 1875, Wm. B. Rose built an adobe stage station on the site of the Overland Mail way station established 1858. Rose Station was a stockmen's headquarters, post office, and polling place.
Both of these historical markers are located at Grapevine Road and 'D' Street, about 70 miles south of Mettler, California.
