What do you think?
Rate this book
Missions of California: A Legacy of Genocide
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 23, 2013
This book is on display in the last case of the exhibition Junípero Serra and the Legacies of the California Missions at the Huntington in San Marino. It caught my curiosity and I was able to find the book at the Pasadena Public Library, so I borrowed it.
The story of how the Indians lived in California seems to mostly be told from the white person's point of view. This often has racial overtones, as I noted in even John Muir's writings. This book is from the Indian perspective, and it is the opposite of what benevolent white historians would have you believe.
The Indians had their own culture before the Spanish came to Southern California. They were able to use the land and understood the use of controlled burns, drought and other natural happenings. This is the perfect companion book to "Before the Wilderness, Environmental Management by Native Californians" compiled and edited by Thomas C. Blackburn and Kai Anderson.
Instead of white-washing history, it should be more inclusive. There was a lot of racial superiority from the people who set up the missions. I guess we should not be surprised that it still exists hundreds of years later.
The story of how the Indians lived in California seems to mostly be told from the white person's point of view. This often has racial overtones, as I noted in even John Muir's writings. This book is from the Indian perspective, and it is the opposite of what benevolent white historians would have you believe.
The Indians had their own culture before the Spanish came to Southern California. They were able to use the land and understood the use of controlled burns, drought and other natural happenings. This is the perfect companion book to "Before the Wilderness, Environmental Management by Native Californians" compiled and edited by Thomas C. Blackburn and Kai Anderson.
Instead of white-washing history, it should be more inclusive. There was a lot of racial superiority from the people who set up the missions. I guess we should not be surprised that it still exists hundreds of years later.
August 2, 2025
After the printing press, it is not so much that the victors write the history but that the victors READ the history and they choose histories that sanctify themselves. This isn’t a choice that we have to make, and this book is a case example of it. The book presents current day reflection and oral histories in the late 20th century as the canonization of Fr. Serra is considered. Are these reflections and memories harsh? Compared to the victors’ histories, yes. Compared to the actual events? I don’t know how it could possibly be harsh enough.
In the book, James A. Lewis quotes Fr. Guest, writing in the middle of the 20th century that “one cannot use Indian standards by which to judge the Indians then use American Standards of today by which to judge the Spanish Missionaries.” Lewis points out that one could simply judge both by Indian standards, which would show the Spanish Missionaries to be uncultured and cruel compared to the Indian society they had encountered.
Later, Thomas L. Jackson points out that the Spanish “citizenship” that was offered wasn’t some great prize, but rather the opportunity to become a peasant in a feudal nation. I would point out again that such a class analysis isn’t asking the Spanish Missionaries to engage in some modern thought but rather to engage in the thoughts expressed by Jesus Christ.
By the time the California state government is in charge, slavery is explicitly legalized, with indentured servitude to any white citizen being imposed by a judge available for what tended to be 16 but could be as many as 25 years. Jack Norton notes that about 10,000 were so enslaved.
Interestingly, in California’s official slavery apology in 2024, complicity with chattel slavery of slave states is the only topic. Explicit slavery of indigenous is left out. A Truth and Healing Commission for wrongdoings against Native Americans was created by an executive order of Governor of California but it too has no explicit reference to slavery, though the final report of the commission is due out this year. And of course California voters also voted in 2024 to retain prison slavery. So much for reflection.
The end of the book reflects again on the bigotry of the 8 scholars who were assembled to support the canonization of Serra and provides complete transcripts of their statements. It certain says something when the victims are willing to hold up the victors’ statements unedited to condemn themselves.
In the book, James A. Lewis quotes Fr. Guest, writing in the middle of the 20th century that “one cannot use Indian standards by which to judge the Indians then use American Standards of today by which to judge the Spanish Missionaries.” Lewis points out that one could simply judge both by Indian standards, which would show the Spanish Missionaries to be uncultured and cruel compared to the Indian society they had encountered.
Later, Thomas L. Jackson points out that the Spanish “citizenship” that was offered wasn’t some great prize, but rather the opportunity to become a peasant in a feudal nation. I would point out again that such a class analysis isn’t asking the Spanish Missionaries to engage in some modern thought but rather to engage in the thoughts expressed by Jesus Christ.
By the time the California state government is in charge, slavery is explicitly legalized, with indentured servitude to any white citizen being imposed by a judge available for what tended to be 16 but could be as many as 25 years. Jack Norton notes that about 10,000 were so enslaved.
Interestingly, in California’s official slavery apology in 2024, complicity with chattel slavery of slave states is the only topic. Explicit slavery of indigenous is left out. A Truth and Healing Commission for wrongdoings against Native Americans was created by an executive order of Governor of California but it too has no explicit reference to slavery, though the final report of the commission is due out this year. And of course California voters also voted in 2024 to retain prison slavery. So much for reflection.
The end of the book reflects again on the bigotry of the 8 scholars who were assembled to support the canonization of Serra and provides complete transcripts of their statements. It certain says something when the victims are willing to hold up the victors’ statements unedited to condemn themselves.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews