On ancestral land where her people trace back to 6000 BC, Patricia Neminski will teach strangers how to make beaded wire wrap bracelets Saturday afternoon.
The free workshop at Altadena Library might seem like a simple craft class. But for Neminski, a Tribal Councilwoman of the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, and co-teacher Regina Murillo, it’s about visibility for a people many assume disappeared.
The Nov. 15 workshop is the second in a three-part Native American Heritage Month series at the library’s Loma Alta Park location, following a Nov. 1 cloth medicine bag class.
“We are the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, the aboriginal tribe of the Los Angeles Basin and the true First Angelenos,” states the tribe’s official website.
Despite recognition by California in 1994 and Los Angeles City Council support, the nation lacks federal recognition. Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove introduced H.R. 6859 on Dec. 19, 2023 to change that.
“Erasure takes many forms, and federal recognition is just one way to right the wrongs of history,” said Tribal Chairwoman Sandonne Goad in May 2024. The bill would grant access to scholarships, healthcare, housing assistance and religious rights reserved for recognized tribes.
Goad has been direct about the challenge: “Over generations, the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation has endured. We’re still here. And you can’t say you don’t recognize us. We are your neighbors, friends, and coworkers.”
The beadwork connects to traditions—the Gabrielino/Tongva historically used seashell beads as money, trading them with other tribes.
Gabrielino / Tongva Cultural Classes: Beaded Wire Wrap Bracelets will run on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2-4 p.m. Altadena Library at Loma Alta Park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave., Altadena. For more information, call (626) 798-0833 or visit https://www.altadenalibrary.org/programs?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D191671404. Ticket prices: Free.
