Support my work on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/u40108333 In this episode, I begin a deeper conversation about one of the most painful and misunderstood histories in California: the California Missions, the Gold Rush, and the genocide of California Native peoples. For generations, California history has been taught as a story of missions, explorers, pioneers, gold, and progress. Many of us grew up learning about Father Serra, mission bells, gold miners, Sutter’s Mill, and the so-called “settling” of California. But that version of history often leaves out the people who were already here. It leaves out the Native nations whose lands were invaded, whose families were torn apart, whose children were taken, whose labor was exploited, and whose communities were targeted for destruction. In Part 1 of this podcast, I talk about the California mission system and ask whether the missions should be understood as genocidal institutions. I discuss how the missions were not simply churches or schools, but colonial systems built to control Native bodies, Native labor, Native land, Native religion, and Native identity. Native people were forced into mission life, punished for resisting or leaving, separated from their homelands, and pushed into a system that caused massive population loss, cultural destruction, and generational trauma. I also talk about the myth many Californians were taught in school. We were told to build mission projects, memorize mission names, and celebrate Spanish colonization without being taught the full truth of what happened to Native people inside those walls. That silence was not accidental. It shaped how generations of people understood California, Native people, and colonization itself. This episode also moves into the American invasion of California and the violence that surrounded the Gold Rush. I discuss John Sutter and the Native labor that helped build his empire. Sutter is often remembered as a pioneer or founder figure, but his wealth and power were tied to the exploitation, coercion, and abuse of Native people. I also discuss John C. Frémont and Kit Carson, including the Sacramento River Massacre, and why men connected to violence against Native communities are still remembered as heroes in American history. The Gold Rush is often described as a moment of opportunity, but for California Native people it was catastrophic. Miners, militias, settlers, and state officials helped create a world where Native land was stolen, villages were attacked, food systems were destroyed, children were kidnapped, women were violated, and entire communities were pushed toward death and disappearance. California was not peacefully settled. It was invaded. This is Part 1 of the conversation. In Part 2, I will continue with the questions I did not get to in this episode, including what happened after the mission period, the role of the State of California in genocide, the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians, Native child kidnapping, violence against Native women, major massacres, Native resistance, survival, and why this history still matters today. This history is hard, but it must be told. California was not empty. It was not discovered. It was not built without cost. Native people paid the price for California’s wealth, but Native people are still here. Telling this history is part of honoring the ancestors, challenging the myths, and refusing the erasure that California has depended on for far too long. Contact: bernardnavarro1971@gmail.comInstagram: @7thgenpodcastTikTok: @mercilesssavagez
