Community honors late Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh nation chief in San Gabriel

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Local leaders, residents and members of the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh nation gathered on Sunday afternoon in San Gabriel to honor the tribe’s longtime late spiritual leader and chief, Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas.

A community plaque to recognize Salas was unveiled at Plaza Park, a tree-lined space on the grounds of the historic San Gabriel Mission, in a dedication ceremony coinciding with November’s Native American Heritage Month.

“It really touches my heart that my father and ancestors are being honored with a plaque,” Andrew Salas, Salas’ son and the tribal chairperson, said before the event. “Everything that my elders and father strived and fought, for (the) preservation of their heritage, are now for communities to see. It gives me great honor.”

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Ceremonial certificate presented at the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Dedication by the Native Sons of the Golden West during the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Family members attend the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Left to right, West Covina Council Member Elect Brian Gutierrez, Andrew Salas, son of Chief Ernie, and West Covina Mayor Pro-Tem Tony Wu at the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….San Gabriel Council Member John Harrington speaks at the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Joe Castillo, Past Grand President and President of the Los Angeles Parlor #45, Native Sons of the Golden West at the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Andrew Salas, son of Chief Ernie, left, and Joe Castillo, Past Grand President and President of the Los Angeles Parlor #45, Native Sons of the Golden West, place ceremonial mortar on the plaque at the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….The plaque is unveiled for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Sister of Chief Ernie Jenny Swindall, seated, and family member Sandra Nava, attend the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Left to right, West Covina Mayor Pro-Tem Tony Wu, West Covina Council Member Elect Brian Gutierrez, San Gabriel Council Member John Harrington, San Gabriel Council Member Tony Ding, San Gabriel Vice Mayor Denise Menchaca, and San Gabriel Mayor John Wu pose for a selfie at the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

Slug: SGT-L-GABRIELINO-PLAQUE-1116..Assignment ID: 00089913A….Andrew Salas, son of Chief Ernie, holds burning sage at the memorial and plaque unveiling for Chief Ernest “Ernie” Perez Teutimez Salas, the late longtime spiritual leader of the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation, at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mark Savage, Contributing Photographer)

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The Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh nation has 262 members linked to the San Gabriel Mission since 1771, officials said in a release.

Sunday’s ceremony included a traditional blessing, with city leaders from San Gabriel, West Covina, Jurupa Valley, El Monte and Rosemead, many of whom knew and worked with Ernie Salas, set to attend.

Ernie Salas, of the Gabrieleno Kizh, educates visitors at the Homestead Museum on how the Kizh lived Saturday, May 4, 2013. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)

The large bronze plaque, displayed on a steel pole in the plaza, was donated by the Native Sons of the Golden West, an organization dedicated to preserving California state history. It’s also the first in San Gabriel to recognize the hardships Kizh — or Quiichi people — endured during Spanish settlement, tribal leaders said in an Instagram post.

Ernie Salas, of the Gabrieleno Kizh, educates visitors at the Homestead Museum on how the Kizh lived Saturday, May 4, 2013. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)Salas, who passed away in 2021 at age 88, was very active in Southern California communities during his time as “Chief Ernie.” He was elected to lead the Kizh nation in 2014, according to his son.

Some of the community work Salas was known for across Southern California includes participating in neighborhood watch, gang and graffiti taskforces, renaming Gabrielino High School in San Gabriel, and helping to teach Native American history in LAUSD schools, according to the younger Salas. His father also helped in the passing of a 1994 state proclamation, AJR 96, that recognizes the Gabrieleños as the aboriginal tribe of the Los Angeles basin.

Members of Kizh Nation were part of communal calls to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, which protects over 100,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service lands to the south and west of the monument’s nearly 347,000 acres. Ernie Salas died three years before President Joe Biden signed the act expanding the designated monument.

Leaders were also involved in recent efforts to preserve over 500 acres of ancestral land in the Jurupa Valley area, officials said.

“The plaque represents his hard work and contributions to not only the community of San Gabriel, but throughout the greater Los Angeles County, Orange County and Riverside County, which were the ancestral tribal areas of my father,” Andrew Salas said.“His family is the beginning of California history here in Southern California.”

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Salas’ ancestors were prominent leaders and Indigenous government officials well before Spanish and Mexican settlers came to the area, Salas said.

“When I see this plaque, it brings me great honor to finally see that after feeling like refugees in our own homeland for decades, we’re finally being recognized,” he added, “not only to our people, but also to those who put their heart and contributed to help sustain Indigenous history and preserve the history.”

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