Table of Contents
What did the Native Americans do at Mission Santa Clara?
While the Indian women learned to cook and make clothing, the men farmed wheat, corn, and beans and herded cattle and sheep on the missions’ extensive lands. In 1827, Mission Santa Clara owned 14,500 head of cattle and 15,500 head of sheep.
What was life like at Santa Clara Mission?
The daily life at the mission began at sunrise when the bell rang to signal church services were starting. The Natives and catholic priests attended mass. After church the natives went to work plowing fields, raising livestock, and fishing for dinner.
Why did the Spanish build Mission Santa Clara?
Spanish Viceroy Bucareli’s grand design intended Mission Dolores (and its Presidio) to anchor the mouth of San Francisco Bay with Mission Santa Clara anchoring the South Bay–receiving goods and services meant for the new Pueblo of San Jose.
Who was the Native American at Mission Santa Cruz?
The tribes present at the mission were Ohlone, native to the area, and later Yokuts people from California’s Central Valley. Of course, not all Indians in areas under Spanish control joined the missions or became Christians.
What did the Santa Clara de Asis Indians eat?
They lived in numerous settlements of 200 to 500 persons spread throughout the broad “Valley of Oaks” enjoying a diet of fish, shellfish, water fowl, venison, acorns, rabbit, and wild berries. From the tule reeds found near water’s edge they made their houses and boats and they wove baskets from the native sedge grasses.
How did the California Indians live during the mission era?
Families with the highest social status within their communities, would often live within the mission compound. Some of the most important information about the life ways of California Indians during the mission era comes from the Interrogatorio (Questionnaire) that the Government of Spain sent to the priests of the California missions in 1813.