Noted cultural anthropologist and archaeologist Stephen O’Neil will present, “The Chiefs Saw What Was Happening: The Acjachemen Uprising Against Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1778,” at the September 12, 2024 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange. The public is welcome!!!!
In late 1776 Mission San Juan Capistrano was established amid Acjachemen (Juaneño) tribal territory by the Franciscan religious order and the Spanish army. But by Spring 1778, the Acjachemen were planning an uprising. While the uprising was ultimately unsuccessful, military reports surrounding the incident – including the interrogation of its leaders — shed a great deal of light on the Acjachemen’s cultural motivations for warfare, on their view of Spanish aggression toward their people, and on the consensus-building process among clans necessary for such a major undertaking. When studied in concert with demographic data from the mission register, these records also tell us more about local villages and their chiefs. Studying this event provides us with a better understanding of the Acjachemen response to the Euro-Christian attack on their traditional culture, including both active defense and withdrawal.
Stephen O’Neil has more than thirty-five years of experience as a cultural anthropologist and archaeologist in California. He has researched and written on ethnography, archaeology and history, concentrating on the ethnohistory of Southern California tribal peoples. He received his M.A. in cultural anthropology at CSU Fullerton. Stephen has expertise in the use of mission records for the study of population and social networks and is familiar with ethnobotany and rock art.
O’Neil’s archaeological work has primarily focused on Native American prehistoric sites, but also Spanish, Mexican, and American period adobes. He has published in the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, the Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly, News from Native California, and the Society for California Archaeology Newsletter on topics ranging from village place names to cosmology and medicinal plants. He grew up on the Orange County coast and now lives in Laguna Canyon. O’Neil works as the Cultural Resources Manager for UltraSystems Environmental in Irvine.
We look forward to seeing you on September 12, 2024 for the general meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange. The public is welcome!!!!