San Manuel Band Of Serrano Indian

Running Head: SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 1

San Manuel Band of Serrano Indian

Name

Institution

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 2

The San Manuel Band of Serrano Indians is a federal tribe that people recognize in San

Bernardino County, California. The band has lived in the states of California for many years, and

precisely, they reside in the San Bernardino Mountains. The band has its headquarters in Patton,

and it is ruled by seven elected persons from the clans who form the ruling council. Over the

years, the group has shown observed patterns of being a self-directed institution governing itself

and providing for its people. In this essay, we are going to look at how the band has managed to

become successful and the historical events surrounding the success of the band. I will focus on

seven areas that will provide an argument for the success of the group. The areas of focus include

Worldview, Cultural differentiation, Institutional differentiation, political colonialism, economic

market incorporation, cultural exchange and the community consensus in support of institutional

change and continuity. The arguments provide an analysis of the band and an explanation about

the continuity of the general council government and the rise of tribal capitalism in the form of

casino gaming in San Bernardino. The seven areas can people view them from two perspectives,

before western contact, and after western contact.

Before Western Contact

The worldview of the band before western contact. The Serrano band has been

recognized by many people as a village community or ‘tribelet,' and it is the largest of the

American Indians in California. It is the largest group in the world with an autonomous,

independent and self-governing principle (Bauer 2013). The band stands independently, and

even in the past, it has fought hard to maintain its political reign until today where it stands on its

own. Secondly, the band is the largest group of which any person, chief or leader had recognized

authority. In the past, the band leadership included electing members from each clan, and they

made a council of governments. The head of the council will then exercise full control of the

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 3

community. From the chief's perspective, the actual following had limits to his tribe but he was

respected and listened to by the neighboring tribelets. The last view is that the band is the most

massive unit to ever own a territory and the only one in entire California.

Governance of the Serrano band has been recognized worldwide because they have a

unique system. People view it as a prominent house religion where power comes from a central

place, and the members are submissive to the rule (Bauer 2013). Just as in the modern Europe

where the state has more power than the federal nations, yet they are submissive to the country;

the same applies to the band where superior authority is recognized. The group is worldly,

holistic and lineage based. They have maintained the family of their ancestors, and that is the

reason as to why the current governance follows the tradition of electing seven members from

each clan and appointing an overall ruler of the band.

Many scholars have explored the cultural differentiation of the community. The Serrano

band lineage was a universal political unit and where there was no lineage, disintegration had

occurred (Rawls 2008). The city was composed of varying types of family groups comprising of

the parents, children, relatives and sometimes non-relatives. The average family size was five to

ten people. The cultural and social beliefs of the band were diverse. For instance, women married

shortly after puberty but they maintained the rights in their natal lineage. There was a central

town which its use was a political, ritual and economic center. Among the rituals performed in

the middle included healing and circumcision. Oaths by the elected leaders took place at the

center, and it remained respected in all time. The traditional Serrano recognized exogamous

marriage where one could marry outside the community. They also practiced a culture where

members of the village could gather for singing and dancing and even telling stories to keep the

city together. Hunting and gathering was their culture (Bauer 2013). The members who inhabited

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 4

the San Bernardino Mountains could go to Apple Valley in winter and Big Bear Lake in summer.

They did not hunt the grizzly bears because they believed they were reincarnations of their

ancestor's spirits. The cultural belief on the origin of the people has its traces back to the

mountains where they believed ‘Kruktat' their creator died. The Serrano never ate bear meat nor

used their fur because it was held in deep reverence and regarded as an ancestor. Thy honored

their dead people and had to cremate the dead and also burn their possessions.

The settlement of the ritual center was controlled, and those who stayed there were under

a chief, usually a wealthy man. Occupation of the solutions was permanent. Meetings of the

council had to take place only at the principal village, and they had to maintain their high foods

there. The communities from the Lower Klamath River are said to have shared a common

cultural tradition that suggested an alliance. Just like other communities, possession of property

(usually inherited) was the source of prestige. The north and southern California area practiced

slavery as a cultural prestige (Bauer 2013)The ritual obligations and kinship required that

relatives and other people could be invited whenever a ritual was to take place. Morality was

highly encouraged, and those who broke the rules in the society were punished by the chiefs.

Talking about the culture of the Serrano people, it is important to note that they practiced art.

Basket weaving and crafts making were their fields of specialization. The singing of the Serrano

people had a different approach. Their culture does not provide the use of drums, but the method

of rattles made from guards and filled with seeds to produce a percussive sound when shaken.

Institutional differentiation. Institutional differentiation is the period through which the

organization of the Serrano people got disruption leading to the division of the practices and

healthy way of life in the community. The plan for differentiation is traced back in 1769 where a

Spanish expedition moved into the lands of northern California. The Spanish spread through the

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 5

central region and then reached the Serrano plains where they establish missions and churches.

Some of the Serrano people converted but a majority formed a resistance. The Spanish

kidnapped many people are forcing them into their purposes thus opposition started. Over the

years of 1810-1850, the Serranos coped with the life of the Spanish military. However, in the

later periods of the 1860s, military men began hunting down the Serrano and other native people

who visited the mountains. In the 1860s, most Serrano people abandoned their homes and went

to live in the lower parts of the mountains.

The high resistance against the Spanish had information in a small village above the

highlands, and their ruler Santos Manuel guided the people. It is speculated that the families in

the plateau survived and they are the ancestors of the current Serrano lineage. It is the ruler who

formed the high resistance that we get the name ‘San Manuel Band of Serrano.' The Indians lost

their land, wealth, and health as they fought the Spanish. From the three major events that

happened to the Serrano community, I will expect less from the development of the city. First,

we have observed that a small population survived the Spanish attack making it impossible for

such a community to thrive. Secondly, the people lost their identity with the property getting

massive destructions. It is difficult for the city to rise with such an environment. However,

because of the strategic location of the community, I will expect improvement and reorganization

of the society once again to grow and fight for their independence and self-rule.

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 6

After Contact

Political colonialism. The political colonialism of the native communities of California is

said to have lasted for five hundred years. Political competition is used in this context to mean

the strategic and diplomatic bargaining between nations to ensure their protection and also the

security of their vital interests. The political colonization that affected the Serrano Indians came

from a wide range of colonial powers. The Spanish introduced colonialism and several other

powers like the British, Dutch, Swedish and the French followed (Bauer 2013)The political

colonialism on the native leverage contenders ended in 1820 where various treaties were signed.

The Indian communities experienced long periods of exploitation as they were not

recognized by the treaties signed. During the US period, the increasingly influential United

States government redefined Indian conventions, and they were denied the status of recognition

as foreign nations. Irrespective of the treaties, the Indian communities, the Serrano Indians being

inclusive, did not give up their right to serve a self-governing government. As seen in the

contemporary world, the Serrano Indians exercises the right to self-governance and it protects its

territories from the political colonization by other powers. The Indians have fought hard on the

issue of preserving political governance irrespective of the limited ability that they have. The

need to protect land is a challenge, and as seen, the Serrano Indians had an area of about 600

acres, but of current, it has increased to 900 due to the political fights for their rights.

Economic Market Incorporation. Apart from the political changes that have pushed the

San Manuel band this far, the economic market incorporation has given them a push. The

commercial market has a view from the perspective of the world whereby the economists argue

for an independent financial market or system based on material interest. An argument from the

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 7

book suggests that if the indigenous communities are going to engage in trade, then the price

they must pay is increased economic dependency and loss of self-sufficiency (Bauer

2013)Global market incorporation is also one of the new forms of industrial relation for

indigenous nations. Results from the past have revealed that economic marginalization of many

indigenous communities has increased.

A conclusion has been made that for the survival of any indigenous community, the

available local market should be open. Other features that can lead to the continuation include

labor organization, skills, resources and the economic culture of the people. Currently, the

Serrano Indians are independent, and they employ people in their firms. The establishment of

bingo in 1986 showed a vast improvement of the economic status irrespective of the rules. In

1994, a 100,000 square foot casino was built to improve the financial condition of the people.

The current employee rate at the casino is 2,500 people. The Serrano Indians have also made

movements to develop the health sector and the education system. In 1970, a small clinic got its

establishment on the Morongo Reservation, but up to date, the health sector has expanded to

include fitness facilities.

Cultural Exchange. Cultural exchange refers to the transfer and internalization of the

symbolic codes between the colonized nations and the colonizers. The Serrano Indians are

victims of the cultural exchange because they were subjugated. The symbolic systems for culture

include the language, economic ethics, worldviews, norms, information and religion among

many others (Bauer 2013)The new incorporations of the western culture into the indigenous

communities have two outcomes. The cities can reject them or had a dismiss. A good example is

a Christian-pagan conflict that has existed since the 1820s. As observed earlier, the indigenous

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 8

Indians incorporated the Christian way of life brought by the Spanish military. However, some

rejected it leading to forced services.

The Serrano band has incorporated a wide range of cultural exchange with the whites.

Christianity is one of them. The second one is the constitutional way of life observed in the

western nations. Initially, the chiefs had the legal rights to decide what was wrong and right but

it does not apply to the current San Manuel band. The idea of wealth possession in the past was a

sign of prestige and respect. People had respect for the number of things they had. Western

civilization has changed the culture of the people by instilling the mind of business and profit

making (Bean 1977). From the new changes in the after contact context, I expect to see the

Serrano community ahead because of the experience they have had. The idea of profit making

and the political colonization is an opportunity for success. Cultural exchange, on the other hand,

is relevant but I will not expect to see the people being drawn away from their culture because

culture is the way of life that makes a community unique.

Community Consensus. The community consensus explains the political and the social

progress of the Serrano band. We have seen that the first community organization was in clans

and had their heads as chiefs who executed the governance power. Politically the group has

maintained the rule of the general council whereby there are seven elected leaders to rule the

community (Bauer 2013)The social progress is not attached much to the traditional way of life

because of the western civilization. The role of the traditional healers has been replaced by

hospitals and the activities to generate income have changed. Establishment of the Casino is one

of the sources of food and pay for the people thus replacing the hunting and gathering of the past

times. Few people today speak the Serrano language, and only a few traditional rituals have

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 9

survived. A spring of celebration, Yamaar'a is celebrated each year to remind them of the

tradition.

There has been a significant change in events in the San Manuel Band of Serrano Indians.

The seven areas discussed to provide a series of events that have driven the community to the

world it is now. The worldview of the population is tremendous. It is the largest community to

have self-governance so far. The different cultures that they had in the past have however is

swept away, but they still practice some of them. The culture of togetherness has kept them close

and unshakable over the past years. Irrespective of the institutional changes in Christianity and

colonization, the community has survived to emerge as a self-governing community in

California. The political colonialism of about five hundred years has not shaken them but given

them the power to govern themselves. Cultural exchange has been an enormous impact on the

community because they have adopted the western culture, but it has helped them significantly to

become independent. In general, the seven arguments provide a robust pathway through which

the Serrano Indians have emerged to become successful.

SAN MANUEL BAND OF SERRANO INDIANS 10

References

Bauer, William. "Native Californians in the Nineteenth Century." (2013): 192-214. Print.

Shoji, K., Coin, J., Paresa, J., Trafzen, C., KVCR (Television station : San Bernardino, Calif.), &

San Bernardino (Calif.). (2008). People of the pines: A new beginning. San Bernardino,

CA: KVCR.

Rawls, J. J. (2008). Indians of California.The changing image. Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Pr.

Allmendinger, Blake. A History of California Literature. , 2015. Print.

Atherton, Gertrude. The Californians. Auckland: The Floating Press, 2013. Print.

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