Jacob Gutierrez, a Tongva, has a lot on his plate right now. The last science center in the LA Unified School District is "on the chopping block" due to budget cuts in education. (LAUSD originally had six.) This facility has been a resource for everyone in the community, especially children. It contains several gardens, consisting of over 80 native plants and fruit trees. Native wildlife is drawn there, including blue butterflies. There are also over 150 animals that children can visit, all rescues. Oftentimes they have been confiscated by the U.S. Government at the southern border and would have been killed were it not for the Center.
Just up the street is the site of Shwaanga (Ken Malloy Regional Park), one of the largest Tongva villages in pre-Spanish times, a site which has been suffering from pollution in recent centuries. In pre-European times, people would travel by boat from islands including Pimu (Catalina Island) and numerous inland communities via canoelike boats plying rivers, as well as different parts of the California coast. Among other things, Shwaanga was known for its fresh water. Now the water is heavily polluted and needs to be cleaned up.
Story and photos: San Pedro: Science Center Endangered/Tongva Village Site Revitalization by R. Plesset, Science Center photos by Isabel Avila (http://www.isabelavila.com)