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Chapter 1: Ancient Days
declined, and their precious springs, streams
and hunting grounds were controlled by
privately owned ranchos. When the United
States gained California in 1850, they drafted
treaties to set aside tribal lands — but never
ratified them. Between 1875 and 1939,
eighteen reservations were established and
the native populations began to revive.
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Their land, however, was vastly different.
The Spanish,
Mexicans and Americans had
introduced cattle, sheep and goats to the
grassy fields. The livestock ate the grasses to
the roots and the newcomers did not re-seed
the fields. European plants crowded out the
native grasses, which were extinct by the mid-
1800s. The new landowners did not practice
fire maintenance, or maintain the rock align-
ments or small dams below the bogs. Erosion
resulted; soil fertility declined; and the wet
meadows and springs began to disappear.
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Today, roughly 20,000 Native Americans live
in San Diego County. They represent the
original stewards of the county’s precious
natural resources.
Mariquita Cuero showing a method of
making ollas
Campo, 1918
The San Diego Historical
Society