Pablo Tac
Pablo Tac | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1822 College of the Propaganda |
Known for | Illustration, writing, scholar |
Pablo Tac (c. 1822–1841) was a
Life
Tac was born of Luiseño parents at
Works
As a student, Tac wrote a Luiseño grammar and dictionary for the linguist
Tac also wrote an essay on the "Conversion of the San Luiseños of Alta California." The latter includes information on aboriginal lifeways (including dances and games) and the history and organization of the Mission, along with two drawings by Tac. Tac authored an early account of life at Mission San Luis Rey entitled Indian Life and Customs at Mission San Luis Rey: A Record of California Mission Life by Pablo Tac, An Indian Neophyte (written circa 1835, edited and translated by Minna Hewes and Gordon Hewes in 1958). In the book, Tac lamented the rapid decline of his people:
In Quechla not long ago there were 5,000 souls, with all their neighboring lands. Through a sickness that came to California 2,000 souls died, and 3,000 were left." [5]
Tac went on to describe the preferential treatment the padres received:
In the mission of San Luis Rey de Francia the Fernandino [sic] father is like a king. He has his pages, alcaldes, majordomos, musicians, soldiers, gardens, ranchos, livestock...." [6]
Tac also noted that his people initially attempted to bar the Spaniards from their southern California homelands. When the foreign invaders approached,
"...the chief stood up...and met them," demanding, "...what are you looking for? Leave our country!"
Commemorations
For the 2005 Venice Biennale, Luiseño artist James Luna created an artwork dedicated to the memory of Pablo Tac. The piece, titled Emendatio, included three installations, Spinning Woman, Apparitions: Past and Present, and The Chapel for Pablo Tac, as well as a personal performance in Venice, Renewal.[7] It was sponsored by the National Museum of the American Indian.[8]
On June 7, 2012, a hall at Mission San Luis Rey was named in honor of Pablo Tac.[9]
In July 2019, author Christian Clifford presented the workshop "Pablo Tac: Indian from the far shores of California" in Ohio at the 80th annual Tekakwitha Conference, a Catholic Native American organization.[10][11]
On June 8, 2021, the Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education announced that it will consider renaming San Luis Rey and Garrison Elementary Schools (combined during the 2019/2020 school year) one of the SLR Renaming Citizens Advisory Committee top three name recommendations of Dolores Huerta, Pablo Tac, or John Lewis Elementary School. After brief presentations on the three proposed names, the OUSDBOE voted 5-0 to rename the combined schools after Pablo Tac.[12]
See also
- Population of Native California
- List of Native American artists
- Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas
Notes
- ^ a b Haas, p. 3
- ^ Vernon, Melvin J. Foreword in Haas, 2011. P. xi
- ^ Clifford, p. 33
- ^ Haas, Preface, p. xv
- ^ Lightfoot, p. 108
- ^ Lightfoot, p. 105
- ^ Nottage, 25
- ^ McFadden and Taubman, 248
- ^ paul Sisson
- ^ Peter Jesserer Smith
- ^ Redacción ACI Prensa
- ^ Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education
References
- Clifford, Christian. (2017). Meet Pablo Tac: Indian from the Far Shores of California. CreateSpace, North Charleston, SC. ISBN 978-1542529303.
- Haas, Lisbeth (2011). Pablo Tac, Indigenous Scholar: Writings on Luiseño Language and Colonial History, c. 1840. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520261891.
- Lightfoot, Kent G. (2004). Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on the California Frontiers. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. ISBN 0-520-20824-2.
- McFadden, David Revere and Ellen Napiura Taubman. Changing Hands: Art without Reservation 2: Contemporary Native North American Art from the West, Northwest and Pacific. New York: Museum of Arts and Design, 2005. ISBN 1-890385-11-5.
- Nottage, James H., ed. Diversity and Dialogue. Seattle: ISBN 978-0-295-98781-1.
- Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education. "Agenda Item Details: Consideration to Rename San Luis Rey Elementary School", June 8, 2021.
- Redacción ACI Prensa. Estos nativos de América del Norte podrían ser declarados mártires y santos, aciprensa, Aug. 13, 2019.
- Sisson, Paul.“Luiseno Gets Place of Honor”. San Diego Union Tribune, June 9, 2012.
- Smith, Peter Jesserer. "Unveiling Potential Saints for the Americas". National Catholic Register, Aug. 12, 2019.