Description
We are honored to offer this special tour of Kuruvungna Springs with Gabrielino/Tongva leaders Bob Ramirez, President of the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation, and Angie Behrns, Founding President of the Foundation.
Location
1439 S. Barrington Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Date & Time
Sunday, September 10th, at 10 a.m. & 11 a.m. (Both Tours Sold Out)
We are sorry but at this time, both tours have sold out. If you would like to be put on a waiting list, please email [email protected].
The Conservancy is honored to offer this special in-person tour that highlights the presence of the Tongva people at Kuruvungna Springs. Kuruvungna, meaning “place where we are in the sun,” was a large Tongva village surrounding the site of ancient springs that provided fresh water for the thriving village. Later, the springs inspired the naming of Santa Monica and served as an early source of its water supply.
Today, the Sacred Spring waters still flow on the eastern edge of the University High School campus in West Los Angeles. The springs feed a restored and lush setting with native plants, wildlife and a traditional thatched kiiy. The site has been saved from intrusive development and revitalized by descendants of the Tongva people, who lived there until they were forcibly relocated to the Mission San Gabriel by Spanish colonists in the late 1700s. Kuruvungna Springs is a testament to the Tongva’s spirit of survival, harmony with nature and continued relevance to the region.
On September 10, Bob Ramirez will lead two guided tours of the Kuruvungna Springs and Cultural Center. As president of the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, Ramirez is leading the current efforts to restore the native ecology of the Tongva people and to educate the public about their history and cultural heritage. The tour also includes a presentation from Angie Dorame Behrns, founding president of the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation and tribal elder of the Gabrieleno-Tongva Tribal Council. Behrns led the campaign to preserve and protect the springs and began the cleanup and restoration of the site starting in the early 1990s.
The in-person tour is $15 for Conservancy members, as well as for teachers and students and $20 for the general public. All proceeds will be donated to the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation.
About our hosts...
Bob Ramirez is the president of the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, and CEO of Ramirez Design Inc., developing custom homes and gardens in our local community. He is currently engaged in creating the Memorial Gardens at the Mission San Gabriel in honor of the original inhabitants of California. Passion for the art of building and love of adventure inspired Ramirez to explore the world as a young man, leading to a multi-year circumnavigation of the globe.
Angie Dorame Behrns was born and raised in West Los Angeles. She is a Gabrielino/Tongva Indian and is Federally registered with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She has documented her paternal genealogy from the early 1800’s in Los Angeles. Mrs. Behrns is a founder and former president of the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation which is currently seeking to revitalize the Sacred Springs at University High School which was once the sight of a thriving Tongva Indian village. Her poetry has been the cornerstone for a documentary video on the Santa Monica Mountains.
