Toypurina: Indigenous Woman

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In this lesson, students will work with a variety of primary and secondary sources to critically examine the ways in which different groups throughout history and in present-day remember Toypurina, a Tongva indigenous woman, and her involvement in the failed rebellion at the Mission San Gabriel. Students will explore the complex interactions between indigenous and Spanish peoples during Early California history and be challenged to consider how the legacy of this history is still present in our communities today.

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Lesson: How and why is Toypurina remembered in different ways by different groups of people?

American history has long been told as a triumphant march westward from the Atlantic coast, but in southern California, our history stretches back further in time. This episode explores the interconnected lives of three people who lived through California's transition from native land to Spanish colony and from to Mexican province to American state. Featuring the stories of native teacher Toypurina, who led the revolt against the San Gabriel Mission, Spanish soldier Jose Marco Pico, who served at the mission, and his son Pio Pico, who became the last Mexican Governor of California.

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Content Standards

This lesson was created for Ethnic Studies and US History teachers. There are no content standards for 11th grade that address Toypurina and Spanish colonization of California.

CCSS Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9: Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7” Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.A: Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

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Untold History: The Survival of California's Indians

Toypurina: A Legend Etched in the Landscape of Los Angeles

Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West

The Lost LA Curriculum project is a collaboration among PBS SoCal, USC Libraries, the UCLA History-Geography Project and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

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