By Sean Greene and Thomas Curwen May 9, 2019 From the mountains to the sea Long before the development of Los Angeles, with its freeways and suburbs, Southern California was known for its grasslands, estuaries and oak-covered foothills. Tovaangar The original people of Los Angeles, the Tongva, defined their world as Tovaangar. It extended from Palos … Read more
By David Zanniser June 15, 2017, 5:00 AM A key panel of the Los Angeles City Council endorsed a plan Wednesday to take Columbus Day off the city calendar and put in its place a new Indigenous Peoples Day, despite opposition from Italian American civic leaders and some city lawmakers. The council’s Rules, Elections, Intergovernmental … Read more
Dear AIS friends and colleagues, Congratulations to Ben Madley, who has won the LA Times Book Award for best book in History! Well-deserved recognition, Ben! Best, Shannon Read the full article: LA Times Book Prize winners announced
By Noah Bierman August 2, 2015 The tidal river that surrounds this spit of scrubby land has long functioned like a moat that rises and falls through the day. A single road connects the reservation’s sycamore, poplars and modest houses with miles of cornfields that separate the tribe from large retail stores and suburban office … Read more
By Matt Stevens March 31, 2015, 4:00 a.m. In drought-ravaged California, the vast freshwater aquifer beneath the Coachella Valley is a rare bright spot. The U.S. Geological Survey once tried to measure how much water it held but gave up because the supply was so plentiful. But there is growing concern by some that local … Read more
By Cindy Carcamo January 13, 2014, 8:36 p.m. AKELA FLATS, N.M. Each year, Emily Haozous joins other Fort Sill Apache tribal members in a mountain spirit dance in Oklahoma. But the spirits they pay tribute to and invoke for power and protection belong to a mountain more than 600 miles to the west, in the … Read more
By Mary MacVean August 8, 2013, 2:00 p.m. “If I Ever Get Out of Here,” Eric Gansworth’s first novel for young people, rings true with a sophisticated look at what it’s like to be an outsider and what it takes to be a true friend. Lewis Blake has precious little going for him in school; … Read more