Native Americans at Mission San José: The Ohlone Experience

Correction: Ohlone, Not "Native Americans" Generically

The people at Mission San José (founded 1797, present-day Fremont, CA) were the Ohlone (Costanoan) — specifically the Tuibun, Causen, and neighboring tribes.

Forced Relocation & Labor

• Spanish Franciscans recruited/coerced Ohlone into the mission system
• Promised food, security, salvation; delivered forced labor, regimented schedule, corporal punishment
• Work: Agriculture (wheat, corn, grapes), livestock, construction, textiles, leather

Devastating Impacts

• Disease: Measles, smallpox, syphilis — no immunity; mortality >50% in some years
• Demographic collapse: Bay Area Ohlone dropped from ~10,000 (1770) to <2,000 (1830)
• Cultural suppression: Language, ceremonies, marriage customs, diet forbidden
• Forced conversion: Baptism required; backsliding punished

Resistance & Resilience

• Fugitivism (flight) common; military expeditions retrieved "runaways"
• 1829 Estanislao revolt (Yokuts, not Ohlone) — but inspired resistance
• Secularization (1834) released neophytes — but land promises broken; most became landless laborers

Today

• Ohlone descendants survive; several tribes seek federal recognition
• Mission San José rebuilt (1980s) after 1868 earthquake; museum addresses Ohlone history
• Annual Ohlone Day celebrates culture; language revitalization underway