Weaving the Past into the Future

Rancho Los Alamitos presents

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Doors Open at 5:30 PM; Lecture from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

$10 per person. Free for RLA members. Free onsite parking.

As a professional indigenous archaeologist, Ms. Desireé Reneé Martinez has dedicated her life to protecting Tongva (Gabrielino) special spaces and places from wanton destruction. In fact, in the mid-2000s, she monitored the construction work at Rancho Los Alamitos. However, for every space and place protected, thousands of others across Los Angeles and Orange Counties have been lost. Each place tells the story of the everyday lives of the Tongva, a story that is silenced with destruction. Although archaeological methods can provide some information about how the ancestors lived, the everyday human experience, the interactions between parents and children, craftsmen and traders, and our plant and animal relatives are missing. The Tongva Basketweavers Collective, which Martinez is a member, is reigniting the artistry and storytelling of traditional coiled basketry. Martinez will discuss how items from the past (baskets) have become cultural teachers for future generations of the Tongva.

Desireé Reneé Martinez is a Tongva (Gabrielino) community member and the Tribal Relations and NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA Director at Cal Poly Pomona.

Doors will open at 5:30 pm, and the lecture will start at 6 pm. Details are subject to change. We hope you join us.

Rancho Los Alamitos is located on the ancestral and unceded land of the Gabrielino/Tongva people, who cared for this land for thousands of years and continue to do so today. Learn more by visiting gabrielinotribe.org.