Fall 2025 Newsletter

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2025 Summer Internship Program: Collaborative Archaeology, Heritage, and Cultural Landscapes

By Gabriel Sanchez, PhD, University of Oregon; Elizabeth Rodriguez, Tribal Member, 2025 Summer Intern and University of Oregon field school student; Cameron Garcia, 2025 Summer Intern Supervisor; Rose Mooney, Graduate Student, University of Oregon

Introduction

This summer brought together 19 summer interns, members of the Native Stewardship Corps, the Cultural Resources Program of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, and 18 members of the University of Oregon over five weeks to learn more about the application of archaeology in stewarding cultural landscapes and protecting sacred and ancestral sites. This is the second year that the Summer Internship Program and the Indigenous Archaeology Field Methods program, an accredited archaeological field school offered through the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, came together to learn how the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, through the Land Trust, engages with archaeology to steward ancestral lands, landscapes, and sites.

Over the course of five weeks this summer, Tribal members and university students collaborated by learning and working together in the fields of archaeology, historical ecology, and modern conservation programs that the Amah Mutsun Land Trust actively participates in. For Tribal members, the Summer Internship Program brings together Tribal youth and young adults to learn more about the diverse projects in which the Amah Mutsun Land Trust is involved. The projects that summer interns contribute to range from oyster restoration in Elkhorn Slough to archaeological research and surveys in San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Clara, and San Benito counties, as well as archaeological excavations and learning from and with other Native Californian Tribes.

An exciting component of the program this summer was preparing the next iteration of Native Stewardship Corps members in archaeological methods and techniques. Four new Native Stewardship Corps members joined the program, alongside more seasoned members of the Native Stewardship Corps. Much like the Summer Internship Program, the Native Stewardship Corps offers Tribal members the opportunity to steward ancestral lands through participation in research, conservation, and education work to which AMLT is committed. The Summer Internship Program directly prepares Tribal members for future employment and engagement in the Native Stewardship Corps, providing these individuals with invaluable professional and personal experiences.

For university students, the field school offers a critical training opportunity that is essential for professional archaeologists. Field schools provide students with the foundational methodological and technical expertise for careers in archaeology. The ability for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about Tribal concerns related to the practice of archaeology is an important consideration in preparing the next generation of archaeologists and anthropologists. It is through these forms of tribal collaborations and co-teaching opportunities that students can learn about Indigenous concerns related to the field of archaeology and cultural heritage, providing an important counterbalance to more traditional archaeological approaches.

In this newsletter, we outline the accomplishments of the Summer Internship and Indigenous Archaeology Field Methods program, as well as describe the culturally immersive learning experiences of all participants, which included cultural workshops, guest lectures, intertribal collaboration, geophysical surveys, archaeological surveys, and excavations.

Week 1 Amah Mutsun Culture and Basic Training

The first week of this summer’s program focused on introducing interns to the protocols, expectations, and scope of work that would be expected of them during the five weeks. Participants made camp at the historic Cascade Ranch along Highway 1 and prepared for their summer endeavors. Throughout the first week, interns and Native Stewardship Corps (NSC) members participated in a variety of training workshops aimed at preparing them for scenarios that could arise in the field. These trainings, designed to provide critical safety and technical experience, ranged from basic first aid, operation of handline equipment, and techniques employed by wildland firefighters.

On Monday, interns were led by Noah Orth, Program Manager of the Native Stewardship Corps, on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), with certifications being acquired at the end of the workshop. Additionally, participants were trained on using automated external defibrillators (AEDs), epinephrine pens, and administering first aid. Later that day, interns toured row crop fields and a greenhouse at Cascade with Native Plant Propagation Program Manager, Aylara Odekova. The group learned about the Native Plant Propagation Program and its efforts to produce seeds for future habitat restoration. That evening, interns were led in discussion by Chairman Valentin Lopez on navigating being a Native in two worlds.

*Aylara Odekova, AMLT Native Plant Program Manager, speaking to interns beside a bed of coyote mint (Monardella villosa)*

Tuesday expanded upon the previous day’s training as interns were briefed on safety and job hazard analysis in wildland settings. Specifically, participants were introduced to the tactics outlined in the National Wildlife Coordinating Group’s Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG). The IRPG, carried by most wildland firefighters, is a vital resource for refreshing knowledge on operational protocol and situation analysis in the field. Following this, interns were instructed in 2-way radio usage, personal protective equipment (PPE), and hand tool maintenance; ending the day by assisting Aylara and Native Plant Program Assistant, Rosana Petralia, in harvesting Blue Wild Rye (Elymus glaucus). After lunch, interns broke into two teams, helping around the farm by removing drip irrigation lines.

On Wednesday morning, interns and stewards drove to the Quiroste Valley Cultural Preserve, proceeding to hike in hand tools, chainsaws, and other equipment to a large stand of coastal redwoods. Here, Tribal members learned safety protocols and the appropriate use of tools commonly utilized in the Native Stewardship Program. Interns were divided into teams and instructed on the basics of digging a fireline by Native Steward Esak Ordoñez, as well as safety procedures and the operation of chainsaws by Native Steward Gabriel Pineda. Noah demonstrated how to safely fell a tree. Following the demonstration, interns traveled deeper into the valley to begin cutting back fields of poison hemlock and coyote brush that had started encroaching on nearby trails. Interns ended the day with a visit to an archaeology site from the previous year’s internship at Año Nuevo, which had been partially washed away. Here, Interns shared their fond memories of the earthen oven, which the site once contained, and discussed the prospects of letting sites go to rest. They were accompanied by filmmakers recording footage to produce a new welcome video for the Año Nuevo Beach visitors center.

*Chairman Valentin Lopez greeting interns before their CPR and First Aid Training*

*Interns and Filmmakers at Año Nuevo Beach*

On Thursday, the group participated in a tour of the Ocean and Coastal Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz campus, led by Jacob Harris, Coastal and Oceans Stewardship Program Manager. As well as participating in three different surveys of fish using seine nets, plants using quadrats on the sand dunes, and animal tracks on the sand and mud across the Younger lagoon part of the UC Natural Reserve System.

To close out the week, that Friday, everyone participated in making brome seed (Bromus carinatus) pinole with Alex Tabone, California State Park Ranger and naturalist. Interns began by cooking brome kernels by adding them and hot coals into a basket. As the brome seeds began popping from the heat, Alex remarked, “All corn is a grass, and all grasses pop like popcorn!” The charred seeds were placed in a bowl mortar and crushed. The seed chafe was winnowed by wind, and these steps were repeated until a fine earth colored pinole was made. This pinole was added to another basket with water and a heated stone to be stirred until completely cooked.

*Interns learning how to process and cook pinole*

*Sabella Cordova kneels to stir a pot of brome seed pinole*

Week 2 Training Workshops, Swanton Pacific Ranch, and Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument

*Sal Estrada holding a self made arrow point*

Week 2 of the summer program began with the arrival of the University of Oregon students and staff. We started our week together at Cascade Ranch, learning about archaeology, identification of archaeological materials, and what these data can tell us about human-environmental relationships. Dr. Ken Gobalet, Dr. Michael Grone, and Dr. Diane Gifford-Gonzalez assisted with the workshops, with additional support provided by AMLT staff and the University of Oregon. Students and summer interns were immersed in workshops related to fish bone identification (taught by Ken Gobalet), shellfish (Michael Grone), ethnobotany (Alec Apodaca), human remains identification (Diane Gifford-Gonzalez), lithics (Cameron Garcia), bucket augering (Gabriel Pineida and Esak Ordoñez), flotation (Zechariah Ordoñez and Paul Desales), and integrative cultural resource surveys (Rose Mooney, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Gabriel Sanchez). That morning and evening, summer interns and students were welcomed by Chairman Valentin Lopez, who provided the group with an evening lecture or a talking circle.

The second day of the project applied everyone's newly acquired knowledge in the field at Swanton Pacific Ranch, managed by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Swanton Pacific Ranch is a 3,200-acre property located in Santa Cruz County. Students from Cal Poly, summer interns, and University of Oregon students conducted archaeological surface surveys and ground penetrating radar at a previously unrecorded site on the property. This represented an important institutional collaboration between faculty and staff at Cal Poly and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and included Dr. Zachary D. McFarlane of Cal Poly’s Animal Science Department and a Stonyford Rancheria tribal member.

*Equipment staging point at Swanton Pacific Ranch*

At the end of our first week, the summer interns and university students parted ways for the day. Interns spent the day learning Amah Mutsun beading techniques from Tribal elder Eleanor Castro. Throughout the day, interns worked to create their own medicine bags and could create necklaces and other items. Meanwhile, university students participated in a tour of archaeological sites in Año Nuevo State Park and other well-known sites throughout Santa Cruz County spanning the last 7,000 years. These examples highlight an important component of the summer program. We included several shared learning experiences, but at the end of every week, Summer Interns were provided an opportunity for cultural and family time separate from university students and staff.

The next segment of the project took place at Cotoni Coast Dairies, located near Davenport in Santa Cruz County. Cotoni Coast Dairies is composed of over 5,800 acres, extending from marine coastal terraces to the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Here, summer interns and UO students honed their newfound skills of integrative cultural resource surveys. Over the course of two days, they successfully surveyed three sites on the property. At the first site, summer interns and students surveyed a grouping of bedrock mortars, working together to create scale drawings. At the third site, interns and students conducted both archaeological surface survey work and geophysical surveys to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the site.

*Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument*

Week 3 Elkhorn Slough, Chitactac, and Jursitac

Week 3 began at Elkhorn Slough–a dedicated National Estuarine Reserve. Located east of Moss Landing, Elhorn Slough supports one of California’s largest coastal salt marshes and a diverse population of birds, plants, marine mammals, and fish. During our work at the slough, Summer Interns primarily conducted oyster ecological surveys of beds used to propagate oysters in the reserve. While the majority of the interns participated in the oyster and additional water quality studies, the University of Oregon students and a handful of interns worked to conduct archaeological surface surveys, remove invasive plants, and conduct ground penetrating radar surveys at an eroding site adjacent to the slough.

Archaeological Surveys at Elkhorn Slough

The following day, we moved away from the coast to begin work at Chitactac, a culturally significant site in Gilroy known as “The Place of the Dance” in Mutsun. Our work at Chitactac focused on studying the site to understand historic disturbances and the location of cultural deposits at and below the surface. Interns and students worked at several locations at the site, conducting archaeological surface surveys and ground penetrating radar surveys.

On Wednesday, our group visited Juristac (Huris-tak) to conduct additional surface surveys and geophysical surveys. Juristac is a sacred cultural landscape where Mutsun ancestors lived and held ceremonies. Our time at Juristac is best summarized by Tribal members and Native Stewards who participated in the program.

“Revisiting ancestral lands and sacred sites was very special to me because we were able to practice low-impact archaeology with family”–Zechariah Ordonez, Native Steward

“A warm welcome from family, ancestors, and the land”–Ian Girouard, Native Steward

To close out our week, interns worked to relocate camp from Cascade Ranch to Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area, facilitating our work over the last two weeks and easing commute times. The university students spent the day learning about the history of Spanish colonialism at Mission San Juan Bautista and Mission Santa Cruz. This included tours at both missions and time to engage with the interpretive centers at each. Although a heavy experience, this was a necessary time of reflection for university students. During this time, students learned more about the history of these spaces and the history of the Tribal members, with whom they lived and worked, as descendants of survivors of the missions.

Week 4 Mission San Juan Bautista and Nyland Property

In week 4 of the summer program, interns and students continued to demonstrate a growing understanding and confidence in implementing integrative cultural resource surveys and geophysical surveys. Additionally, they were introduced to subsurface survey techniques, including the use of augers, as well as the correct procedures for opening and completing an excavation unit.

As previously mentioned, field schools are considered a rite of passage for rising archaeologists. In conventional field school models, students spend the majority of their experience conducting excavations. However, students at the Indigenous Archaeology Field Methods Program learn to utilize integrative cultural resource surveys and geophysical surveys to gain a diverse and comprehensive understanding of a site with minimal impact to the integrity of the site itself. Thus, as students begin learning excavation techniques during their fourth week of fieldwork, these practices are integrated into their broader skillset rather than serving as a primary methodology.

During week 4, the summer program was held at Nyland Ranch, a cattle ranch acquired by the San Benito Agricultural Land Trust in 2023. When the San Benito Agricultural Land Trust completed renovations on an American-period barn on the property, they encountered remnants of an older structure. Due to suspicion that the structure could be the lost adobe home of Manuel Larios, the trust reached out to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.

During our time at Nyland, a journalist from the Benito Link, Juan Pablo Perez Burgos, visited the site to document our work. His article, “Unearthing parts of San Benito County History”, outlined the field program’s search for Manuel Larios’ adobe.

To close out the week, interns participated in a basketry workshop led by Vera Powers and Michelle Glowa, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology and Social Change, California Institute of Integral Studies. Tribal member and ethnobotanist Josh Higuera also led a workshop on making cordage.

*Crews overlooking a unit at Nyland Ranch*

Week 5 Pinnacles National Park

The final week of the summer internship program began much differently than previous weeks, as students and interns had to start their days at 5:30 am to ‘beat the heat’ that Pinnacles National Park is known for, with work ending in the early afternoon. Despite the early start, summer interns and students hit the ground running, conducting integrative cultural resource surveys over a substantial area within McCabe Canyon. In addition, interns, Native stewards, and students conducted invasive plant removal alongside National Park interns.

Monday began with students and interns performing an initial surface survey near the opening of McCabe, with some of the Native Stewards recalling work they had done removing invasive plants and surveying the canyon almost a decade prior. Early on, plant management had been conducted by the NSC, and AMLT researched the effects of cultural burning on a field of deergrass and sedge situated in McCabe. These projects served as key stepping stones in the early days of AMLT to develop its relationship with Pinnacles National Park. We were honored to have NSC member Gabriel Pineida, who participated in those initial studies, serve as a supervisor for the summer program. By late morning, survey units were paused as students and interns gathered near the camp store for a special presentation on the history and culture of “piknaci.”

Participants were joined by members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, Chalon Indian Council of Bakersfield, and Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. Chalon tribal members, Cameron Garcia, Larry Lopez, and Paulette Sanchez gave a prayer, followed by a lesson on the history of their tribe, and the missionization of Chalon-Esselen peoples at Mission Soledad. Gifts were presented to visiting tribal members, NPS, and AMLT staff who made the internship possible. The day ended with visitors being given a crash course on methods utilized during the internship, such as an integrative cultural resource survey and ground penetrating radar (GPR).

“Pinnacles is a place for all people, you are all makkena [our-people] here”

-Cameron Garcia, Intern Supervisor

Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, interns and students conducted surface and plant surveys throughout McCabe, and a 4-person “hotshot” crew was sent deeper into the canyon to perform a pedestrian survey. After lunch Tuesday, everyone gathered together with tools in hand and marched into the canyon to a place that AMLT had studied in the past. Trudging through grassland, wetland, and oak tree savannah, the crew came upon a massive field of deergrass. Archaeological findings had been much sparser than in previous weeks at McCabe, but it still possessed an overwhelming degree of biodiversity. Paulette Sanchez showed everyone how to collect deergrass rods, and the process of raking out the dead growth.

On Thursday, students conducted one final stretch of surveys near Pinnacles campground, with most of the students and interns setting up surface survey units along nearby trails, and another section of the crew carrying out a plant survey of the area.

*Ian Girouard holding a bundle of deergrass*

Perspectives from Summer Interns

Reflection from Isabel Galvan

“My first summer internship with AMLT wasn’t just a job for me. This was a meaningful experience tied into family and our tribal history. The work on ancestral lands brought me a peaceful and healing feeling. It made me feel more connected with the land and to my family. Everyday felt special, being able to be on the lands where our ancestors once were before. The environment provided a space where we were able to learn and work well together. I'm grateful everyone holds vast knowledge because we’re able to teach and grow from each other. Just like the Mustun saying “makke amuypu” (we teach ourselves). Everyone made my experience better than I imagined, especially because I was so far from home, I was super home sick, but my cousins made it feel like home. Beyond the family bond I also gained a great amount of new skills and knowledge. I learned first aid, how to use hand tools, identification of native plants, as well as respecting the land we worked on. I developed a deeper connection and relationship with nature, all living things, my cousins, and my own identity. Furthermore, one of my favorite learning experiences was with Gabe Sanchez from University of Oregon on operating GPR, Ground Penetrating radar. I learned about GPR and how to read certain shapes like a hyperbolic anomaly. I also loved counting oysters with Jacob Harris and learning about how they can change their sex and are natural filters for the water. Something that truly completed this experience was sharing meals in the morning and dinner together everyday. We were all one big family which made it better. Not only that but having time on fridays specifically for learning more about our culture such as making pinole, beading, and cordage/basketry. As well as beading my first necklace and making cordage ties. These were experiences that were very needed and I'm extremely grateful to have had the opportunity and deeply thankful to everyone who helped and taught me so much.”