| Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation |
- Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation (OCEN) is historically known
as the Monterey Band of Monterey County as the results of the
Congressional Homeless Indian Acts of 1906, 1908 and later years. Both
Special Indian Agent Charles E. Kelsey (1905-1913), and Reno
Superintendent, James Jenkins (Reno Agency Annual Report 1923)
identified our tribe as the Monterey Band of Monterey County. Charles
Kelsey specifically identified on the 1905-1906 Special Indian Census,
Thomas Miranda and family living on the Sur Rancheria (currently there
are more than 100 members of this lineage enrolled in OCEN). Before
that in 1883 Special Indian Agent Helen Hunt Jackson identified our tribe
as the "San Carlos Indians, living near the old San Carlos Mission at
Monterey" and she wrote to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs notifying
him about placing our tribe along with the Santa Ynez Chumash directly
under her jurisdiction [see Heizer, ed 1979 Federal Concern About
Conditions of California Indians 1853 to 1913: Eight Documents Ballena
Press Publications No. 13 page 88.]
Under the 1928 California Indian Jurisdictional Act our Tribal Elders and
their families enrolled with the BIA and we identified ourselves as either
"Tribe: Mission San Carlos" or as Esselen." Our families again enrolled
with the BIA during the second (1948-1955) and third (1968-1970)
enrollment periods. Our direct ancestors served as linguistic consultants to
Alexander Taylor (1856), Alfred Kroeber (1902-1910), C. Hart Merriam
(1902-1922), and John P. Harrington, Field Ethnologist for the
Smithsonian Museum's Bureau of American Ethnology (1930-1939), as
well as other linguists.
To date OCEN has completed all the standards and requirements under the
current administrative process 25 CFR Part 83 for reaffirmation as a
Federally Recognized Tribe. Our Tribe was never legally "Terminated" by
any act of Congress, but instead suffered neglect by those BIA agents
charged to purchase home sites under the Congressional Homeless
California Indian Appropriation Acts. Agency Superintendents such as
Lafayette A. Dorrington who was responsible for the Sacramento Agency
from 1918 to 1930, was derelict in his duties and argued as his personal
belief that land should not be purchased for California Indians. It was due
to his "gross negligence" and crass indifference" that our tribal band as well
as one hundred and thirty four other California tribes were removed from
the list of Recognized tribes by 1927.
We have also demonstrated that our Tribe was never legally "Terminated"
by any act of Congress, Executive action or Federal Court Order. In fact,
Recognition is for perpetuity, until the Tribe notifies Congress of its desire
to "Terminate" itself and abandon its tribal status as a tribe.
Presently Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation represents over 600 enrolled
tribal members of Esselen, Carmeleno, Monterey Band, Rumsen, Chalon,
Soledad Mission, San Carlos Mission (Carmel) and/or Costanoan Mission
Indian descent from at least 19 villages from a contiguous region
surrounding Monterey Bay. We often hear why does Esselen Nation claim
so many village homelands? The answer is, "The descendants of these
villages comprise the historic Monterey Band of Monterey County and
they chose to enroll in OCEN/Esselen Nation as their legal tribal
government representative."
| Official Tribal Website |
Photograph of Shewker (Redtail Hawk) by Louise J. Miranda Ramirez
| OCEN TRIBAL MEMBERS PLEASE GO TO CONTACT US PAGE - PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ENROLLMENT IS CLOSED NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE PROCESSED. |
| Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Indians of the Greater Monterey Bay Area |
Photo by: Louise J. Miranda Ramirez
Pacific Grove, CA - June 2012
Pacific Grove, CA - June 2012
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| 2016 Monterey County Map reflecting O.C.E.N. Historical Villages |