Subsistence and Persistence: Indigenous Foodways Within Mission Santa Clara de Asís

Abstract

This study explores the subsistence strategies and dietary practices of Indigenous people who resided in Mission Santa Clara de Asìs (1777–1836). Through the analysis of faunal remains from recent archaeological work of the ranchería, the housing location of Native families, this research reveals the persistence of Indigenous foodways within Mission Santa Clara. While colonization efforts by the Spanish impacted both local environments and traditional foodways, Native Californians continued to procure and utilize a high diversity of traditional wild fauna throughout the Mission Period. These findings provide evidence for the rearticulation and continuation of Indigenous foodways within the Mission despite social and environmental restrictions that limited access to wild resources.