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Published January 28, 2025

Toypurina

Tongva medicine woman Toypurina rallied her people to fight Spanish colonizers
The cover art of the comic. The title of this comic, Toypurina, is written across the top of the page in large font. The central illustration on the cover depicts an indigenous Tongva woman dressed in traditional regalia, Buckskin shirt and dress with white shells and beading. The figure has orange skin, long blue hair, traditional California Indian chin tattoo, and is holding a blue and white speckled feather in her left hand and a wooden Bowl with smoke floating out of it in her right hand. In small text beneath her right hand reads the following: Cover line art courtesy of Jorge Garza. At the bottom of the page reads the byline, By Tongva descendant Lindsey Danae Perez. Framing the entire cover on the left and right side are small depictions of petroglyphs, ancient indigenous stone carvings found in California.Page 1 of the 7 page comic. A large Spanish Colonial ship bearing Catholic crosses on its sails drifts across a rugged ocean. Seagulls are flying around the masts and a small figure of a person stands on the Crow's Nest and points towards the horizon where the sun is either setting or rising. Two large text boxes read: “Mission San Gabriel was established by Father Junipero Sarah in 1771, making it the fourth conquest of the oppressive mission system in so-called california. it's picturesque buttresses were built directly upon the native Village of Toviscanga and the bodies of its former inhabitants, the Tongva tribe. My ancestors had no defenses against the violence and disease of the Spanish colonizers.”Page 2 of the 7 page comic. A second, smaller Spanish Colonial ship bearing Catholic crosses on its sails drifts closer towards a sudden, cliff-like shoreline. A Spanish mission sits at the top of the cliff near the shore, the sun setting behind the Pueblo Style mission that has a cross on the top, five small bells, and one very large bell. The sun casts a foreboding inverted shadow across the land, the cross upside down near a small text box at the bottom of the page that reads “We are peaceful people… but that does not mean we were submissive as history would have you believe.”Page 3 of the 7 page comic. Enslaved indigenous people build a mission, working the land and gathering around a priest who is giving them orders. Two women kneel in a field, picking wheat and putting them into woven baskets on their backs. Two large text boxes read, “Those who were captured during the early Conquest were forcibly baptized, given Spanish names, and put to work laboring on the mission. They were forbidden to practice Tongva cultural rituals, speak Tongva language, or wear traditional Tongva regalia. Punishment for blasphemy included but was not limited to lashings, beatings, and starvation. For 14 years, the neophytes suffered under Spanish rule, longing for escape from their cruel fates.” A footnote beneath this box of text says, “Neophytes: a derogatory term Spanish Padres used to refer to their newly converted charges.” The second text box at the bottom of the page reads, “Fortunately, not all of the Tongva had been captured; many existed outside the mission's reach, living off the land as they had always done, avoiding slavery. They attempted to rescue their relatives from the mission several times with no success. They were simply no match for the gunpowder and bloodlust of their oppressors. The enslaved cried out, reaching to their relatives beyond the confines of their religious prison, desperately seeking aid… and in the year 1785, someone finally heard them.”Page 4 of the 7 page comic. Toypurina stands on the right of the page, facing away from the viewer. She stands barefoot on the ground, her hands on her hips and seems to be observing the scene from page 3. There are two traditional, Tongva dome-shaped houses in the background. Thick, winding smoke comes from one of the domes and curls towards the top of the page. The text box closest to Toypurina's head reads,“Toypurina, a respected Tongva Shaman and Medicine Woman said to possess powerful magic and a deep connection with Creator, was called to action by the people.” The text box at the bottom of the page near her feet reads “she rallied neighboring villages and organized an invasion that would dismantle the Padres’ power using her magic.”Page 5 of the 7 page comic. The moon and the stars are out. Mission San Gabriel can be seen in the background of the first panel. Toypurina and two armed tribesmen are sneaking toward the heart of the mission. Hiding behind a wall, one Spanish soldier dressed in armor lies in wait with his hand on the hilt of a sword. He waits on the command of a priest who hides beside him, clutching the cross on his chest. The text box above them reads “Under the cover of night, she and 100 armed tribesmen snuck onto the mission grounds. Toypurina was unarmed, wielding only her shamanic powers to keep the Spanish soldiers and priests asleep and to give the liberators all the time they needed to eliminate them and free their relations… But one of the neophytes heard of their plans the day before and betrayed them to the Padres…” A text box cuts off the scene and reads “they were discovered. Most managed to escape capture; she, alongside 25 others, did not. The men were tortured and Toypurina became a prisoner at Mission San Gabriel for 3 years while waiting for an official sentence from Mexico City. While on trial, she is famously quoted for saying the following.” Toypurina stands in fierce opposition, her hands bound in front of her. She struggles against her bonds, rage clear on her face as she shouts “I hate the Padres and all of you for living here on my native soil, trespassing on the land of my ancestors and ruining our villages! I came to inspire these dirty cowards to fight, not to quail at the sight of Spanish sticks that spit fire and death nor retch at the evil smell of gunsmoke, and be done with you white invaders!”Page 6 of the 7 page comic. An intimate portrait of Toypurina takes up the entire page. Native orange poppy flowers and braided sweetgrass surround the crown of her head like a halo. Her hair flows off the side of the page with celestial bodies held in its darkness. Her eyes are closed, her hands are crossed over her chest and though it's clear she has been put to rest, her expression is troubled. A text box running across the top of the page reads, “She was banished to the mission furthest from her ancestral homelands. She was baptized, married to a Spanish soldier, and forced to bare three of his offspring before her death at the age of 39. She is buried at Mission San Juan Bautista.” A large text box at the bottom of the page beneath her crossed hands reads “Although the rebellion failed, she was true to her people, her culture, and herself. The story of her bravery is powerful, echoing through the veins of every Gabrielino descendant. Despite the systemic religious oppression, violence, and whitewashing, we endure. We are resilient. We courageously choose to decolonize ourselves in the name of our ancestors to ensure that their cultural genocide has and will continue to fail.” A small footnote beneath that text box reads “Gabrielino: reductive label Spanish colonizers used when referring to indigenous people in and around the San Gabriel mission. Several tribes fall under this definition including but not limited to Tongva and Kizh tribes.”Page 7 of the 7 page comic. A text box floats amongst sunset colors, framed by the same petroglyphic cave carvings as on the cover. The text reads “The stories of courageous indigenous heroes often endure long after their passing; the Lakota remember Sitting Bull, the Apache honor Geronimo, and the Tongva tribe of Southern California venerates Toypurina. Her tale of bravery in the face of colonial oppression continues to inspire, offering hope to those silenced by the dominant forces of white capitalist colonial patriarchy. My desire in this retelling is to inspire all who connect with this zine to draw from her courage and fearlessly challenge power, just as she did in the past. For my sister, my cousin, my father, and my ancestors. EKwaShem!”

This comic was originally published at Outlet PDX

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