Acjachemen Nation gathers for powwow in San Juan Capistrano

A day involving the dances, songs and traditions of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation on Saturday, Oct. 18, celebrated the first residents of what is today San Juan Capistrano.

The traditional powwow also helped kick off a year-long celebration marking the 250th anniversary coming up in 2026 of the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Members of the Acjachemen Nation and surrounding tribes, as well as the local community, gathered at the replica Putuidem Village cultural park that opened in 2021 by the city in San Juan Capistrano’s Northwest Open Space. Participants danced and sang songs native to their tribal lineages.

The colorful, musical and festive celebration also included prayers and ceremonial offerings and recognized tribal elders, community leaders, and spiritual leaders while promoting awareness of the indigenous peoples’ culture.

“This year’s powwow carries a special significance,” said Nathan Banda, tribal chairman of the Acjachemen Nation. “We celebrate not only our living culture, but also our enduring presence as the first people and cultural fabric of Orange County and its surrounding lands. Our traditions — the songs, the dances, the ceremonies — are the living continuation of our ancestors’ prayers, carrying forward the knowledge of our people.”

The Acjachemen people dwelled for 10,000 years on land that stretched from Long Beach to the north, Las Pulgas to the south, and Temecula to the east, said Chris Lobo, who has ancestral ties to the Juaneño, Luiseno and Diegueño tribes. He is now part of the Tribal Council and is its director of government affairs.

In that expanse of land, Lobo said there were about 250 villages, each of which had between 25 and 250 people. The villages were all connected through family lines and hereditary leadership, which was also connected through marriage.

“They were living the land through harmony and balance and we were known as the ‘Star People,’” he said. “Everything was done through teaching through song and dance, astrology and ceremony.”

Lobo said his tribe was asked to help kick off the 250th anniversary of the mission, which was founded in 1776 on the Acjachemen’s ancestral land.

“Because the tribe was the original inhabitants, they felt it appropriate that the tribe kick it off and the tribe said we’d love to do a cultural event and we’ll include a powwow as well,” Lobo said.

“We are part of the fabric of the mission because where the mission was established was on a village site,” he said. “And, because we were the labor and backbone of the mission since we built it, and every aspect of the mission was related to the tribe.”

Lobo said the complex relationship between the mission and the tribe is one of mutual respect today.

“We are doing many programs moving forward,” he said. “That being said, we appreciate being able to tell our truths and our perspective of the history between the two parties.”

Lobo described Saturday’s event as a celebration between the tribe, the relationship to the land and the mission.

More than 20 tribal vendors offered goods and food. There were local dignitaries from nearby cities and county and state representatives.

“Dance is core,” Lobo said of the traditional powwow. “In every dance there was language and or song. Song is how oral traditions were passed along. We didn’t write down our instructions from our elders to our children, they were passed through song and ceremony.”

“Every aspect of teaching and education was done through ceremony, song and dance,” he added. “And, all of that was based on the harmony of the season and the ballads of Mother Nature.”

For Banda, Saturday’s event was especially meaningful, he said, because he is thankful for being able to lead his people through a time of “reflection and renewal.”

“We welcome the greater community,” he said, “to join us in celebrating the spirit of unity and cultural strength that defines Orange County’s true origins, the Acjachemen people.”