Puvunga

Infobox nrhp
name =Puvunga Indian Village Sites and Boundary Increase
nrhp_type = hd


caption =
location =
nearest_city = Long Beach, California
lat_degrees =
lat_minutes =
lat_seconds =
lat_direction =
long_degrees =
long_minutes =
long_seconds =
long_direction =
area =
built =
architect =
architecture =
added = January 21, 1974; May 22, 1982
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 74000521; 82000429
mpsub =
governing_body =

Puvunga (alternate spelling: Puvungna) is an ancient village and burial site believed to have once been populated by the Tongva (Gabrielino) people, who are the indigenous inhabitants of the region around Los Angeles, California. The site is located on the campus of present day California State University, Long Beach along the banks of a now channelized creek, about three miles from the Pacific Ocean. Believed to be the birthplace of Chingishnish, a Tongva prophet, Puvunga is considered sacred by some indigenous people. It is also believed by some Tongva to be the place of creation.

A portion of the site (which is unmarked with a sign or other informational marker) comprises a natural area located at the edge of campus, near a parking lot. At one time this site had a natural spring, and the location is sometimes referred to as Puvunga Spring. Another similar (but larger) Tongva site is Kuruvungna Springs on the grounds of University High School in Los Angeles.

Since the 1960s the Tongva people have sought to preserve the Puvunga site from development, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CA/Los+Angeles/state7.html] . However, the university has challenged this designation, claiming they were not consulted when the application was filed. In 1992, when the university began its first attempts to build a strip mall on this last undeveloped portion of the campus, the Tongva people initiated protests and filed a lawsuit which have temporarily stalled any construction. The site remains as an undeveloped grassy area, with a few trees.

The above description of the Puvunga controversy presents only one side of the argument. There is a lot information missing.

The area that Prof. Ruyle claims to be Puvunga, was for many years known as “The Organic Garden.” It was a gardening commune in which people from the nearby community would receive a small plot of land to plant. Some of these gardeners had leftist leanings and became friends with Prof Ruyle, a self described Marxist.

When the University announced plans for terminating the Organic Garden so that it could build on the site, the gardeners were incensed and complained very loudly, but they were a small group with no political support from other organizations. It was about this time the Prof. Ruyle wrote a paper that declared the Organic Garden a sacred Indian ground and called it Puvunga. Ruyle enlisted the help of several Indian organizations and there were many protests. The Indians were duped into believing they were supporting a legitimate Indian Rights Issue.

Prof. Ruyle was never able to provide any proof that the land in question had ever been sacred or inhabited by Indians. Nor has it ever been proved that Puvunga ever really existed at all. It is probably as mythical as the Garden of Eden.

To help settle the issue a team of independent archaeologists were hired, to examine the land. They were led by Matthew A. Boxt, Ph.D. No sign of humans, artifacts, or any other evidence of human habitation was found in that area. For this reason, all court decisions related to the issue were found in favor of the University. Despite their victory in court, in order to avoid more confrontations, the University decided not to build on the land.

Prof. Ruyle and others, have asked the land be returned to a gardening commune, but the University has decided to leave it in a natural state for now. Some people believe there was a natural spring in the area. This is not true. When it was a garden, the University supplied it with water via a pipeline. The remains of this plumbing can still be seen on the site.

External links

* [http://www.csulb.edu/~eruyle/puvuhome.html Puvungna web page maintained by Prof. Eugene Ruyle]
* [http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/archives/2006/spring/news/v12n74-puvunga.shtml CSULB "49er" article on Puvunga (February 2006)]
* [http://www.noindoctrination.org/cgibin/display_record.cgi?uid=324 No Indoctrination article by former student of Ruyle]