Ed Castillo
Edward D. Castillo,of theLuiseño-Cahuilla tribes,is aNative Americanactivist who participated in theAmerican Indian occupation of Alcatrazin 1969. Formerprofessorand director of Native American Studies at theSonoma State UniversityinCalifornia,he wrote several chapters in theSmithsonian Institution'sHandbook of North American IndiansandMission Indian Federation: Protecting Tribal Sovereignty 1919-1967,published in theEncyclopedia of Native Americansin the 20th century. He is the editor of Native American Perspectives on the Hispanic Colonization of Alta California and The Pomo, A Tribal History. Castillo was a regular contributor of book reviews to historical journals such asIndian Historian,Journal of California Anthropology,Western Historical Quarterly,American Indian Quarterly,andCalifornia History.[1]
Early life
[edit]Castillo was born in 1948 in California to Edward and Betty Castillo and has two brothers Billy and Randy. He was raised on arancheriaoutsideSan Jacinto.[2]After high school, he enrolled in theUniversity of California, Riversidewith a major in American frontier history and a minor inLatin American studies.After graduating in 1969, Castillo took a minority counseling position at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara.In that same year, he was hired as a graduate student instructor inUCLA’s newly established Native American Studies program.[2] Ed is the recognized father of Suelumatra withLuwana Quitiquit,and Cassandra and Andrew Castillo (second marriage), although he may have other children.[3]
Participation at Alcatraz
[edit]Castillo first got involved with the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz whenRichard Oakes,the foremost organizer of the demonstration, gave a speech at UCLA attempting to get more support for the protest in mid-November 1969. Oakes had been giving similarly effective speeches atSan Francisco State University,University of California, Berkeley,and University of California, Riverside. Castillo, along with about two-thirds of the Native American studies class he was teaching, agreed to take leave from his position at UCLA and join the occupation. He was 21 years old at the time.
When he arrived at Alcatraz, Castillo was one of the original members of the island council, along with Richard Oakes and a number of other college students.[4]The island council oversaw everything that occurred on the island. Castillo also worked in the makeshift mail room of the island.
Early on during the occupation, Castillo was voted as security chief of the island, but soon resigned from the difficult position after numerous threats from much larger young Indian males.
When Richard Oakes left the island due to the death of his daughter, Castillo began to notice the burgeoning of inner conflicts within the island's population. He believed the originalidealismof the island was faltering, and many of the island's leaders were focused more on the political and financial benefits of the protest. After nearly three months of participating in the occupation, Castillo decided to return to UCLA to fulfill his teaching duties.[5]
Later life
[edit]Castillo was the director of theNative American studiesprogram atSonoma State University.He has worked on numerous books, usually dealing with the history of California Native American tribes. The majority of his scholarly works focus on the impact of Spanishcolonizationon Native Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries. He shocked the mission studies world by publishing an oral history by Lorenzo Asisara given in 1878 which explained how the Indians at Santa Cruz murdered the missionary Andres Quintana in retaliation for whippings the friar had given with a barb-tipped whip, and then set the girls free for a night of sex.[6]He coauthoredIndians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization: The Impact of the Mission System on California Indianswith Robert H. Jackson.
Notes
[edit]- ^Smith, Paul Chaat., and Robert Allen. Warrior. Like a Hurricane: the Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee. New York: New, 1996. Print.
- ^abEagle, Adam Fortunate., and Tim Findley. Heart of the Rock: the Indian Invasion of Alcatraz. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 2002. Print.
- ^Salgado Jr., Ernie C. (October 1, 2018)."Edward D. Castillo: Visionary, Author, and Educator"(PDF).The American Indian Reporter.San Jacinto, California. p. 8.Retrieved29 August2020.
- ^Johnson, Troy R. The American Indian Occupation of Alcatraz Island: Red Power and Self-determination. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2008. Print.
- ^Johnson, Troy R., Joane Nagel, and Duane Champagne. American Indian Activism: Alcatraz to the Longest Walk. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1997. Print.
- ^Edward Castillo (1989), “The Assassination of Padre Andrés Quintana by the Indians of Mission Santa Cruz in 1812: The Narrative of Lorenzo Asisara” in California History 68.
References
[edit]- Castillo, Edward D. "California Indian History."CERES. 1998. Web. 23 Sept. 2010.
- Irvine, Keith.Encyclopedia of Indians of the Americas.St. Clair Shores, MI: Scholarly, 1974. Print.
- Wasp, Jean. "Ed Castillo Will Help Change How Teachers Tell the Story of California's 'First People'"Sonoma State University. 17 Sept. 2003. Web. 23 Sept. 2010.
- Vigil, Delfin. "Disputed Alcatraz Invasion Flag on Block - SFGate."Featured Articles From The SFGate. 24 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Sept. 2010.
- Castillo, Edward D. "An Introduction to California's Native PeopleArchived2012-05-11 at theWayback Machine"
- Castillo, Edward D. "Short Review of California Indian History"