Faith on Film: Lest We Forget

I want to take a break from the Missions for a while. Don't worry, I have many more to share with you.

But before we take our break, Let us not forget that these Beautiful places were built by forced Native slave labor.

And despite what this statue at San Juan Capistrano would suggest, the Natives were perfectly happy with their lives before the Franciscans arrived. After all the Mission system turned free people into serfs, and killed many with European diseases. Can you imagine living in a world almost devoid of infectious diseases? I just want to pause to remember Them.

And yet there are stories of survival......especially in Northern California. Natives organized around Mission Santa Barbara, Carmel, and San Juan Batista are officially recognize by the US government as Native Nations............