"...it is ironic that these people that lived off the land for so many years, who had adapted successfully to the many whims of nature, should be struck down so quickly by the 'blessings' of civilization." So wrote Sarah Snider in an essay about the Gabrielino -Tongva people, who lands were succesively taken by the Spanish, and then American colonists. "Living Off the Land: The Gabrielinos," Lasca Leaves, June 1975. The LA Arboretum is built upon a former Gabrielino-Tongva settlement. According the to the tribal website: "The Arboretum in Arcadia has a site dedicated to the Gabrielinos that needs to be renovated. They have reached out to us and we are currently working with them on some ideas for the site. They are currently raising funds for several remodel projects on the grounds." A federally unrecognized tribe, The Gabrielino-Tongva were disenfrainchised of their traiditonal lands through a treaties that the US never honored.