For many centuries, the story of Indigenous history and culture was told through an academic lens by non-Native researchers and writers. But an upcoming comic book project seeks to share authentic narratives from San Diego’s Kumeyaay community in a new medium.
During a panel discussion at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, a group of Kumeyaay elders and historians spoke about the ongoing effort to build a comic book sharing stories of the Kumeyaay Nation throughout history and into the present day.
The comic book will, in part, draw from the work of historian Michael Connolly Miskwish of the Campo Kumeyaay Nation who wrote “Kumeyaay: A History Textbook” about the tribe’s history starting prior to contact with European colonizers up to 1893. The comic book will also share information about the present-day Kumeyaay Nation and its cultural traditions like peon, a game of chance played with bones, sticks and blankets primarily during traditional Southern Californian tribal gatherings.
Besides Miskwish, the other Kumeyaay historians and elders working on the project are Ethan Banegas, who is both Luiseño and Kumeyaay, from the Barona Reservation, Lorraine Orosco from the San Pasqual Ipai Band and Stan Rodriguez from the Santa Ysabel Band of the Iipay Nation.
The group is collaborating with National Museum of the American Indian program manager and curator Jen Shannon, archaeologist and comics creator John Swogger and Jewyl Alderson from the San Diego County Office of Education innovation division.
The production team seeks to share accurate information about the tribes, which is often missing from mainstream history books.
One example presented Friday is the history of Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala, which was burned down during a Kumeyaay revolt in 1775, the California Native American Heritage Commission reports. The move was in response to the forced assimilation, baptism and sexual assault that occurred at the hands of Spanish missionaries and their military escorts.
But the mission was rebuilt four times, and Miskwish said the history of the revolt is often ignored or mistold.
“California is such a great example of not only historical distortion, but of marketing and branding,” he said. “In the 1890s, when they came in and invented this fictional history, the missions had been defeated.
“The Native people outlasted them, they were crumbled into ruins, and in the 1890s the chambers of commerce and the railroads put money in to rebuild them. These are zombie missions that they built in order to be tourist attractions.”
The Kumeyaay comic book will serve a dual purpose. Not only will it be used as an educational tool to teach the community about the original people of San Diego County, but it will also be a resource for Kumeyaay children and adults throughout the region to learn about their own culture.
“My whole life, I knew powwow culture, but I knew very little about peon,” Banegas said. “It wasn’t until 2007 that our gatherings returned, and this momentous event provides the setting for our comic book, where the audience will learn our traditional game of chance called peon.”
The comic book also continues a long tradition of Kumeyaay visual storytelling techniques, which includes the 165 rock painting and carving sites by Kumeyaay and Luiseño ancestors in San Diego and Imperial counties, some of which date back 10,000 years.
As much as the comic book will tell the tribe’s history, the Kumeyaay historians involved with the project stressed that it is crucial to also share their present-day activities. In doing so, they help dispel misconceptions and raise awareness about their continued existence and vibrant cultural contributions throughout San Diego County.
“I love that we put contemporary pieces into our story because our story is still being told,” Orosco said. “I want to encourage our young people, our future historians, our future educators, to be inspired to continue the work and feel proud about us being from San Diego.”
With grants from California Humanities for All and the Whiting Foundation, the group plans to complete the comic book in time to distribute it at Comic-Con in 2024. For now, those interested can visit kumeyaayvsp.weebly.com to follow along with its process online.