Native-American Remains Discovered in Alameda Corridor Construction Reburied in Tribal Ceremony.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. -- Native-American remains and artifacts unearthed during construction of the Alameda Corridor were reburied Saturday in a ceremony attended by members of the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribe of the Los Angeles Basin and officials from the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA).

Re-internment and tribal rites were performed by a member of the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribe on private property in the unincorporated Rancho Dominguez area. Members of the Juaneno, Cahuilla, Olone and Chumash nations also participated in the repatriation.

Centuries-old remains of 15 Gabrielenos were discovered during construction of the 22-mile Alameda Corridor in Lynwood and south-central Los Angeles between 1999 and 2001. This area was once a section of the tribe's "Hautgna" burial grounds. A member of the tribe served on ACTA's construction and archeology team to ensure that remains and artifacts were handled in accordance with tribal customs.

"ACTA is grateful for the cooperation and participation of the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribe, which helped us build an important transportation project with a sensitivity to this region's earliest settlers," said ACTA CEO John T. Doherty. "This process was handled with dignity and care."

Scientific analyses conducted by Fresno-based archeology firm Applied EarthWorks linked the sets of complete and partial remains to living Gabrieleno Tongva descendants. Radio carbon dating of bone or teeth from five placed the likely burial dates from 990 to 1440 A.D., prior to the period when non-native explorers first made contact with the coast of California.

Several grave possessions also were discovered, including abalone, oyster and scallop shells, as well as tools made from animal bones, obsidian and stone. Those artifacts -- some which were used to make replicas for educational purposes -- were re-buried with the remains Saturday. State and federal laws require that Native-American remains discovered in construction of the corridor be reburied.

The Gabrielenos were among the earliest Native Americans to settle in a 2,500-square-mile territory spanning from what is now Topanga Canyon to the north, Lake Forest to the south, San Bernardino to the east and Long Beach and other coastal communities to the west.