Was this the cave where the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island lived? By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.16.15 Word Count 721
Rene Vellanoweth, an archaeology professor at Cal State-Los Angeles, is pictured inside the cave he believes was the home of Juana Maria, the Lone Woman of San Nicolas made famous in "Island of the Blue Dolphins." Photo: U.S. Navy photo courtesy Steve Schwartz/TNS
In the novel “Island of the Blue Dolphins,” a Native American girl is left alone on an island after the rest of her tribe is taken away on a ship. She survives for many years, hunting and fishing to support herself. The novel was based on a true story. On an island off the coast of Los Angeles, archaeologists were in a cave searching for evidence of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island. Slowly, carefully, they removed bucket after bucket of sand — 40,000 in all. One of the leaders of the project was Steve Schwartz, an archaeologist with the U.S. Navy. Tom Holm was a student at California State University who was taking part in the dig. He was also making a documentary movie about the team’s work. Holm felt lucky to be working side-by-side with experts. He was impressed with their knowledge of the Native Americans who had lived on the island.
Ordered To Stop Digging In April 2012, the team was finally getting close to the historical artifacts that would allow them to learn more about the Lone Woman. Then, Schwartz was ordered to stop the dig. The commanders at the naval base on the island had sent the order. Schwartz was shocked by a question they asked: “Is the work you’re doing out there legal?” Something else hurt, too. The shutdown was caused by Holm. He had become concerned about the way the archaeologists were handling Native American cultural artifacts. Holm went to the Pechanga Native American tribe. He brought some of them to the island. Shwartz, 57, quit his job in anger. He had been researching one of the most important historical finds in California history. Now, the work had to stop. “It’s a heartbreak.” Schwartz said recently. “We may never learn what archaeological riches that cave is guarding.”
Brought Off The Island The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island was a member of the Nicoleno Indian tribe. Very little is known about the tribe. In the early 1800s, many tribe members were killed in fights with Russian fur traders and Alaskan sea otter hunters. After one battle in 1814, there were only a few dozen Nicoleno left. There had been about 300. In 1835, a ship brought the few remaining Nicoleno off the island. The ship was called Peor es Nada — Spanish for “better than nothing.” All but one of the Nicoleno made the trip. No one knows why the Lone Woman was left behind. According to legend, she jumped overboard and swam back to shore after realizing that her baby had been left behind. A storm forced the ship to leave without her, and the baby didn’t survive. “What actually happened to her remains a mystery,” Schwartz said. He was determined to find out.
A Long Search Schwartz spent more than 20 years searching for the cave where the woman lived. Finally, in 2012, he had a breakthrough. A government surveyor wrote in the 1800s that one of his camps was “100 yards eastward of the large cave formerly inhabited by a wild Indian woman who lived there alone for 18 years.” Schwartz found the cave. It was 20 feet high, 75 feet long and packed with sand. A team began to carefully comb through it, looking for evidence of the Lone Woman.
At first, Holm was excited to be taking part in the dig. The team was led by Schwartz and Rene Vellanoweth, Holm’s archaeology professor at Cal State. Holm began to see things differently after he met with elders of the Pechanga tribe. They led him to question the archaeologists. Members of the tribe visited the island with him. Later, Holm began to argue with Schwartz and Vellanoweth about the dig.
Closed To Research Eventually, the Pechanga tribe sent letters to the Navy demanding that it stop archaeological research in the cave and at 549 other sites across the island. Now, the cave is closed to research. The Navy is negotiating with the Pechanga tribe. They say they have a cultural connection with the island’s ancient people, who survived for 8,000 years eating mostly shellfish, sea lions, small fish and roots. “We’re only trying to do what’s right by our ancestors,” Mark Macarro, the tribe’s chairman, said. For now, the mystery of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island will remain unsolved.
