1. Sara-Marie Reed May 1st, 2013 251-Mrs. Gil
Mission Santa Cruz
Sara-Marie Reed
May 1st, 2013
251-Mrs. Gil

2. Founding History
Mission Santa Cruz was founded August 28th, 1791 by Fryer Fermium Franciso de Lasuen. The nick name of Santa Cruz is the “Hard- Luck Mission” because it was difficult and had unsavory neighbors.

3. Layout of Mission
In 1769 Captain Gasparde de Portoa rode though the area and gave it the name Santa Cruz which means “Holy Cross” in Spanish.
This mission was the 12th mission founded of the 21 California missions.

4. Location
The mission was located near the San Lorenzo River with green pastures and forest around. The mission it self had a workshop , granary, orchard , a big courtyard, cemetery, and living quarters.

5. Life At Santa Cruz Ohlone Indians Missionaries
6:00 – The mission bells rang to wake everyone up. 6:00 6:30- Morning prayers. 6:30- Breakfast of grains. 7:00- Bells rang again to call everyone to the fields . 12:00- Lunch time. 1:00- Rest time called a “siesta” 3:00- Returned to work. 5:00 –Dinner time. 6:00- Evening prayers. 7:00- Free time. 8:00- Bed time for women. 9:00- Bed time for men
The missionaries where also very busy. Baptized the Native Americans, ran the church, taught mass and payers, planned new lessons, helped repair things and build new items, taught women to make shoes and clothing, and grew food. Missionaries were very important to the mission because their job was to teach the Ohlone their catholic faith.

6. Mission Life Today
Over time many buildings were destroyed by earthquakes and flooding. The original church has crumbled, but there is still a wing that holds some artifacts of the real thing used long ago. Today the mission is used as a museum to attract visitors. At the mission you can learn how to make candles and tule mats. A replacement of the church holds a weekly masses, is available for weddings and funerals.

7. Take A Stand
The mission system all started when word spread that the Russians were trying to take the land from Spanish. Jose de Galvez decided to take charge. He convinced the King of Spain to let him build missions, presidios, and pueblos. Galvez asked Father Serra to help him spread Christianity thought out Alta California. In 1769 Father Serra started out by foot to San Diego Bay. The main goal of the Mission System was to take the Native Americans and change their faith forever. Weather or not the Natives liked they were taken in to the missions and used as slaves. The Mission System ended in 1834 when Spain lost war with Mexico. I believe the mission system was wrong and unfair to the Indians. One reason I think this is Native Americans were exposed to new diseases that they couldn’t fight off. Many Natives were killed by the new sickness the Europeans brought. Their bodies weren’t used to the illness. That’s how many Indians died. Another reason is the Indians were commanded to stay on a tight schedule. They were not aloud to roam freely. At certain times Indians had to wash, cook, make candles, mend, pray, farm, and eat meals. If they didn’t follow the schedule they were punished and chained. Lastly, Native Americans could not go back to their old way of life. Natives could be whipped and chained for days if caught practicing their old traditions. They were forced to learn a Christian way of life. Theses are some of the hard consequences the Indians faced.

8. Bibliography
Anonymous, “I am Morning Dove.”California Studies Weekly. Second Quarter Week 12
Anonymous, “ A ‘Sacred Expedition’ to California .” California Studies Weekly Second Quarter Week 10
Anonymous, “Building the Royal Road: El Camino Real .” California Studies Weekly. Second Quarter Week 11
Ostrow, Kim. Mission Santa Cruz. New York: PowerKids Press, 2000.
California Mission Resource Center
California Mission On-Line Project
California Mission Trail,
A Virtual Tour of the California Mission

9. Mission Santa Cruz