Historical Society granted custodianship of “Indian Joe” grave marker

DOWNEY – The Downey Historical Society will take over custodianship of the original wooden grave marker belonging to “Indian Joe” after the Downey Cemetery District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the request Tuesday.

The board voted 3-0 to authorize the transfer, with Chair Mario Guerra, Vice Chair Brian Heyman, and Trustee Eric Pierce all voting in favor.

The historic artifact once marked the gravesite of Jose “Indian Joe,” a member of the Cahuilla tribe who lived in Downey for more than 20 years. According to a district memo, Indian Joe died Nov. 22, 1895, and was buried two days later. Born in San Gabriel, he spent many of his years locally living in a tule hut near what was then Gallatin School.

The Historical Society requested custodianship in a letter dated Sept. 17, citing concerns about the headstone’s vulnerability to weathering, insects, and age-related deterioration.

The headstone is a replica of the original and was recently discovered in a Downey Public Works yard.

The organization plans to preserve and display the marker inside the Downey History Center and Museum at Apollo Park, ensuring public access while improving long-term protection.

“Indian Joe was a prominent and highly regarded figure in Downey history,” the letter stated. “Our goal is not to remove the headstone from public view, but rather to provide it with a secure and dignified home where future generations may continue to learn from and honor its story.”

Under the agreement, the Cemetery District retains ownership of the artifact, while the Historical Society will serve as its custodian and steward.

“There are many stories about Indian Joe and I’m happy that the Downey Historical Society brought it to attention about the additional tombstone,” Guerra said. “I believe they are the best custodians of this history as they have been for so many other artifacts.

“Our Downey Cemetery has so many familiar historical names buried here, along with over 350 veterans, and Indian Joe has always been a special resident. Many in Downey do not know our history and I encourage them to visit our Historical Society which is located at Apollo Park.”

District staff previously recommended approval, noting that museum placement would help preserve the piece and elevate its historical context.

Who was Indian Joe?

Jose, a Native American dubbed “Indian Joe” by Downey pioneers, was a unique and memorable part of the Downey community until his death in 1895.

Until recently, secondary sources such as newspaper clippings, pioneer reminiscences, one photograph containing Indian Joe and a snapshot of his original grave marker at Downey Cemetery were the sole proof of Joe’s existence.

Jose was of the Cahuilla band, though his grave marker spells it “Kaweah.” Cahuillas lived in the deserts, mountains and passes now part of Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Imperial counties. Today’s Morongo Indian Reservation, near Cabazon and Banning, is home to the Malki Museum where Cahuilla culture is preserved and studied.

In the early 19th century, many Cahuillas may have come under the influence of the missions at San Bernardino, San Luis Rey or Pala. Numbers of them learned Spanish, joined the Roman Catholic Church and became skilled laborers in a variety of mission occupations such as tanning, boot making, cooking, etc. Others lived in their own villages and supported mission economy as day laborers - only so long as it did not interfere with their native activities and ceremonials.

When the missions were secularized in the 1830s, many of the church holdings were divided into ranches and granted to settlers of Spanish and Mexican descent. Some Cahuillas who had depended upon the numerous mission tasks for their livelihood migrated into the San Gabriel/Los Nietos Valley and other parts of today’s Los Angeles County and city, where they became important workers in the local agricultural economy, particularly vineyards. Their own industriousness were later romanticized in California literature and architecture.

Indian Joe’s parents are thought to have been among the Cahuillas who located in the San Gabriel Mission area. In the 1880s, Jose told pioneer Downey farmer James Bangle that he was born in San Gabriel and that the priest would not allow him to marry because he would not join the church. (This is according to Easter Bangle Morrison’s unpublished 1930 manuscript on Downey history, which is considered to be remarkably accurate.)

Indian Joe “appeared in our settlement with the first houses,” wrote Easter Morrison, placing Jose in our midst sometime between when the first land deed from John Downey to Joseph Burke was recorded (1865), when the villages of Gallatin and College Settlement were formed (late 1860s), and when today’s downtown was first mapped (1873).

Because of the Morrison manuscript, we can be fairly certain that federal census taker and Downey constable Benjamin W. Tarwater meant our Indian Joe when he listed one lone Indian in the Los Nietos Township, Silver Road District on June 11, 1880: “Jose, age 40, single, occupation: does nothing, unemployed 12 months a year, born California, parents born California.”

On the day Jose was officially counted, he was in the southeastern part of town near today’s Downey Cemetery. The area around the cemetery would be a weedy corner on someone’s farm, with upright wooden boards as markers and not much else.

The Downey Historical Society contributed to this article.