Beach Cities Hold Native History

November has celebrated "National American Indian Heritage Month" since 1990, when President George H.W. Bush designated the month.

Now about 5.3 million people in the U.S. identify themselves as American Indian or Alaska natives, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 records, and about 723,225 live in California.

Native Americans called the Hermosa Beach area home before 1784, according to the City of Redondo Beach, but that year, settlers moved into the Beach Cities. In neighboring Redondo around that time, Native American land was turned into Rancho San Pedro. 

Then in 1888, the was built, bringing more traffic to the area as the only transportation system through Hermosa Beach at the time.

The U.S. Census Bureau counted 565 different Indian tribes in the U.S. in 2010. The largest tribal groups were Cherokee (819,105), Navajo (332,129), Choctaw (195,764) and Mexican American Indian (175,494).

Tribes native to the Southern California area are the Chumash, Alliklik, Kitanemuk, Serrano, Gabrielino Luiseno Cahuilla, and the Kumeyaay, according to the California Native American Heritage Commission.