Note: This is a hybrid event! We invite you to join us in-person at the Santa Cruz Elks Lodge, 150 Jewell Street Santa Cruz, 95060, or via Zoom (see below for Zoom registration form)!
Join SCAS for a presentation by Cameron Garcia on: “Rediscovering the Lost Archaeology of Pinnacles National Park, San Benito and California’s Badlands.”
DATE: Thursday, May 7, 2026
TIME: 7:30 – 8:30 PM (Pacific)
ZOOM REGISTRATION FORM: Meeting Registration – Zoom RSVP for Zoom by 6:30 PM on Thursday, May 7, 2026
Southern San Benito County is a part of California that few pay much mind to, outside of visits to Pinnacles National Park or following the old trails of Joaquin Murrieta out towards the Clear Creek Management Area. When compared to California’s central coast, it has earned the reputation for being a “badlands”. Often it is asked, who would have chosen to live there? Before the advent of California’s European colonization, the indigenous peoples of San Benito, the Mutsun and Chalon tribes, lived in the area for several thousand years. It is they who have worked in recent years to establish a more concrete archaeological understanding of their homelands. Asking, “why does this part of the state seem so sparse in terms of archaeological materials and early recorded history?” What is being done to rediscover this lost archaeology? What role can these discoveries play in educating the public, and how can we view our public lands?
Cameron Garcia is a member of the Chalon Indian Council of Bakersfield, is of Ohlone-Esselen descent, and is a recent graduate of California State University, Fresno. During his time at CSU Fresno, he worked in the university’s archaeology lab, helping to catalog Yokuts and Mono cultural materials for repatriation, archiving ethnobotanical data, and assisting with the school’s CalNAGPRA requirements. During the last several years he has also worked on researching the archaeology and ethnobotany of California’s Central Coast. His professional work has included tribal monitoring, project consultation, and the survey of archaeological sites in San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. Currently he is working part time with his tribe, with UC Berkeley, and with the National Park Service to enhance archaeological surveys previously conducted in Pinnacles National Park.
