It is very important that the site’s interpretation clearly acknowledges that Rancho Los Cerritos stands on the ancestral homeland of the Gabrielino/Tongva people. Rather than portraying Indigenous peoples as existing only in the distant past, it emphasizes the Tongva are the “past, present and future caretakers” of the region. This is significant because many historic sites erase Native communities by presenting them as extinct from the modern world. During the in person tour, the guides also recognize the Tongva village of Tevaaxa’nga and explain how the Togva sustained themselves through fishing, gathering, and hunting before colonization. This gives the audience an idea of how Indigenous societies were organized, sustainable, and deeply connected to the land long before Spanish settlement.