Photochrom Co. Mission San Antonio. United States California, ca. 1898. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008678178/.
Students begin with a silent visual analysis of the photograph, noting the arched façade, adobe walls, and isolated setting within what is now a military reservation. In pairs, they discuss how this location reflects both spiritual intent and settlement control. Next, they read Linda Hogan’s poem “History,” reflecting on themes of land, memory, and Indigenous erasure. Through discussion and journal writing, students explore how the mission’s imposing architecture and seclusion link to Hogan’s plea to “remember the land,” examining how spaces can simultaneously symbolize sanctity and colonization.
Mission San Antonio de Padua was founded on July 14, 1771, by Father Junípero Serra as the third in California’s mission chain, built on Salinan lands in what is now Jolon, Monterey County. In 1773, the mission fathers and Salinan people relocated the site and constructed California’s first engineered aqueduct—bringing water from the San Antonio River for irrigation, bathing, and laundry—establishing one of the most complete mission-era water systems in California.
Source: https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/mission-san-antonio-de-padua/
- How can a single image of Mission San Antonio de Padua reveal both its spiritual purpose and its role in colonial expansion?
- What details in the photograph (e.g., architecture, setting, composition) communicate ideas of isolation, authority, or sanctity?
- How might the mission’s placement within a military reservation influence our understanding of its historical significance?
- Extension questions
- How might pairing a photograph of a historic site with a poem reshape how we remember or question its legacy?
- In what ways does the visual portrayal of the mission align with or contrast the land-centered imagery in Linda Hogan’s “History”?
ELA Standard
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful.
Social Studies Standard
HSS Standard 11.10.7. Describe the roles of religious institutions in U.S. social and political history.
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
- This lesson explores how Mission San Antonio de Padua, though architecturally serene and secluded, represents both sacred intention and colonial assertion. Students begin with a guided visual analysis of the photo, observing the arched façade, adobe walls, and the mission’s isolated setting within a military reservation. As they analyze, students consider: How do physical places carry stories of spiritual intention and colonial conquest? What messages do the adobe walls and remote siting of the mission send about power and isolation?
- Provide historical context, emphasizing that the mission was founded in 1771 on Salinan land and relocated in 1773 to construct California’s first engineered aqueduct. Discuss how its remote location reflects both missionary seclusion and strategic control over Indigenous lands.
- Students then read Linda Hogan’s poem “History,” annotating for figurative language, especially natural imagery, to consider how Hogan’s poem uses land-based imagery to reclaim stolen landscapes. In small groups, students draw connections between Hogan’s land-centered voice and the mission’s visual presence, noting how each raises questions about memory, loss, and reclamation.
- Bring the class together for a seminar-style discussion that asks: In what ways do poetry and photography work together to raise questions about cultural memory? Students share how built environments and poetic landscapes each communicate intertwined narratives of sanctity and erasure.
- For assessment, students write a reflective essay pairing their observations of the photograph with analysis of Hogan’s poem, explaining how both texts illuminate the tensions between preservation and loss.
- As an extension, students choose a local site—sacred, military, or commercial—photograph it, and compose an original poem or short narrative that uncovers hidden layers of story and memory, reflecting on how form and setting influence who is remembered.
Highsmith, Carol M. Mission San Miguel Arcángel is a Spanish mission in San Miguel, San Luis Obispo County, California. 2012. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013633483/.
Highsmith, Carol M. La Purisima Mission, Lompoc, California. 2012. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013632530/.