Highsmith, Carol M., photographer. “Mission Building,” one of four “great eras of California history” murals by Dean Cornwell at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles, California. California, United States, Los Angeles, 2013. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013631651/.
Students will scrutinize this reproduction of Dean Cornwall’s 1932 mural depicting the building of the California missions. The image portrays the various groups of people involved in the creation of a chain of Catholic missions along the California coast between 1769 and 1823. The large painting (40 feet by 40 feet) provides insight into the roles different groups of people played in the building of these historic structures.
The Spanish missions were established by Franciscan priests as colonial settlements to convert the indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples were forced into the settlements, disrupting their way of life and resulting in abuse, malnourishment, and overwork.
Source for Historical content: https://www.britannica.com/place/California-Missions
- What does this painting suggest about the different roles played by priests, Franciscan brothers, and indigenous peoples as the missions were being built?
- What do you notice about the faces and clothing of the indigenous peoples compared with the faces and clothing of the Spanish clergy?
- Who is depicted as doing the hard work in the settlement?
- What do you imagine the indigenous peoples are thinking and feeling? Does this remind you of other examples in history where individuals have been forced to work for the benefit of others?
ELA Standard
Writing Standards 3–5, 10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Social Studies Standard
HSS Standard 4.2: Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
- Have students scrutinize the mural noting the actions of individuals depicted in this portrayal of the California missions. What do a person’s actions reveal about his or her role in a society?
- In small groups invite students to share their observations and make inferences regarding the roles different people played in the establishment and maintenance of the missions. Drawing inferences graphic organizer: https://www.readwritethink.org/sites/default/files/resources/30752_graphic.pdf
- Conduct an Internet search to learn more about a specific California mission (location, architecture, inhabitants, agriculture, etc.). Map of California missions: https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/the-california-missions/
- Have students write an informational paragraph describing what they learned, including specific details about the mission and its people from the mural and from their research.
Highsmith, Carol M., photographer. "Americanization," one of four "great eras of California history" murals by Dean Cornwell at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles, California. United States Los Angeles California, 2013. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013631652/.