Westchester Breezeway Exhibit – Panel 2

The Native Population

The evidence of a Shoreline Economy in the Westchester/Playa area dates back to 7500 B.C., a.k.a. B.C.E. This painting, by local artist Mary Leighton Thomson (1923-2004), depicts the indigenous Tongva population in the wetlands of now Playa del Rey. As hunters of “land, sea and air life,” they actively traded for other items of necessity, with those that would travel to their coastal community. Nee Narcisa Higuera was one of the last fluent Tongvan speakers in our region.