About Us

Over generations, Ortega’s descendants became woven into the fabric of California’s Indigenous world, marrying into families from Alta California, Baja California, and Sonora. There lineage connects directly to the Ipi Tipai, Kumeyaay, Cahuilla, Tongva, Tataviam, Chumash, Karuk, Salinan, and Ohlone peoples—nations whose presence on this land stretches back thousands of years. These are the original Californians, the first stewards of this land. Through these unions, we became known as the Indigenous Nobles of California—one of the original founding families of Santa Barbara. But nobility was never about titles or status. It was about survival. It was about holding on to each other through the darkness of history. By the late 1700s, the missions were built with the labor of our ancestors they called us neophytes ( A minor of the State) Indians were not allowed to own property of land until 1850 and were forced to live in the Missions, sometimes under the command of a relative who may have married a solder or a Spanish Don/Mexican citizen to become a Citizen of Reason- In 1794, due to his leadership in the founding of Santa Barbara and his recognized moral virtue, José Francisco Ortega was awarded Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio by the Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown. This vast land grant spanned thousands of acres across present-day Santa Barbara County, extending from Santa Barbara along the Gaviota Coast to Point Conception and into the foothills of the surrounding mountains. Upon Ortega’s passing in 1798, his sons, José Antonio María Ortega and José Vicente Ortega, continued managing the family rancho. When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, the Ortega family retained formal ownership of Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio under Mexican rule. However, the landscape of land ownership shifted following the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ceded northern Mexican territories to the United States, clauses were included to recognize the existing property rights of Mexican citizens within those lands. As a result, the Ortega family’s ownership of the 26,529-acre Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio was reaffirmed. In 1853, Antonio María Ortega, a third-generation descendant of José Francisco Ortega, along with his aunt, Magdalena Cota, received a legal patent from the U.S. government, securing the land as their rightful inheritance. This grant was designated to be passed down to their heirs and assigns in perpetuity, solidifying the Ortega family’s legacy and landholding. By the early 19th century, the Ortega family of Nuestra Señora del Refugio had established a monarchy through intermarriages and regional ceremonial participation. This land was owned by the mission Santa Barbara and was to be left alone for the self determination of the indigenous families. We were one of the original 5 families from the Zonja Cota Reservation. 100 years before the land was held in trust by the Federal Government and the establishment of the Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indian Reservation. The complex histories of the three waves of colonization in California––Spanish, Mexican, and American––made it difficult to maintain our Chumash way of life, but our ancestors were resilient people who left us a fierce historical legacy. Through the recuperation of our cultural practices, our ancestral lands, and our traditional kinship systems. Like many Indigenous families, our history carries profound loss—land dispossession, the erasure of our ancestors’ contributions, and the ongoing invisibility of our culture. Despite these hardships, the strength and resilience of our ancestors guide us, offering a vision of hope that we pass on to future generations. The enduring spirit of our ancestors remains strong, and through our efforts, we strive to empower future generations with their legacy of resilience and wisdom.