Special In-Person Tours of Kuruvungna Springs Cultural Center & Museum

We are sorry, but both tours have sold out.

The Conservancy is honored to offer a special on-site tour of Kuruvungna Springs and Cultural Center with Gabrielino/Tongva leaders Bob Ramirez, President of the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation, and Angie Behrns, Founding President of the Foundation.

As president of the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation, Ramirez is leading the current efforts to restore the native ecology of the Tongva people and to educate the public about their history and cultural heritage. Behrns is the founding president of the Kuruvunga Springs Foundation and tribal elder of the Gabrieleno-Tongva Tribal Council. In the 1990s, she led the campaign to preserve and protect the springs and began the cleanup and restoration of the site.

Kuruvungna, which means “place where we are in the sun,” is located around the site of ancient springs that provided fresh water for the thriving village and later, inspired the naming of Santa Monica and served as an early source of its water supply. The springs are pictured in the history mural at Santa Monica City Hall which is the subject of the City’s current Reframe initiative.

Today, the springs exist on the eastern edge of the University High School campus in West Los Angeles. The still-flowing waters feed a restored lush setting with native plants, wildlife and a traditional thatched kiiy. The site has been saved from intrusive development and revitalized by descendants of the Tongva people, who lived there until they were forcibly relocated to the Mission San Gabriel by Spanish colonists in the late 1700s. Kuruvungna Springs is a testament to the Tongva’s spirit of survival, harmony with nature and continued relevance to the region. Click here to visit the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation’s official website.

The in-person tour of Kuruvungan Village Springs is $15 for Conservancy members, as well as for teachers and students, and $20 for the general public. All proceeds will be donated to the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation. The 10 a.m. tour is fully booked but there are a few spots left on the 11 a.m. tour.

Click here to register.

About our hosts…

Bob Ramirez is the president of the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, and CEO of Ramirez Design Inc., developing custom homes and gardens in our local community. He is currently engaged in creating the Memorial Gardens at the Mission San Gabriel in honor of the original inhabitants of California. Passion for the art of building and love of adventure inspired Ramirez to explore the world as a young man, leading to a multi-year circumnavigation of the globe.

Angie Dorame Behrns was born and raised in West Los Angeles. She is a Gabrielino/Tongva Indian and is Federally registered with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She has documented her paternal genealogy from the early 1800’s in Los Angeles. Mrs. Behrns is a founder and former president of the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation which is currently seeking to revitalize the Sacred Springs at University High School which was once the sight of a thriving Tongva Indian village. Her poetry has been the cornerstone for a documentary video on the Santa Monica Mountains.