Curator, Old Mission Dolores, San Francisco

 Converting California: Indians and Missionaries

 

 

 

Historian Andrew A. Galvan is a descendant of the Ohlone, Bay Miwok, Plains Miwok and Patwin Indians whose ancestral lands comprise the greater San Francisco Bay Region. His great-great-great-great grandfather’s baptismal entry was recently found in the Registers of Mission Dolores, dated November 1794.

Andrew Galvan’s focus is on developing ways to preserve information about Native American history, giving today’s Ohlone people the opportunity to know more about their ancestors.  He views archaeology and physical anthropology as a way of retrieving some of what his people have lost.  Galvan and business partner archaeologist Richard E. Thompson formed their own Cultural Resource Firm to carry out archaeological investigations. 

Galvan has served as a Native American Indian Consultant and Monitor at prehistoric archaeological sites in the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara. His opinion about archeological concerns and Native American policies is often sought by agencies such as the National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the East Bay Regional Park District, and the City of Fremont.

Galvan frequently gives talks about the California Indians and the Alta California Missions, blending academic material and the traditional story-telling techniques he learned from his father.

Andrew Galvan earned his B.A. in History from the California State University at Hayward. He makes his home in Mission San Jose, California.