Mutsun

The Mutsun were among the Indigenous peoples of the valleys inland from Monterey Bay. Their villages lay in a country of hills and streams, including the area around the Pajaro River and the valley of San Juan Bautista. Bedrock mortars at village sites bear witness to the preparation of plant foods. In 1797 Spanish Franciscans began building Mission San Juan Bautista in Mutsun territory; people from surrounding villages were drawn into a mission system that changed their lives and access to their lands.