In February 1975, construction work on Lee Road in Watsonville desecrated an Ohlone burial site. Bones and artifacts were removed by archeologists from UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College. When initial efforts failed to protect the sacred site, the cemetery was occupied by a group of armed local Native families, activists, and members of the American Indian Movement. John Malkin speaks with Patrick Yana-Hea Orozco, who played a critical role in the direct action at Wounded Lee.

“The Santa Cruz Sheriff heard about us occupying the site and surrounded us.” Orozco told Malkin. “I remember seeing the property that belonged to Patrick Fitz; a mushroom company. They had haystacks piled up and I could see the military setting up grenade launchers. Everyone knew we wouldn’t have a chance. We only had .22 rifles and shotguns. But we wanted to set an example that we were willing to die for what we believe in: the protection of the place where our people were laid to rest. We were surrounded there by police, and Victor Cutnose came down and met with Gary Patton and Ken Boyd and all these county officials."

“My aunt Irene was able to convince the landlord to sell the property to us for $17,500 to avoid bloodshed. So we dropped our arms and walked out. At that time, the thought came to me: ‘I am an Indian, but who am I?’ I wondered, ‘What has happened to our way of life? What happened to our traditional culture, our dances, songs, language?’” Orozco recollects.

Orozco adds, “This happened only two years after the AIM standoff at Wounded Knee in South Dakota, so the police were worried there would be a war. They probably were thinking, ‘You don’t mess around with the American Indian Movement.’ We tried to avoid militant ways. But we were backed up in the corner and we had to do it. And the developer ended up donating the cemetery back to us, with a buffer zone.”

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