“To discover, understand, and encounter the cultures and intricate nature of California's Indian people, one must search into the past” – Nancy Wahl. Tracing the history of California, Spanish explorers, led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, found the tip of what is now Baja California in the year 1533 and named it "California" after a mythical island in a popular Spanish novel. It is clear that since the Spanish monarchs set foot in California, the world known to Native Americans was never the same again. The late 1700s began and marked the colonization of the Spanish in the “Golden State” which in turn resulted in the massive persecution and extermination of the Native American population, as well as the disappearance of Native heritage and culture. As a result, the recurring desperations and adversities of the Indian population began. Professor Edward D. Castillo states in his article “California Indian History” that the California Indians were the most unfortunate and least understood of all the nation's Native American tribes. . "They were at one time probably the most contented and happy race on the continent, in proportion to their ability to enjoy themselves, and have been more miserably corrupted and destroyed than any other tribe within the union" (Castillo, www.nahc.ca. gov /Californian). They had the largest population and resided in the most pleasant and naturally productive lands but, as we have learned, they were wiped out in a most vile and cruel extermination. Epidemic diseases brought to the state by Spanish settlers and missionaries in the late 1700s and early 1800s proved to be the most powerful and discreet method of defeating the Native American population. The impact of the missionary... at the center of the card... populated state in the nation and is recognized as one of the richest states, Native Americans are still marginalized in a third world existence, becoming the most disadvantaged and miserable minority who lives in California. Works Cited Castillo, Edward D. "Brief Overview of California Indian History." California Native American Heritage Commission. April 12, 2012. Paddison, Joshua. “Native Americans”. University of California Calisphere. April 12, 2012. Viola, Herman. California Studies: Historical Social Sciences, Grade 4. “Californio Lands.” Houghton Mifflin, ©2007. 214-217.Wahl, Nancy "Hodges." “Native Americans time travel…on Hwy 49.” Historic Hwy 49. April 14, 2012.