Life Story #1: The Grandfather’s Life
The grandfather is of Native American ancestry and a painter/artist by profession. During his early years of life, things were very different back then than the life today. There was no running water and electricity in the household and their family had to extract water from wells and pumps located at least three blocks away from their house. It was dark in the evening because there were no streetlights and only kerosene lamps were put in the dark corners of the house.
The grandfather’s house is built of wood framing and there were two bedrooms, one for the parents and one for the 2 children. It had a wooden front porch to define the house’s entry and where visitors are usually met. There is a small garden ideal for planting vegetables and this is where the family gathers for outdoor activities and where the children do their household/school chores. The grandfather’s house is larger compared to other cramped houses in the neighborhood because his father had a respectable job as an honorary committee member that oversees construction of schools in other native villages.
The house’s front porch and the garden are the main activity area of the entire family. This is where they dine, meet and conduct gatherings whenever they have the time to do so. Because the interior of the house is a little bit dark, home work and other household chores are done in the porch and garden area, apart from cooking in the dirty kitchen inside the house. Since the grandfather is fond of sketching and painting at an early age, this is done in the morning when there is abundant light. The small town had spacious parks where people gather for various town activities and social celebrations. The park, which is located 7 blocks from the house, is within the vicinity of the town center along with the small market, primary school, the tent temples and others important landmarks.
Also, the entire town is surrounded by four gates and high walls. It is decorated with temples and small forts and other historical figures showcasing the rich Native American culture. The park served meaningful purpose for the grandfather’s artistry as he was able to concentrate making sketches and paintings of landmarks and people of the town where there are different activities taking place. Since there was no electricity, he maximizes his time throughout the weekend and after household chores are finished to sketch on wooden boards and papers.
The above-mentioned description are some of the early life activities of the grandfather in his Native American lands together with the family and people of his tribe. During this time, life was simple and easy. The town itself is composed of small number of household living in neighborhood, while the town center is the vital core of the native’s cultural activity and important gatherings. There is not much detail of the urban planning because this is the native land own by the Native Americans. However, as the grandfather recalled, life has changed after the so-called assimilation policies were enacted sometime during the 1950s.
According to the grandfather, the policy required Native Americans to be assimilated with the urban community. They left their native lands and resided in urban lands so they can work and become productive members of the urban community. Since the family already had contacts with larger community outside their native territories, and his father had a decent job, they were able to find a decent and low-cost housing in a downtown Los Angeles subdivision.
At that time, urban development and industrialization is on a boom, and some Native Americans that were able to purchase economic housing in subdivisions as part of the federal policy for Native American urban housing and development. This time, the grandfather is already in his early 20s, and the house that they purchased was a free-standing one with small individual lots, similar to the native house they owned. It is located 10 kilometers off downtown Los Angeles, around 10 to 15 minute-drive. The house also had its own side, front and rear yard, but there is no front porch. The dwelling unit is ideal for single-family and the rear yard has an access to the back side of the main road. The houses in the entire block are similar in design and divided by a perimeter fence. There is also a perimeter access road before one can drive or walk to the main road in order to interiorize neighborhoods and not to interfere with the traffic and driving conditions. Because the division of houses are only perimeter fences, isolation has never became an issue. The grandfather’s family, even if they are Native American in nature, were able to mingle with neighbors and shows the practice of assimilation effectively creating a conducive community for the whole family. This type of housing and urban development has been contributory in terms of bringing in neighborhood together, showing that the planners had been building a community more than just housing.
When the grandfather finished his studies and decided to pursue interests in artworks and paintings, he moved from the family house to a single-type house where he eventually married and had two children. Here, the house is ideal for a single family with entry level income because it only has two bedrooms and a single bath, and the design maximizes efficiency and functionality. It is made of concrete with little wooden design indoors for definition and partition. It also have front porch and side/rear yards. It has a detached tilt-up, one-piece garage doors ideal for household with single car units. It has a minimalist style with flat roofs, post-and-beam structures and floor-to-ceiling windows. This “economy type house,” as the grandfather calls it, served importance during his early adulthood and during the time he was raising a family on his own. This is because the extra space of the side/rear yards is considered as an “open” area than can be expanded once the family of the newly married couple grows in time.
Similar to the house that the grandfather has previously relocated in, the new house he owned mirrored other houses across the block and neighborhood. It created good living and social conditions as well as encourage engagement within the public realm when his wife started to bear their first son. But unlike the relocation house they owned, this new house is just 3 to 4 kilometers away from the city center, approximately 5 minute-drive. Thus, the family is close to urban spaces and city centers like shopping streets, plazas, and city squares. This is necessary since they have easy access to buying day to day necessities, as well as access to the grandfather’s work.
The life of the grandfather showed the evolution from living in their native lands to adjusting and assimilating with the urban life. The ancestral home they had during the early life served cultural and spiritual purpose for the entire family. But because of the need to migrate in the urban areas, they need to leave their homeland to become more productive. The adjustment might have been difficult at first, but being involved in the mainstream society made them more acceptable members of the community and the urban neighborhood they had dwelled in for the past years served meaningful purpose and rich history for the grandfather and his family.
