Elena's Native Background

I will have to read everything I can find about the Ohlone tribal history. My main character, Elena (also known as Ellyn) was born to an Ohlone mother in Santa Cruz around 1830. Her father was Spanish.

This site gives a lot of detailed background information on the ancient Ohlone culture. It states the tribe that was originally known as Ohlone was in the area of what is now Pescadero. Other Bay Area tribes became known as Ohlone too though its not stated what all the original names were.

This works well for my novel, however, as Elena's Ohlone family was working at the Mission in Santa Cruz, just south of Pescadero. They'd been forced to relocate there some time after the building of the mission in Santa Cruz.

As a cross-cultural child she does not fit in anywhere, but finds a charming friend of similar background who unfortunately exploits and destroys her over the course of many years. The novel starts when she escapes from his domination.