Santos Manuel

Paakuma (1814 – October 25, 1919) known by his Spanish-language name Santos Manuel, was the Captain (chief) of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (now known as the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation).

Life Santos Manual was born in a village in the Bear Valley region of the San Bernardino Mountains in the 1810s. An alternative account from a visitor to the reservation in 1896 gave his age as 57, which would make his birth year closer to 1839. The 1900 Census lists his birth year as 1833.

After gold was discovered in Holcomb Valley in the 1860s, an influx of Americans came to the area. American settlers formed militias after the deaths of some settlers, that were not caused by the Yuhaaviatam. However, the settlers did not distinguish between the Native Americans, causing heavy losses to Yuhaaviatam in the thirty-two day campaign. In 1866, Santos Manuel led the remaining members of the clan (fewer than 30) and were forced north to land that was barely arable, or as a newspaper put it in 1903, land that "the white folks had declined."

In about 1882, the tribe moved to its present location in the foothills of San Bernardino. Contemporary accounts often refer it to "Manuel's Village" and "Santa Manuel" On January 12, 1891, the 55th Congress passed "An act for the relief of the Mission Indians in the State of California." President Benjamin Harrison established the San Manuel Reservation in 1891. The reservation originally consisted of 640 acres (one square mile), most of which were foothills. Of those, 13 acres were tillable.

Santos Manuel and his men participated in the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena on January 1, 1902.

An election was held and Tom Manuel (Santos' son) was elected captain in an election held in 1909.

Flat land was purchased for the reservation, but it took until 1910 to get it irrigated with water from the North Fork Canal east of the reservation.

Among the white population of the San Bernardino Valley, Santos Manuel was "well respected by his white neighbors."

About a year before his death, he was taken to Bear Valley by a party of men who were looking to locate some old monuments. Cold weather overtook the party and Santos Manuel became ill, the effects of which lingered until his death.

Santos Manuel died on October 25, 1919, and son Alessandro, born 1876. Son Thomas Manuel was born in 1864 and succeeded Santos Manuel as leader. Chairman Ken Ramirez (great-great-grandson). His great-great grandson, James Ramos is a member of the California Assembly.