Acjachemen
The Acjachemen (/ɑːˈxɑːtʃəməm/, alternate spelling: Acagchemem) are an Indigenous people of California. Published maps often identify their ancestral lands as extending from the beach to the mountains, south from what is now known as Aliso Creek in Orange County to the Las Pulgas Canyon in the northwestern part of San Diego County. However, sources also show that Acjachemen people shared sites with other indigenous nations as far north as Puvunga in contemporary Long Beach.
José de Grácia Cruz, an Acjachemen craftsman and bell ringer at Mission San Juan Capistrano, photo taken ca. June 1909. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| about 1,900 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States (California) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Spanish, formerly Juaneño | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous religion, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Payómkawichum (Luiseño), Tongva (Gabrieleño) |
The Spanish colonizers called the Acjachemen Juaneños, following their baptism at Mission San Juan Capistrano in the late 18th century. Today, many contemporary members of organizations for Acjachemen descendants prefer the term Acjachemen as their autonym, or name for themselves. The name is derived from the village of Acjacheme, which was less than 60 yards from the site where Mission San Juan Capistrano was built in 1776.
Acjachemen, as a language, does not have any fluent speakers. Acjachemen scholars understand it to be closely related to the Luiseño language of the nearby Payómkawichum (Luiseño) people. Luiseño has fluent speakers.