by the Tongva as te'aats, appeared on the islands around 1,500 BP (500 AD). The boat had become an critical part of Chumash and Tongva culture by 650 AD. Modern history The Nicoleño 200 – 300 (1800, est.) The Nicoleño were an Uto-Aztecan Native American people who lived on San Nicolas Island in California. The population was "left devastated by a massacre in 1811 by sea otter hunters". The group's last surviving member was given the name Juana Maria, and was born before 1811 and died in 1853. Juana Maria, better known to history as the "Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island" (her native name is unknown), lived alone on San Nicolas Island from 1835 until her removal from the island in 1853, when men discovered her inside a hut made of whalebones and brush. Juana Maria's fondness for green corn, vegetables, and fresh fruit caused severe attacks of dysentery. In her weakness, she fell from Nidever's porch and injured her spine. On Oct. 18, 1853, only seven weeks after arriving on the mainland, she died of dysentery in Garey, California at age 43. Before she died, Father Sanchez baptized and christened her with the Spanish name Juana Maria. She was buried in an unmarked grave on the Nidever family plot at the Santa Barbara Mission cemetery. Aleut hunters visited the islands to hunt otters in the early 1800s. The Aleuts purportedly clashed with the native Chumash, killing many over trading disputes. Aleut interactions with the natives were detailed in Scott O'Dell's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins which described the indigenous peoples living on the island. The Chumash and Tongva were removed from the islands in the early 19th century and taken to Spanish missions and pueblos on the adjacent mainland. For a century, the Channel Islands were used primarily for ranching and fishing activities. Several of the islands were used by whalers in the 1930s to hunt for sperm whales. This had significant impacts on island ecosystems, including the local extinction of sea otters, bald eagles, and other species. For example, decline in the local otter population led to population growth of their prey, the black abalone. As a result, the Channel Islands became an important stop in the 1850s for Chinese-American fishermen who harvested the abalone and exported them to Hong Kong. As most of the Channel Islands are managed by federal agencies or conservation groups, the