What was daily life like for Native Americans at Mission Santa Cruz? What did they eat? What jobs did they do? An introduction to life at Alta California’s 12th Spanish Mission. Where is Mission Santa Cruz Located? Mission Santa Cruz is located near the northern coast of Monterey Bay, on the west side of the San Lorenzo River. It had probably the smallest population of all of the missions, and eventually was neighbors with the town of Villa de Branciforte, founded by the Spanish government in 1797. Villa de Branciforte was one of the three towns or pueblos established during the Spanish period in California. The others were the pueblos…