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Latest Articles
- Alameda Shellmounds Web MapFully updated, featuring new historic wetlands, shorelines, and more. Available exclusively at the Alameda Native History Project. Find it on our website: NativeHistoryProject.org > Shellmounds > Alameda Shellmounds Web Map
- Alameda Shellmound Map Re-ReleasedMore detailed Alameda historical ecology. All four Alameda Shellmounds. Featuring Alameda’s Ancient Live Oak Forest, Historic Shoreline, and Bay Area Historic Wetlands layers. All juxtaposed against the modern day landscape… Read more: Alameda Shellmound Map Re-Released
- July 2024 Acorn Granary ChallengeFree First Session Kicks Off Sunday July 7th; and Lasts All Month! Come join the Alameda Native History Project, as we build granaries for the First Annual Acorn Harvest! The… Read more: July 2024 Acorn Granary Challenge
- Indigenous Land Lab UpdateThis is an excerpt of an email to the Indigenous Land Lab mailing list. Updates: Priorities: Collecting as much materials for Acorn Granary construction as possible. What do we need?… Read more: Indigenous Land Lab Update
- Gay American Indians To March In SF Pride Parade To Celebrate 49 Years of Indigenous ResistanceIt’s official, the first and oldest Two-Spirit Society in the Nation, the Gay American Indians, will be appearing as their own contingent in the San Francisco Pride Parade to celebrate… Read more: Gay American Indians To March In SF Pride Parade To Celebrate 49 Years of Indigenous Resistance
Features
- Indigenous Land Lab BeginsThis is less a news event, than this is a prayer for healing, learning, and success. I’m humbled and ecstatic to say the Indigenous Land Lab is happening. The plan,… Read more: Indigenous Land Lab Begins
- BART Decolonized: Travel the Indigenous BayIt’s The Bay The Indigenous Bay, that is. Alameda Native History Project has remixed the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System Map to show: Travel the Indigenous Bay… Read more: BART Decolonized: Travel the Indigenous Bay
- Sogorea Te Land Trust is Not an Ohlone OrganizationWhen you read articles like: “Controversial Berkeley shellmound burial site to be returned to Ohlone“ “Berkeley buys Ohlone shellmound, returns it to Indigenous people“ “City aims to ‘right a historic… Read more: Sogorea Te Land Trust is Not an Ohlone Organization
- 2024-2025 Cultural & Education Programming Announced!The Alameda Native History Project is proud to announce their Cultural & Educational Program Offerings for 2024-2025!
- New Map: Historic Alameda EcologyA Never-Before-Seen Map of Alameda’s Indigenous History Can you imagine elk running down Park Street? Cotton Tail Rabbits hopping among giant Live Oak trees on Grand? Gathering blackberries at Chochenyo… Read more: New Map: Historic Alameda Ecology
Mission & Methods
Decolonizing History
For more than 100 years, we have been purposefully separated from our family, language, and culture.
The process of repatriation isn’t limited to Native American Graves and Burials; it also includes reclaiming the Indigenous Knowledge kept from us by institutional gatekeepers, and refusal to acknowledge our very indigeneity.
![Native American boy holding a slip of paper in the card catalog section of a library.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1024,h_1024/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/card-file-001.png)
The sovereign rights of tribal nations includes Data Sovereignty, the Academic Right to Be Forgotten, and the Unrestricted & Unequivocal Right of Access.
Decolonizing History is a multi-faceted effort which must rely on the intergenerational integration of Indigenous Knowledge, Culture, and Data to preserve our history, and identity for the Next Generation of Indigenous Leaders.
COMMUNITY
Cultural preservation.
![Portrait of indigenous elder standing on city street wearing traditional regalia and headdress.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1080,h_1920/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Elder-left.png)
1. The oral histories and tribal cultural legacies of where we come from, and who are, live within our elders. Part of Decolonizing History means honoring the roles that our elders played in our lives, and the lives of our families, tribal group, and communities. Many of our elders are veterans of foreign wars, as well as the struggle of Indigenous Liberation-which includes the take over of Alcatraz, as well as Standing Rock (DAPL) protests.
Spanning the generational gap between Elders and Youth to overcome historical trauma and reconnect the continuum of culture; and address youth and elder loneliness, through community spaces and collaborative projects.
2. Elder field trips and on-site listening sessions tie together historical, and legendary, events to the real-world places those events occurred.
![Indigenous man in urban alley mugging for the camera.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1080,h_1920/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/young-man-right3.png)
EDUCATION
Next-gen integrations.
Using modern technology to leverage awesome new ways of educating youth about the indigenous, pre-contact history of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Presenting California History, and Native American History in a way which has never been done before; from an indigenous perspective, inclusive of indigenous voices and lived experiences.
For too long, our stories and knowledge have been overlooked as simple superstitions and useless information only of interest to die-hard outdoors people and survivalists.
![earthen mound rising above the waters of the san francisco bay area. example of a shellmound.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_574,h_1024/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/newspaper-deer-2-574x1024.png)
![indigenous beach camp on the california coast.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1080,h_1920/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/wikiups-on-the-coast.png)
Indigenous knowledge is valid; and our legends and creation stories are just as amazing and noteworthy as Western and Eastern Theologies such as the Greek & Roman, and Egyptian, pantheons.
Except: Native American culture and beliefs are far more relevant to California and San Francisco Bay Area history. Which is why they should be taught in schools just like everything else. Why are we spending time learning about Mt. Olympus when we should be learning about how Tuyshtak [“Mount Diablo”] was made. We should be learning about how a legendary warrior came down from Tuyshtak and “routed” a bunch of conquistadors on the Concord side of the mountain. Or how the hills and bay were formed around this place we call the “San Francisco Bay Area”.
![boy wearing backpack stands looking at small teepee village in an abandoned lot on the outskirts of San Francisco](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1080,h_566/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/indigenous-imagination-text.png)
We believe in sparking creativity and challenging the status quo by providing new ways to preserve and share history; providing access to equipment and training which enables tribes to produce and store their own sovereign data and archives.
![East Bay Tribal Groups map. Showing tribal village names around the East Bay. Has sticky note that let's the East Bay Regional Park District know the map is fixed and](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1024,h_1024/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/fixed-EBRPD-map-1024x1024.png)
ADVOCACY
Accuracy matters.
Creating and using accurate data to adequately, unambiguously identify Tribal Cultural Resources, Sacred Sites, Native American Cemeteries, and other Tribally Significant Locations, is key to advocating for their protection.
![underground storage contamination map where proposed park in Alameda would be.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_150,h_150/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/alameda-proposed-park-brownfields_fixed-150x150.png)
![alameda shellmound map. alameda is muwekma ohlone terrritory.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_150,h_150/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Shellmounds-of-Huchiun-showing-Alameda-150x150.jpg)
![map of the tribal groups of california.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_150,h_150/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CA-Native-Territories-of-California-Map-for-Martinez-11x17-004-150x150.jpg)
![san francisco bay area shellmound map. updated.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_150,h_150/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ARCH-C-Bay-Area-Shellmounds-Combined-Layers-150x150.jpg)
![map of east bay brownfield toxic cleanup sites and hazards. environmental justice.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_150,h_150/https://nativehistoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/golden-gate-san-pablo-bay-map-002-150x150.jpg)