Featured
Save Shellmounds (Not Parking Lots)
Shellmounds are ancient structures created by thousands of years of indigenous occupation. Shellmounds are cemeteries, or mortuary complexes. The final resting places of the first people to live in this […]
Latest
First Annual Acorn Harvest Begins
Alameda Native History Project is proud to partner with our awesome and enthusiastic and diverse community for Alameda’s First Annual Acorn Harvest! Acorn season is upon us! The streets are […]
I Found Bones In My Backyard, What Do I do?
You are on Native Land. Alameda is hallowed ground. The site of no less than four “Ancient Indian Burial Mounds.” (We call them Shellmounds now.) The resting place of Ohlone […]
Speak Up for Federal Recognition for Unrecognized Tribes
It’s time the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes the existence of California Tribes. There are a lot of problems with the Tribal Recognition Process administered by the Bureau of Indian […]
Muwekma Ohlone Tribe Marches on California Capitol
August 8, 2024 – Sacramento, California It’s morning at the Muwekma horse camp in West Sacramento, on the other side of the river from the California Capitol Building. Riders are […]
Muwekma Ohlone Tribe Sets Off on Trail of Truth with Chrissy Field Rally, and Golden Gate Bridge March
August 4, 2024 – San Francisco, Calif. Hundreds of supports gather at Chrissy to give the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area a rousing send-off as they […]
Acorn Granary Challenge Produces Storage For 2024 Harvest
What is an Acorn Granary? Acorn Granaries are traditional Native American storage containers used to hold foods like dried berries, rice, squash, and tree nuts…. (In this case: acorns from […]
New Map Shows Pre-1900 Alameda In Exquisite Detail
What did Alameda look like before the Oakland Estuary was dredged out; and Bay Farm, South Shore, and the West End were filled in? Where was the Live Oak Forest? […]
Alameda Shellmounds Web Map v2 Released
Fully updated, featuring new historic wetlands, shorelines, and more. Available exclusively at the Alameda Native History Project. Find it on our website: NativeHistoryProject.org > Maps > Alameda Shellmounds Web Map
Alameda Shellmound Map Re-Released
More 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 […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
Learn more about Our Projects!
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.