Shell mounds are ancient burial sites.
Shellmounds — What Are Shellmounds?
Shellmounds have been formed over thousands of years of continuous use by the indigenous people of the “San Francisco Bay Area”.
Bay Area Tribal Groups Include (in alphabetical order): Karkin, Bay Miwok, Coast Miwok, Plains Miwok, Ohlone, Patwin, Pomo, Wintu, Delta Yokut.
Shellmounds support the ecosystems they reside in.
- Shellmounds are a part of the natural environment.
- Shellmounds are not parking lots!
Aside from the spiritual impact of shellmounds to their surrounding areas:
Shellmounds today provide habitat for plants and wildlife where that habitat is endangered and under constant threat of development.
You can help protect these sacred burial sites by advocating for their conservation, and return.
Supporting land trusts and land back through “rematriation” seems like a wonderful idea…
However:
→ Fundraising campaigns like, “Shuumi Land Tax”, don’t actually benefit any Ohlone Tribe.
→ Fundraising campaigns, like “Shuumi Land Tax”, take away from the real cause of Ohlone Tribal Recognition, Ohlone Tribal Sovereignty, Ohlone Ancestral Land Back, and the Repatriation of Human Remains to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ohlone people deserve respect and deference.
When you give your land acknowledgment–or your money… do your research first.
Don’t confuse non-profit corporations with actual tribes.
What’s at stake…
- Real shellmounds.
- The bodies of thousands of Indigenous People.
- Bay Area Waterways, and Resources for local and migratory wildlife.
- Millions of acres of sensitive habitats and traditional tribal resources.
Save Shellmounds.
Save the environment. Protect natural resources. Restore native ecosystems.
Not Parking Lots.
Resist the urge to choose easy fixes. Giving money does not absolve the sins of colonization. Promote reparative processes with concrete attainable goals.