Alameda Native History Project releases a new Alameda Shellmound Map Model to show the capability of Augmented Reality, when it comes to virtual classrooms, and independent & remote learning. And to showcase the direction of education, and uses for technology, as we progress further into the 21st Century.
This map is appropriate for use in a K-12 setting; and represents the Alameda Shellmounds, as seen by N.C. Nelson. [“Shellmounds of the San Francisco Bay Region”, Nelson, 1909] This map model was created by Gabriel Duncan, and it was stylized using Adobe Aero.
Alameda Native History Project is not sponsored by, or receiving money from Adobe. This is not a paid product placement. This is an example of how to use the tools already available to you, for free, to make really cool stuff for your class or presentations.
For more information about this model, or how to get a copy, email the Alameda Native History Project.
“Alameda Museum: / If you won’t share our history, give our artifacts back / Celebrate the First Alamedans just / as much as your Colonizer Heroes. / Alameda’s Racist History” Title art for @AlamedaNativeHistoryProject on Instagram.com.
Alameda is a model colonial city. Their Victorian houses, and expansive gardens have been written about for hundreds of years. Regular Alameda Garden Tours, and Alameda Legacy Home Tours extoll the virtues of Alameda’s First Colonizers.
These historical celebrations routinely leave out facts, such as,
“This garden was fertilized by using human remains found in one of Alameda’s three shellmounds.”
Or,
“This sidewalk was constructed using one of the over 350 Native American bodies found in the ‘Sather’s Mound’.”
The Alameda Museum is exclusively devoted to commemorating and memorializing Alameda’s White History, while simultaneously ignoring and minimizing the existence and contributions of people of color; and the atrocities committed by those who are purported to be such heroic goliaths of Alameda History, today.
This is all done in the shadows of people like Rasheed Shabazz, someone who had to trace his own Alameda Legacy to bring us Black Alameda History, which was never touched upon, or even considered by an all-white museum staff, and curation team. [
Sure, the Alameda Museum invites us to search their archives. But the word “search” belies the onerous nature of digging through files and card catalogs which aren’t actually indexed or organized in any useful way.
People always offer us the chance to do their work for them, like it’s a favor to us.
But let’s be clear: an archive that isn’t indexed or organized is trash.
The real issue here, is that the Alameda Museum has existed for so long without ever: (a) indexing their holdings; (b) focusing on anything other than Alameda’s White History; or (c) ever asking for permission to possess the Native American Funerary Objects, and Grave Goods in their possession….
The issue of Alameda Museum’s possession of Native American Grave Goods and Funerary Objects is especially salient considering their absolute lack of respectful handling of the Historical Events Surrounding the Sather’s Mound, and the Destruction and Morbid Uses for Alameda’s Shellmounds.
Simply put;
Alameda Museum, if you’re not going to engage the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, ask for permission to possess their artifacts, and present respectful, and responsible, information regarding the First Alamedans: then you don’t deserve to possess their artifacts.
“You Don’t Know Jack About Native America / Stop giving money to organizations and ’causes’ you know nothing about. / Research your Land Acknowledgment before you profess it.” Title art for @AlamedaNativeHistoryProject on Instagram.com.
Stop giving money to organizations and “causes” you know nothing about.
Non-profit organizations cannot be tribal governments. (The exercise of Tribal Sovereignty is not a charitable purpose.)
Organizations, like Sogorea Te “Land Trust” claim to be devoted to returning native land to native hands….
But which tribes are these organizations actually associated with?
Real Tribal Governments:
Will be able to break down their history with facts, and evidence;
Are recognized in Treaty–even if the government won’t recognize their own treaties. (And they have a documented reason for why they are not mentioned in Treaties. [e.g. Tribal Warfare, Government Favoritism of One Tribe Over Another, etc.])
Hold elections.
The last point is super important. You can’t call yourself a Tribal Chairperson if there was never a vote. And, especially, if your Tribal Government is really just a corporation.
If the “Tribal Government” you’re working with has never petitioned for Federal Recognition from the Department of the Interior; that’s a red flag.
If the California Tribal Government you’re working with claims to be a California “State-Recognized Tribe“; that’s blatantly false.
California does not have a Tribal Recognition Process.
The California Native American Heritage Commission does not have the authority to recognize tribes. Only the Bureau of Indian Affairs can do that. [Absent certification as a Tribe by the BIA, no action to protect tribal lands may be maintained, United States v. 43.47 Acres of Land, 855 F. Supp. 549, 551 (D. Conn. 1994)]
Research your Land Acknowledgment before you profess it.
Tribal Groups of the San Francisco Bay Region. Compiled and Plotted by Gabriel Duncan, for the Alameda Native History Project. Version 2.1.5.8.21
“Tribal land claims are complex, and overlapping.”
You’ve probably heard that before.
While one group may be the most vocal about claiming their ancestral land, rest assured, there are other groups who claim that exact same place.
While it’s true Indigenous People shared many spaces with each other for a plethora of reasons, including mutual survival, the actual “Tribes” in the San Francisco Bay Area were formed thousands of years ago.
In spite of the fact that the California Native American Heritage Commission recognized corporations as Tribes, it’s important for you to recognize the difference between a corporation and a Tribe.
This is especially important Today; when seeking out indigenous people and tribes to consult with on various projects like land acknowledgements, cultural easements, land back, or deciding whether or not to pay into a “land tax” scheme.
Indigenous People/Native Americans/First People can all do something that the Bureau of Indian Affairs refers to as “Establishing Indian Ancestry”.
Proving our Ancestry, or Blood Quantum, is a common challenge Native Americans face. It may not be right, but it’s the reason we know who our nearest Full Blooded Relative is.
Blood Quantum is an ugly, racist concept. [A tribe is made of family. That’s how tribes work.]
But it’s how we separate the Elizabeth Hoovers and Ward Churchills from actual Indigenous People.
“Who’s your grandmother?” Is one of the most common questions you get asked when you talk about the rez. We keep track of who is who. It’s not hard, because it’s such a small world. But, even if we aren’t close, we’re still native; and we still look out for each other.
It’s appropriate to ask someone basic questions about their tribe, such as:
What is the name of your tribe?
Where is your tribe from?
Who is your Tribal Chairperson?
Are you enrolled in your tribe?
If they are a Tribal Chairperson, it’s okay to ask them how long their term is, and when the next elections will be held.
It’s true that the Native American Heritage Commission is the agency in California which determines the proper Tribes To Consult for NAGPRA and Planning Purposes.
But, the Native American Heritage Commission does not seem to vet the lists, judging by how many corporations are considered not only Tribes, but the “Most Likely Descendant” to Native American Burial Grounds and Cultural Resources.
Corporations cannot be Tribal Governments because the exercise of sovereign powers is not a charitable purpose. Sovereign powers include the right to repatriation of remains, as declared in the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights, article 12.
