New Tonarigumi: Alameda Historic Japantown Markers
Alameda Historic Japantown Plaque and Marker at the Buddhist Temple of Alameda (2325 Pacific Ave, Alameda, CA 94501)
First picture at the Alameda Buddhist Temple; second picture at the Alameda Marketplace.
Alameda Historic Japantown Plaque and Marker at Alameda Marketplace (1650 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501)
These historical markers and plaques are dedicated to the Japanese, and Japanese-American, residents of the City of Alameda, who endured dispossession, displacement, and internment, during World War 2…. Only after enduring the intense racism and discrimination of White Alameda for decades before.
Note: I cannot share the images, or words used in Historic Alameda Newspapers to show you how strong White Alameda’s racist and hateful vitriol of Japanese (and Chinese) immigrants was; because these images and words are so offending as to be considered harmful material still to this day.
But it’s fair to say that non-white immigrants were never welcomed here, in the City of Alameda–nor were these immigrants ever allowed peace, quiet enjoyment, or credit for the awesome contributions they made to the development and advancement of the City we see today.
We can never forget the injustices the American government has imposed upon every single non-white group of people to ever exist within this country.
While white people love to point out that a very small group of them came forward to protect Japanese land and property from seizure and destruction, it’s the majority of white Americans who wholeheartedly supported the separation and internment of Japanese and Japanese-American people.
So, when we start having a real conversation about land back and honoring the Ohlone people of this place, I want you to include all Ohlone people and not just Sogorea Te Land Trust, and Corrina Gould—organizations which demonstrably only account for a very small fraction of the total Ohlone population living today.
It’s a shame that the Alameda Museum had no part in this project, at all.
But I want to congratulate the City of Alameda, and Downtown Alameda Business Association, for actually including the voices, perspectives, and participation of the the Japanese-Americans who were actually affected by these racists policies and laws.
As we continue forward in healing from the injustices and injuries of America’s racist past, the participation of those people who were actually affected by these shameful periods should be critical, tantamount, and–indeed–inextricable from the memorials, contrition, and reparations still to come.
Map of Alameda Japanese American Businesses of 1940. Map credit to JapantownAtlas.com.
On Monday, Amy Wooldridge (Director of Alameda Parks & Recreation Department) replied to our open letter concerning the possibility of Sogorea Te Land Trust being given a portion of Linear Park, in Alameda–at the corner of Main Street and Singleton Avenue.
In our preliminary email, asking whether or not this was true, Wooldridge told us: “The Recreation and Parks Department is working with the Sogorea Té Land Trust and Confederated Villages of Lisjan to develop an agreement regarding a section of tule plants in the Main Street Linear Park between Singleton and Stargell streets…. Sogorea Té Land Trust will take responsibility for maintenance of this area which includes removing weeds and invasive plants…. They will also then have the opportunity to cultivate the tule plants that they use for ceremonial dress, boats, roofing, and baskets.”
Our primary objections were two-fold:
The Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, Inc. is not a tribal government; the City of Alameda is Muwekma Ohlone Territory.
Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC.
Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area
Less than 5 years old.
Documented existence before 1890. (aka “Time Immemorial”)
Represents 1 family.
Thousands of enrolled tribal members.
Corporation
Federally Recognized as a Tribal Nation*
*The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area is currently fighting to restore their Federal Recognition as a Tribe. Find out how you can help.
The site proposed for management by Sogorea Te Land Trust has been subject to soil and groundwater pollution which was never properly cleaned.
2 x 6,000 gallon gasoline tanks removed in
1 x 550 waste oil tank.
These tanks were leaking gasoline and waste oil into the soil at Main Street, and Singleton Avenue, specifically.
Contaminated soil around tanks were used to back-fill holes made from tank removal.
Contaminated groundwater sprayed on contaminated soil for dust suppression during the entire project.
Existence of Toxic Marsh Crust 4-18 below ground surface.
Water table at 3 feet BGS, drainage ditch at least 4 feet deep.
2021 Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment report finds Benzene, Naphthalene, and other contaminants in ground water at one of the 26 underground storage tanks within 1,000 feet of proposed land management area.
Specific guidance from Alameda County Healthcare Services requiring review of sufficiency of corrective actions before Land Use may be changed.
It was our impression that the City of Alameda had reached out to Sogorea Te Land Trust in another performative display of “restorative justice” to give indigenous people [toxic] land back.
We found out that this was not the case. Sogorea Te Land Trust was not being given land by the City of Alameda.
“This was simply intended as a short, one-year maintenance agreement that also included and allowed for the Sogorea Te Land Trust to cultivate the plants for non-edible purposes.” Amy Wooldridge told us; adding, “They had reached out to me directly with this interest and since this park is in need of more maintenance, it seemed like a good fit.”
However, after being told about the dubious nature of Sogorea Te Land Trust’s intentions to convey trust land to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, and being given credible information regarding the suspected contamination of Linear Park, Amy Wooldridge has told us she intends to “pause” plans for collaboration with Sogorea Te Land Trust, “and will keep the Muwekma [Ohlone] Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area apprised of anything connected with Indigenous People that I’m involved with here in Alameda.”
This news is a victory for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, because the City of Alameda falls within traditional Muwekma Ohlone territory.
This is an excerpt of a letter sent to ARPD’s Amy Wooldridge, the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department Director; as well as City of Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ashcraft, Vice Mayor Malia Vella; and Council Members: Tony Daysog, Trish Herrera Spencer, and John Knox White [who made the original announcement concerning the indigenous land management of property on Main Street, between Stargell and Singleton.]
Hey Amy,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I wanted to address two things.
1. The Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC. is not a Tribal Government; it is a nonprofit corporation.
The name of the true Ohlone Tribe of this area is the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Muwekma has been known as “Costanoan”, the “Verona Band”; and they have self-identified as “Yo soy lisjannes” [“Chochenyo Field Notes”, Harrington, 1921]. Additionally, the present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is comprised of all of the known surviving American Indian lineages aboriginal to the San Francisco Bay region who trace their ancestry through the Missions Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Jose; and who were also members of the historic Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County. [Muwekma.org; as well as both their BIA petitions for federal recognition.]
Federal Recognition could help Muwekma in the following ways, as they relate to ARPD, and the City of Alameda’s relationship with CVL:
A Land Base would be established for Muwekma in the Bay Area,
This may include ANAS/FISC Alameda property; and other open space in the City of Alameda.
Land Banks held by agencies like the East Bay Regional Park District will be transferred to Muwekma
Muwekma would be endowed with the Legal Standing required to bring suit for the cessation of excavation, destruction and/or development of Tribal Cultural Resources in the City of Alameda–
And, this might leave ARPD and the City liable, should they irrevocably devote land and resources to a corporation that is not actually a tribal government (please be careful, because we need our Parks and Rec Department; it would suck if they lost funding because it was reappropriated as restitution, or a settlement.)
Theoretically, there should also be a conveyance from Sogorea Te Land Trust to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area at this point–as Federal Recognition would render the necessity/mission of a land trust to hold land for an unrecognized tribe moot.
Aside from the factual issues with recognizing a corporation less than 5 years old as a Tribal Government; there is the political consideration.
Muwekma is a tribal nation that is trying to regain federal recognition. One of the most crucial elements they must prove in their petition is that Muwekma has existed as a continuous group since the last time they were recognized as a tribe; and that the tribal governance structure has retained its political influence on said group. This has been extremely difficult for them to plead at the level the BIA requires. And several prominent politicians have spoken out against what they believe is an arbitrary and capricious refusal by BIA to reconsider Muwekma’s petition for tribal recognition. [This is on top of previous judicial opinions also in favor of reconsideration.] But, there is another way that Muwekma can regain Tribal Recognition; and that is by an Act of Congress.
However, to affect this action, Muwekma must have a broader political influence beyond its own membership. This means they would have to gain wider public support for their cause, in order to effectively encourage congressional representatives to introduce legislation renewing Muwekma’sTribal Recognition.
I believe that the City of Alameda, and ARPD’s public endorsement of the Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC. as an Ohlone tribe is an error which is detrimental to the rights and struggles for recognition and sovereignty of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area insomuch that it lends false validity to a corporation that is fraudulently portraying itself as a Tribal Nation to benefit a small group of people over the needs of thousands of bonafide Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Members.
It also contributes to the erasure of all of the people whose ancestors were ground up to pave Bay Farm Road; grade former train tracks in Jean Sweeney; and fill marshland around Krusi, and Harrington Parks, among others.
It is for these reasons that I strongly suggest ARPD, and The City, reach out directly to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area before you consider doing anything else.
2. Ongoing Contamination of Soil and Groundwater At or Near Linear Park (On Main Street, between Singleton and Stargell)
I’m concerned about the most recent Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment data regarding Benzene and Naphthalene found in ground water samples around this site. These chemicals were found in 2021 data, and no mitigation activities have occurred, as this site is now open and being investigated. It’s reasonable to assume that groundwater contamination is transient, and could affect Linear Park because it has a drainage ditch well below the surface of the surrounding land, including all sites appearing on the map below. This is the same drainage ditch Tule grows in now.
Additionally, I would like to note that Linear Park itself has been subject to contamination from leaking underground storage tanks (UST’s); which contained gasoline, diesel, lubricating oil, waste oil, and other hazardous materials; which released harmful chemicals, including the two listed above (among others), into the soil and groundwater directly upon the property now referred to as Linear Park.
There are also 26 points within 1,000 feet of Linear Park which have been affected by soil and groundwater contamination, much of the land surrounding Linear Park are subject to Land Use Restrictions expressly against digging/excavating, or using groundwater. Some of these Land Use Restrictions prohibit Schools or Housing from being built on those parcels because of the risk to human health (specifically to children.)
Additionally, there is the existence of the Toxic Marsh Crust, which lies 4-18 feet below the surface of any given point on the map presented here, and presents an unknown and unmitigated hazard to any plant or animal for the foreseeable future. For your reference, the highest water level sampled for this area was given at 3 feet below ground surface (BGS); and the drainage ditches are at least four feet deep.
Please find the attached PDF “CLOS_L_2002-01-14.pdf” which is a letter from the Alameda County Healthcare Services Agency, Environmental Services, Environmental Protection, Hazardous Material Specialist Eva Chu, addressed to the City of Alameda. This document details the contamination at the point where the tule grows in Linear Park, at Singleton and Main Street. This letter notes current concentrations of hazardous materials, and examines how the underground storage tanks were removed, and the land treated.
On top of the soil used for backfill being contaminated, polluted groundwater pumped from the site was sprayed onto the soil to suppress dust during work… further contaminating an area that was supposed to be cleaned.
All of this points to:
A strong possibility that the soil and groundwater harbor contaminants dangerous to humans;
The certain necessity to test soil and groundwater in this area to determine its safety.
Furthermore, certain safety plans must be created before digging, trenching, or groundwater may be used. The attached report also states that the corrective action for this parcel must be reviewed if land use changes.
Currently this land is technically wetland and flood mitigation for tidal surges which typically flood this area. The proposed use: to grow plants for food, clothing, and medicine to be consumed, inhaled, smudged with (,etc.); is clearly a much different use[–for human consumption vs. flood mitigation]. Therefore the re-evaluation of these parcels is not just a good idea, it is an enumerated necessity, according to Hazardous Materials Specialist Eva Chu.
Please find the attached “Map Showing Past & Present Contamination in City of Alameda Proposed ‘Indigenous Land Management’ Parcels”
It is for these reasons that I strongly object to letting anyone manage any part of, or consume any thing from Linear Park–at all–until the question of contamination has been thoroughly examined, and competently settled.
Thanks for your attention to these matters. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.
The Alameda Native History Project project presents a map of the three Alameda Shellmounds, as seen by N.C. Nelson in 1907, restored and presented in the present-day landscape.
For the first time ever, the Shellmounds of Alameda are being visualized, and presented as a physical, tangible land feature.
The purpose of this map is to:
Acknowledge that Alameda was a place were local Ohlone communities came to bury their loved ones;
Illustrate the large size and scale of shellmounds, in general;
Visualize a theoretical landscape where the Alameda Shellmounds were preserved;
Fill the gaps made by Alameda Museum’s lack of accurate or meaningful information about the First Alamedans: Ohlone People.
Created using derivatives of open-source data, including (but not limited to) USGS, NOAA, USCG, NASA, Google Earth. Analyzed, processed, and produced by the Alameda Native History Project, using open-source software available to anyone with a smart phone, and the most basic computer.
Why did the Alameda Native History Project create these maps?
Necessity
The first map created by the Alameda Native History Project was the geographicaly-conformed (or “geo-conformed”) version of N.C. Nelson’s historic 1909 Map of the San Francisco Bay Region Showing Distribution of Shell Heaps. This 20th Century version of Nelson’s map was painstakingly converted, and conformed, to 21st century Geographic Coordinate Systems.
Geo-conforming Nelson’s map made it possible to accurately plot the coordinates marked on Nelson’s map; and perform Present Day Observations of the Bay Area Shellmounds.
The San Francisco Bay Area Shellmound Map now has over 300 confirmed locations. The accuracy of this map has improved considerably over time; and the research version is now accurate to within 100 feet.
This was because maps like those featured by the Stanford University’s Spatial History Lab were little more than photocopies of the original coastal surveys, with graphic overlays.
While this might be impressive to some, the lack of any real functionality or new information derived from this kind of exercise was underscored when I tried to find/use this information in the context of the Shellmounds of Alameda.
Stanford University, Spatial History Project1909 N.C. Nelson Map of the San Francisco Bay Region Showing Distribution of Shellheaps
This made it necessary to recreate a map of the historic shoreline of the San Francisco Bay Region, and hand-plot more than 300 shellmounds, just so I could view these maps and take screenshots of them to share with you. All in an effort to show you where the Shellmounds of Alameda are.
Clarity
Reproduction of Whitcher’s Survey.
The same geo-conformance process was applied to an historic map of Alameda, which has become the Alameda Museum’s sole reference concerning the shellmounds of Alameda: Imelda Merlin’s “Alameda: A Geographical History”. This book is a Geology Master’s Thesis, by Imelda Merlin, who lived and died in Alameda, California.
The fact that Merlin was an Alameda resident; and that Alameda Museum owns the copyright to the book should be immaterial to the generally dubious nature of a photo-copied map, with hand-drawn notations.
In spite of the fact that Imelda Merlin was a student at the University of California, Berkeley, it appears that the most relevant information created by N.C. Nelson–for the archaeology department of the same university–was avoided altogether by Imelda Merlin in her work.
For the aforementioned reasons, it was determined that Imelda Merlin’s work merited careful scrutiny and interrogation.
Because, at this point, I already had two other sources of location information compiled for the Alameda Native History Project:
1. Public Records Aggregate
Any mention of Alameda Shellmounds in the following archives/libraries/collections:
All references to the Alameda Shellmounds at the Alameda Free Library:
this includes references in the Historic Alameda Newspaper Archives, and the “Alameda Historic Reels”;
as well as Clipping Files, Alameda Historical Society Card Catalog [Defunct];
Library Catalog, and Special Collections.
Online Newspaper Archives, Indexes
Online Finding Aids
Genealogy Websites, National Archive, and More.
References were logged, and copies of the documents were saved. Then the documents were analyzed, information was extracted, and processed to produce an aggregated list of locations of the Alameda Shellmounds–according to explicit references in these sources.
Then the locations were geocoded, and plotted to create a map that … I don’t even know what to call. “Shellmounds Mentioned in the News”?“Historic Shellmounds”?
“Public Records” is not a very attractive label; but it might be the best label for that layer on the Alameda Shellmounds Map. [So, in case you ask “What is the Public Records Layer on the Alameda Shellmounds Map”, now you know.]
2. Nelson’s Map of the SF Bay Region Shellmounds
Like I said, this was the first map I painstakingly recreated. So, therefore, I had the locations Nelson marked within Alameda.
When I analyzed the base map printed in Imelda Merlin’s book, I was able to use these sources to help conform Merlin’s base map with current Geographical Coordinate Systems, so I could plot the positions marked in the Imelda Merlin layer in the Alameda Shellmounds Map.
I used innumerable copies of maps, surveys, photographs, and other visual representations of Alameda, from 1880 to 1910 to help conform the “Whitcher Survey” referenced in Merlin’s Map. I was never able to find a true copy of the “Whitcher Survey”. The survey is not at City Hall–as Merlin’s book states–or in the Alameda Free Library. The Museum did not have it, at last check.
I also looked to see if any map copy provided by the official website of a University, or Government Institution, or the publisher itself, or a credible archive, actually included similar shellmound positions during the time Merlin’s map was created.
TL;DR: they do not. Not even the Land Grant Case Maps, or the legit Combined, Drafted, or Official Coastal Surveys of that time, have even a hint of a shellmound anywhere. (I even tried to find a copy of the coastal survey used in a well-known documentary about the Shellmounds of West Berkeley, but was unable to track down the file before publication.)
However, even though Merlin’s map diverges from the Official Historical Record, she did capture something in her hand-drawn sketch: all of the dots on her map correspond to places where Ohlone graves have been found.
In spite of the fact Merlin calls the First Alamedans “Miwok”–instead of Ohlone. In spite of the fact that Merlin doesn’t even mention the map in the actual narrative (or “text”) of her book. In spite of the fact that the map was published in her thesis (which was then published a few years later, in a book) without any references, or citations–aside from the coast survey base map.
Somehow, she manages to highlight the same places I have located using mentions of Ohlone graves and Native American remains found in historic Alameda newspapers. Many of these discoveries happened decades after the publication of Merlin’s work. …Which could indicate that these discoveries are coincidences, rather than correlations.
It makes sense that the discovery of human remains would be carefully guarded; only mentioned in whispers between Alameda insiders, and related professionals. Certainly, the newspaper would be encourage to leave anything like that out. … At least until the houses were sold.
It’s not hard to have editorial control when real estate companies were the primary revenue sources for local Alameda newspapers. Furthermore, the Redline wars in Alameda were brewing long before residents voted to approve Measure A, in 1973.
In a “closed”, racist, housing economy, where BIPOC are excluded, and declining property values could be caused by even a whisper of non-white interest in a neighborhood: the prevalence of bones underfoot could undermine the appeal of an entire city.
Historic Redline Map showing Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda
Alameda was probably a place where the surrounding Indigenous communities would come to bury their dead.
When you take into account historic newspaper articles like the one below (from 1893;) and the preponderance of subsequent articles concerning Native American Graves and Remains found, and then plot those locations into their own map, you get a layer of “Remains & Relics Found”.
While it is the Euro-Centric imperative to determine a single point; and explicit boundaries: the size and nature of the shellmounds was as much a mystery to these colonizers as it is to us today. For different reasons though.
Early anthropologists, archaeologists, and ethnologists lacked the imagination necessary to make the logical leaps necessary to recognize the purposefully obscure nature of our infrastructure, or decode the metaphors we left in notes and drawings for our friends.
Because of this, and because white people destroyed as much of our stuff that they possibly could (on purpose [I don’t know why]), we are now–in many cases–left with the remnants of remnants.
Because the records concerning these events, and the mere existence of the massive burial grounds under the City of Alameda, and the cities of the rest of the San Francisco Bay Region have been actively concealed, and suppressed, this story has remained untold.
“Alameda’s Indian Mounds“, published in The San Francisco Examiner, on Sunday, March 26, 1893:
“When the progressive Alamedan decides to build a home of his own on a section of the encinal that have been allotted to him by his favorite real estate dealer…
“He does not order work suspended when the excavators, who have undertaken the task of building his prospective basement, run across a well preserved skeleton or turn up a hideous looking skull.
“He has become used to such things and he knows…
“in all Alameda there is scarcely a square yard of ground that does not harbor the crumbling remains…”
The pieces of the puzzle can still be found.
And so, Nelson’s Map, Merlin’s Map, and the Public Records map were offered as three separate layers of the Alameda Shellmounds Map; so that you may also discover and analyze the similarities and differences between the locations, yourself.
The other layers mentioned, such as “Remains & Relics Found”, and more are also available to view using the layers panel of the Alameda Shellmounds Map.
As our records continue to grow, and new information found, the map and this site continue to grow as well.
Aesthetic & Availability
Let’s face it: no one wants to look at nth generation copies of copies.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of trying to squint, and adjust brightness, contrast, and gamma until I can barely almost read the most important part of this chapter….
I want to look at a webmap of the San Francisco Bay Area Shellmounds. I need my experiences to be more interactive, and offer more than an empty citation to a book I can’t even find anymore. I want to see a scan of the book. And read the citation myself.
But even that’s not enough. I find myself getting triggered by the language of these old, dead, white men that I just want to fight.
Most of these narratives are written from an all-white perspective, often using racial slurs, and offensive descriptions. For the past 74 years, the Alameda Museum has furthered the “gentle savage” myth that permeated Victorian Era culture in America. And continues to push the idea that Ohlone people just disappeared from Alameda, and the Bay Area, entirely.
It’s been the same narrative since “time immemorial”. (Even that phrase is from a white-washed narrative meant to pander to a White Gaze that isn’t even a majority anymore.)
California History, when it comes to Indigenous People, is broad, at best. Very little space or effort is given to properly naming, or describing Native Americans, how they looked, where they lived, what they ate….
Most textbooks will even allude to American Indian relationships with White People as something symbiotic; and leave this chapter of history conveniently blank, to make room for the concept of Manifest Destiny.
The history that we are being taught has specifically avoided the policy of indigenous extermination enacted by a California Governor in the late 1800’s; California’s military support of Indian Wars in Oregon in the early 1900’s; or, how Los Angeles stole water rights from Tribal Nations in the Central Valley and has helped to destabilize the California ecosystem, with devastating effects.
We are not taught about this.
We have instead been dazzled by trains, bridges, and pretty houses with gardens, like babies with a ring of keys.
California is the most diverse state in terms of Tribal Nations, with over 300 Indigenous Languages Spoken in California, alone. We are astronomers, conservationists, artists, engineers, doctors, and so much more. Our stories and contributions matter.
Ohlone people still live in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area could use your help in fighting for federal recognition.
The Native American, Indigenous People that you speak of like they went extinct in the 1800’s; those people are my great-grandparents.
The first step in justice for Indigenous Californians is recognizing us.
This is why it’s important to update the aesthetic of Historical Curation, and Exhibition Design, to utilize the tools we have in the 21st Century to reach learners everywhere, using the interactive multimedia methods they use and engage everyday.
An Open Letter to Reverend Michael Yoshii, and Serena Chen, two of the lecturers set to speak in the Alameda Museum’s “Virtual Speakers Series”, for AAPI Heritage Month Lecture Series tomorrow, Monday, May 23, 2022.
Here’s the flyer:
Alameda Museum AAPI History Month Virtual Speak Series Flyer, links to AlamedaMuseum.org
Background: I tried to call Lillian Galedo, but I wasn’t able to reach her for comment. I sent letters to both Reverend Michael Yoshii, and Serena Chen.
Serena Chen responded by giving me a call, and we had a conversation that touched on this subject, as well as much more about Chinese-American History, Japanese-American History, Serena Chen’s work in passing smoking laws in the Bay Area, as well as her advocacy for the preservation of Angel Island Immigration Center.
Reverend Michael Yoshii hasn’t gotten back to me yet, re: the letter. But I know that he’s received it. And I actually asked him a lot of questions.
The reason why I wrote to these people, is because:
I am a researcher in the city of Alameda. And, my primary focus is on the Native American History of Alameda. However, it was impossible for me to research this topic and not notice the lack of representation of any non-white historical Alamedans at the Alameda Museum.
This bothers me, because my interest in history is not bound to my own ethnic group; and I believe that history’s lessons are infinitely more important, and more valuable than hiding the misdeeds of a city. And that, the truth of what happened to us, Alameda’s nonwhite citizens, is better aired out, discussed, and reconciled. I think that hiding these chapters of our history only creates more animus, and sets us up for future conflicts we don’t even know why we fight.
05/18/2022 ANHP Letter to Serena Chen, and Rev. Michael Yoshii
In my letter to the Reverend Yoshii, I asked him specifically:
How does it make you feel that Alameda Museum does not have any permanent exhibits about the Japanese-American experience in Alameda?
Does it bother you that the businesses, homes, wealth, and anything valuable (like family photos, heirlooms, and other precious things), that you, your family, and your compatriots had to abandon, or have taken away, aren’t even mentioned at all in Alameda’s official history?
If the Alameda Museum were to create a permanent exhibit featuring Japanese-American History and Experiences in Alameda, what would you like to see reflected about your own history, heritage, culture, and contributions to the City of Alameda?
In my letter to Serena Chen:
I mention that I found things about the Chinese Pioneers in Alameda that I thought were really cool. And was excited to share with her, and people interested in Alameda History.
But, in both letters, I invited them to consider addressing the lack of representation of their history, heritage, and culture in the Alameda Museum.
After all, Serena Chen, Rev. Michael Yoshii, and Lillian Galedo, will all be lecturing at the Alameda Museum, which has no permanent exhibit to AAPI History.
So, as soon as their voices fade, so will any representation or mention of their histories, heritage, or cultures. Histories which are rich, interesting, and worthy of being shared just as much as the white, victorian-obsessed history that Alameda Museum chooses to share–at the price of excluding all BIPOC people.
I’d like to invite you tune in to watch and learn; support Serena Chen, Lillian Galedo, and Michael Yoshii, as they share their family history, and experiences with us; and advocate for meaningful representation of AAPI heritage, and history in the form of permanent exhibits in the Alameda Museum.
Alameda Museum Virtual Speaker Series AAPI Heritage Month Feat. Serena Chen, Lillian Galedo, Reverend Michael Yoshii Monday, May 23, 2022 7:00 – 8:30 PM Event on Zoom Link to Event Info @ AlamedaMuseum.org Link to Event Registration @ Zoom.us
