Alameda Native History Project

Tag: first alamedans

  • A Missed Opportunity: Alameda’s Native American Heritage Month Proclamation Falls Short

    As the City of Alameda celebrated Native American Heritage Month with a proclamation, a closer look reveals a disconnect between words and actions.

    Behind the ceremonial language and gestures, a deeper story of erasure, misrepresentation, and neglect of Native American voices and histories emerged.

    This article examines the proclamation and the city’s approach to Native American Heritage Month, and offers a response from the Alameda Native History Project.

    The Mayor’s Proclamation

    On Wednesday, November 6, at the Alameda City Council Meeting, Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft read a proclamation declaring November 2024 Native American Heritage Month.

    Mayor Ashcraft’s Native American Heritage Month Proclamation

    “Whereas during November, which has been designated a National Native American Heritage Month, we honor the history, rich cultures and vast contributions of Native and Indigenous peoples to our nation’s history and culture. And whereas there are 324 federally recognized reservations and 10 million individuals who identify as Native American and Alaska Native in the United States.

    “And, as President Joe Biden noted in his 2024 proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, indigenous peoples history is defined by strength, survival, and a deep commitment to and pride in their heritage, right to self-governance, and ways of life.

    “However, our nation’s failed policies of the past subjected generations of native peoples to cruelty, violence, and intimidation. And the forced removal of native peoples from their homes and ancestral homelands. Attempts to assimilate entire generations, and stripping indigenous peoples of their identities, cultures, and traditions are some of the darkest chapters of our nation’s history. The trauma and turmoil has fundamentally altered these communities.

    “And, whereas, the Biden administration has worked with tribal nations to preserve, protect and steward important ancestral tribal lands and waters, including in 2024, the designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, the first sanctuary to be proposed by indigenous communities.

    “And, this sanctuary boundaries encompass 4543mi² of offshore waters along 116 miles of California’s Central Coast, where indigenous people have lived for over 10,000 years. And whereas native Americans have long served in the United States military and currently serve in the highest levels of government, including Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe and former congressional representative from New Mexico, who is America’s first Native American cabinet secretary.

    “And, whereas, 380 Alameda residents identify as Native Americans. And, in 2021, were among those who advocated for the city council to rename a public park to Chochenyo Park to recognize the language of the original inhabit of the city of Alameda. The legend Aulani people. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Marilyn, Ezzy Ashcraft, mayor of the City of Alameda, do hereby proclaim November 2024 as Native American Heritage Month in the City of Alameda; and encourage all residents to learn about the rich history, culture, and contributions of Native American and Indigenous peoples, including by visiting the Alameda Free Library main library, where both adults and children’s books by Native American authors are on display, and the library’s online catalog also includes a themed carousel of resources for Native American Heritage Month and at the Altarena Playhouse. The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa Fast Horse, the first known female Native American playwright on Broadway, will be presented every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting this Friday, November 8th through November 24th.”

    It relied heavily on U.S. President Joe Biden’s Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, with the Mayor taking large excerpts of the Presidential speech.

    At the end of the proclamation, Alameda Mayor Ashcraft invited people to “learn about the rich history, culture, and contributions of Native American and Indigenous peoples” by visiting the Alameda Free Library and by attending “The Thanksgiving Play” by Larissa Fast Horse, “the first known female Native American playwright on Broadway”.

    “The Thanksgiving Play” is a satirical play that follows a group of white teachers attempting to create a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving play. However, their efforts are misguided and perpetuate stereotypes, highlighting the erasure of Native American voices and experiences. The play ultimately critiques itself, with the characters deciding not to produce the play due to their lack of understanding and representation. Despite being written by a Native American author, Larissa FastHorse, the play has been criticized for its superficial portrayal of Native American issues and its pandering to white audiences by centering whiteness in a conversation about Indigenous People.

    Any mention of the Alameda Museum, and its collection of stolen Grave Goods, taken from the Shellmounds of Alameda was conspicuously absent from the proclamation, which is unfortunate. And what the City did to the Shellmounds of Alameda was left unsaid. And, though the mayor did recognize Ohlone people as the First Alamedans, she mispronounced the word Ohlone, and she called the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, “the Lejon Alani tribe”.

    The heavy reliance upon excerpts from another person’s Proclamation, as well as the mis pronunciation and misnaming of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe came off as having a lack of respect and understanding for the tribe’s identity and culture–the very thing the Native American Heritage Month was supposed to uplift and celebrate.

    And advertising a Thanksgiving play featuring an all-white cast, with no Native American Representation at all (aside from the writer, who is not present) was extremely disconcerting, and–frankly–tone deaf.

    This lack of true representation and consideration for the First Alamedans was underlined by the fact that no one from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area was invited to receive the Native American Heritage Month Proclamation.

    Our Response

    Alameda Native History Project founder, Gabriel Duncan, was there at the City Council Meeting, and responded to the Mayor’s Proclamation:

    ANHP Response to Mayor’s Native American Heritage Month Proclamation

    “My name is Gabriel Duncan, and I’m a recognized descendant of the Ütü Ütü Gwaitü Benton Hot Springs Paiute Tribe. I’m here representing the Alameda Native History Project, and I’m here to address the lack of Native American representation in city government committees and commissions.

    “Alameda is the homeland of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. It has 10,000 years of history in this area, and they’re actually, like, a real tribe.

    “And I want to also request that we remove Sogorea Te Land Trust from the city website. Because that’s not an Ohlone organization. And I’d also like to ask that the city make an official apology for the destruction of the shell mounds in Alameda, specifically for paving Bay Farm Road with the shell mounds. Those are bodies. That was a burial ground.

    “And that whole area was desecrated.

    “And we had more than four shell mounds in Alameda, the largest of with the largest was at Chestnut. And there were others next to Krusi Park, and also on Bay Farm. And the one that we know about on Mound Street. That happened in 1909 [actually in 1901 & 1908]. And it’s been a really long time.

    “We know that the mound was there, but the only thing that we really have talking about it is a plaque that’s on a rock. At Lincoln Park. And I don’t think it’s fair that the only other representations of Ohlone People that we have are statues that weren’t made by Ohlone People, that are public art.

    “And I think that part of representing the actual culture and heritage of the people who are the First Alamedans starts with actually hiring, like, Ohlone artists to make this art. And for the city to actually apologize for what it did for its part in desecrating the landscape of Alameda. And, it would be really nice when we have this proclamation next year to invite Tribal Members from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe to accept this proclamation.

    “Thank you.”

    Gabriel Duncan, a recognized descendant of the Ütü Ütü Gwaitü Benton Hot Springs Paiute Tribe, addressed the city council, highlighting the lack of Native American representation in city government committees and commissions. He emphasized that Alameda is the homeland of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, with a rich history spanning over 10,000 years.

    Duncan requested that the city remove Sogorea Te Land Trust from the city website, as it is not an Ohlone organization. He also asked for an official apology for the destruction of the shell mounds in Alameda, specifically for paving Bay Farm Road with the shell mounds, which were ancestral burial grounds.

    Alameda Times Star Aug-20-1908
    The Original Plaque at Lincoln Park, unveiled in 1909. #justiceforishi
    Alameda Times Star Apr-23-1901

    Furthermore, Duncan suggested that the city hire Ohlone artists to create public art that represents the actual culture and heritage of the First Alamedans. He also recommended inviting Tribal Members from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe to accept future proclamations and participate in city events.

    By taking these steps, the city can work towards reconciliation, respect, and a deeper understanding of Native American heritage in Alameda.

  • Finding the Alameda Shellmounds: Part One

    The Plaque at Lincoln Park

    It’s hard to say exactly what this plaque meant to me, growing up, adopted, in Alameda. This was a tangible symbol of my Native American heritage; something connected to my identity. Proof that my people actually existed somewhere. Even though I couldn’t see them, or be with them. It was also a source of horrors; knowing that I was living on an Indian Burial Mound.

    This was supposed to be an art project; with some ghost stories, hand made beading, and hand-made historic reproductions of traditional Native American garments and adornments.

    All I wanted to do was find out if my grandfather’s house really was built on an Indian Burial Mound. I thought I was asking a simple question, that local historians would be able to answer in the same way they could erudiate on Victorian Houses, and Electric Railways.

    Instead–when I went to the Alameda Museum–the subject was dismissed.

    “Somebody already did that,” I was told.

    An unnamed docent from the Alameda Museum asked me, “Wasn’t it just a trash heap?”

    Searching For Answers

    It soon became obvious that Non-Native Historians were neither interested, nor knowledgeable about the Alameda Shellmounds, or the First Alamedans;
    I realized I would have to perform the work.

    Not just to find out for myself; but to counter non-native apathy, and gate-keeping; and hold this knowledge in trust for other native people who search for their own heritage, too.

    But how do I find out more about the Alameda Shellmounds, and their history, when the Alameda Museum doesn’t even care?

    I would have to find, search, index, and analyze several volumes of information; across several sources, and locales.

    This is the progression of sources I consulted, regarding this topic. Research is still ongoing. Check the ANHP Wiki for specifics, excerpts, transcriptions, and more.

    Existing, Aggregated Information RE: Shellmounds in Alameda

    Books:

    • Alameda: A Geological History, Imelda Merlin, 1977
    • Shellmounds of the San Francisco Bay Area, N.C. Nelson, 1914
    Alameda Historic Records

    Learned:

    • Where the “Sathers Mound” actually was;
    • There was more than one shellmound in Alameda;
    • People used shellmounds to pave sidewalks and roads.
    Newspapers

    Search expanded to regional and state newspapers; like the Oakland Tribune, and the Alta Daily California.

    Learned:

    • First excavation of the Alameda Shellmound was 1892, sponsored by the San Francisco Call newspaper;
    • California Academy of Science was involved in 1892 excavation;
    • Several artifacts reportedly gifted to U.C. Berkeley Anthropology Museum.
    University/Research Institutions

    Relevant material found in the holdings of:

    • University of California, Berkeley;
    • San Francisco State University;
    • California Academy of Science.
    Museums
    • Phoebe A Hearst Museum, Berkeley, California
    • California Academy of Science, San Francisco, California
    • Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, California
    • California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, Santa Rosa, California
    • California State Indian Museum, Sacramento, California
    • Alameda Museum, Alameda, California
      (Errantly attributed Ohlone artifacts to “a branch of the Miwok tribe” for decades.)

    “Somebody already did that.”

    Imelda Merlin

    Imelda Merlin is a famous Alamedan. Her Master’s Thesis for the University of California, Berkeley, was published in 1977 as Alameda: A Geological History. This book contains a Map of Live Oaks, which features several shellmounds.

    Imelda Merlin’s book is considered the “Alameda bible” as far as local historians are concerned. It contains excerpts from, and references to, some of the core historic records of the City of Alameda. However, the map is of Live Oaks, and does not appear to be a serious attempt to show the accurate locations of shellmounds which existed in Alameda around 1850; and the sections concerning indigenous occupation of Alameda and extremely light on verifiable citations.

    N.C. [Nels Christian] Nelson

    Was an anthropology student at the University of California, Berkeley. Worked for John C. Merriam. Merriam and Nelson both went on an exploratory expedition of the San Francisco Bay Region, where Nelson surveyed and analyzed shellmounds.

    In 1914, N.C. Nelson published his findings in “Shellmounds of the San Francisco Bay Region”, which featured the “Map of the San Francisco Bay Region, Showing the Distribution of Shell Heaps”.

    This is the most thorough survey of the Bay Area Shellmounds ever made; and Nelson’s work is heavily cited by historians, newspapers, and researchers, alike. Nelson’s map represents the positions of shellmounds he and his team personally observed, which makes his work a primary source.

    Confronting the Current Record

    Reconciling local “common knowledge” with Public Records and Official Studies
    Issues presented by Imelda Merlin’s Map

    Citations are missing, incorrect, and/or do not substantively match or explain the locations of shellmounds in content, or context. For instance, the 1850 “Whitcher’s Survey” map of the Alameda area has been lost to time, even though it was referenced as being on prominent display in Alameda’s City Hall. This survey appears several times in Merlin’s work, all with hand-drawn additions by Imelda Merlin, herself.

    Multiple Versions of N.C. Nelson’s Map

    Aside from the official U.C. Berkeley, University Press printing of Nelson’s Map; there are versions with more Shellmounds, and different numbers. However no addendum or update by Nelson has been recovered; drawing into question the accuracy of these other, unofficial, maps purportedly attributed to Nelson.

    Complete Reliance by Non-Native Historians on Unvetted Sources

    Hometown pride may have blinded local historians. But even credible witnesses can give unreliable testimony. There is an argument for considering Merlin’s map as a Tertiary Source.

    Non-Native Attitudes that the Burial Mound Issue is “Settled”

    Resulting in a fundamental lack of knowledge and comprehension of local historical events by local historians and curators–who are supposed to be the experts on this subject, among other Alameda History. The assumption that there is nothing more to find, and no more to learn about the Alameda shellmounds, meant that no research was performed regarding the History of the First Alamedans–until now.

    As this project continued, I learned that there was a lot left unsaid, and even more Alameda History to be uncovered beyond answering the question: “What happened to the shellmounds?”

    End Part One

    Stay tuned for Part Two.