Alameda Native History Project

Tag: muwekma ohlone tribe of the san francisco bay area

  • Harvest to Table: Experience the Flavors of Alameda’s Acorn Revival

    Discover Alameda’s Acorn Revival, reconnecting community with indigenous foodways through harvest, processing, and culinary celebration.

    The First Annual Acorn Harvest is part of a series of events by the Alameda Native History Project known as the ACORNS! Project Arc. This series was made possible in part by a grant through the Alameda County Arts Commission’s ARTSFUND.

    ACORNS! Consists of four main parts:

    • Acorn Granary Challenge
    • Annual Acorn Harvest
    • Acorn Processing
    • ACORNS! Culinary Series

    The Acorn Granary Challenge

    A series of events in the community. We invite community members to come together and challenge themselves to create an Acorn Granary, a traditional Native American Storage device to hold acorns throughout the year—but, specifically, built for the purpose of holding acorns over winter, because the Acorn Harvest is in the fall.

    Through gathering natural materials and processing them into the supplies we use to build the granaries, participants will gain first-hand knowledge and experience of the importance of access to natural materials and the challenges of preparing for winter. Community members will discover that survival cannot be done alone and that the challenge of the Acorn Granary is not one person against nature. It is about how communities come together and build natural, regenerative systems to adapt and evolve with the landscape in a respectful and sustainable way.

    When we came together in July, we came as a small group of individuals taking part in the first-ever Granary Challenge. Our participants ranged from 2nd and 3rd graders, college undergraduates, parents, and grandparents, from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds. And we want you to know, that the framework of our granary was built by our youngest participants—and we are amazed, grateful, and humbled by their instinctive expertise and boundless enthusiasm.

    About the Granary

    Our Acorn Granary is hosted in the community by the Alameda Point Collaborative Farm2Market. Our granary was built using willow reeds and bay leaves donated from the Land Partners in Castro Valley, pine boughs and poles gathered locally, twine from local hardware stores, and the granary is topped with marine canvas donated from Pacific Crest Canvas.

    The Annual Acorn Harvest

    The Harvest runs from September through November. The efforts of this community-led initiative are aimed at reopening indigenous foodways. Acorns have not been gathered for food in Alameda, and much of the Bay Area, for over 300 years. Part of decolonizing ourselves, our stomachs, and the places we live, relies on reconnecting with the natural world around us and partaking in the ancient practices of this land.

    By practicing sustainable, regenerative agriculture, we are becoming good stewards of our natural world, making space, and opening the pathways to food sovereignty, healing, and wellness for ourselves, and for more than 25,000 Native American/Alaskan Native and Indigenous People currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Even though this was the first-ever Acorn Harvest announced in the City of Alameda in recent history—with a limited budget, and not a lot of marketing involved—we were tremendously grateful and surprised by the wellspring of support from our friends and neighbors in Alameda, and from our followers on social media.

    The people who volunteered with us for the Annual Acorn Harvest ranged in age from young to old and represented a large contingent from many different social, cultural, and economic backgrounds. The Acorn Harvest was truly a family event, and we were honored to create these bonds and reconnect, together, with the natural urban forest, animals, and environment we depend on, but often overlook.

    Through our community-building and sustainable practices, we helped to divert edible food from waste bins and compost piles. The acorns we did not use for food, we shared with 100K Trees For Humanity, which will germinate and plant new Oak trees in an effort “to increase our urban forest canopies, restore natural habitats, increase urban carbon sequestration capacity to help cities meet carbon reduction goals and for greater equity for cooler healthier communities.”

    Acorn Processing & ACORNS! Culinary Series

    The acorns we harvested are now being stored over winter in safe locations around the island. In the spring, we will begin processing our harvested acorns to produce Acorn Flour, and Acorn Meal, which we will offer to local Indigenous communities, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, and will also be used for our ACORNS! Culinary Series—featuring Traditional and Contemporary Indigenous, and International Cuisine. Our culinary series is generously hosted by the Alameda Park and Recreation Department, at the Mastick Senior Center, and will take place every Sunday in April 2025.

    Find out more!

    For more information on how to attend the ACORNS! Culinary Series, volunteer for the 2025 Annual Acorn Harvest, or process acorns to create nutritious culturally significant food for our Local Indigenous Communities

    Visit https://acorns.nativehistoryproject.org/

  • 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.

  • Sogorea Te Land Trust Controversy

    An Investigative Report by the Alameda Native History Project

    Preserving Accurate Ohlone History and Culture

    The Alameda Native History Project is dedicated to preserving the accurate history and culture of the Ohlone people. As part of this effort, we have conducted research on Sogorea Te Land Trust, a non-profit organization [501(c)(3)], and its claims of representing the Ohlone people.

    Why We Investigated

    We followed this story because it was newsworthy and of significant public interest. Moreover, we believe that people have the right to know where their money is going, particularly when it comes to donations intended to support Native American communities–in this case: Ohlone people, the First Alamedans.

    Concerns and Findings

    Our research has raised several concerns about Sogorea Te Land Trust’s claims and actions:

    Furthermore, we have found that donations to Sogorea Te Land Trust, known as “Shuumi”, do not benefit the Ohlone people.

    Our Efforts to Seek Clarification

    Over the past three years, the Alameda Native History Project has reached out to Sogorea Te Land Trust multiple times seeking clarification on these issues, but they have not provided any substantive responses.

    Call to Action

    We encourage everyone to seek out multiple sources and consult with Ohlone elders and experts before supporting or promoting initiatives related to Ohlone history and culture. Specifically, we recommend reaching out to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area and other Ohlone leaders who may have valuable insights and perspectives on the issues raised in this report. By engaging in open and respectful dialogue, we can work together to ensure the accurate representation and well-being of the Ohlone people.

  • 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 beginning to saddle up.

    Charlene Nijmeh, Chairwoman of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, looks pensively at her phone, while her husband, Kennedy, checks in with everyone, as we prepare to march on the California State Capitol.

    Miwok Nation, and La Raza, brought their low-riders to escort Muwekma to the Capitol Building.

    The night before, the Muwekma Tribe had been invited to take part in a bear dance and blessing for Muwekma’s protection and strength, as they travel on the Trail of Truth, to Washington, D.C..

    The Miwok tribe has been a great ally to Muwekma. And an integral part of Muwekma’s efforts to re-awaken and breathe life into their language and traditions.

    Today, [August 8th, 2024,] the tribe plans to march to the steps of the California Capitol Building, to make an address; and then head a block away, to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, to deliver Muwekma’s list of demands.

    The California Highway Patrol; West Sacramento, and Sacramento Police Departments would shut down the streets, as the tribe marched over the Tower Bridge, and down Capitol Mall, to the California State Capitol Building.

    See the livestream of the march on our Instagram account, @AlamedaNativeHistoryProject, below:

    The Muwekma Chairwoman speaks on the steps of the California State Capitol

    On the steps of the Capitol Building, in 100 degree (Fahrenheit) heat, Chairwoman Nijmeh, and tribal member (and culture bearer) Joey Torres, spoke to a crowd of supporters, tourists, on-lookers; while the horses, and many others listened from under the shade of the trees.

    Chairwoman Nijmeh spoke about the impacts of being a formerly recognized tribe, asking other tribes for permission to bury their own ancestors and relatives–because Muwekma no longer has the standing (federal recognition) required to receive the bodies of their own ancestors.

    About how the University of California system won’t return the bodies of thousands of Ohlone people University archaeologists stolen from Native American Graves because Muwekma is no longer federally recognized.

    The Chairwoman told us how tribal members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe are missing out on healthcare, and a college education, because the federal government won’t recognize its trust responsibility to the tribe. Which is made up of all the known surviving Ohlone lineages in the Bay Area, according to the government’s own records.

    Joey Torres spoke about the solidarity of so many many tribal members and nations, like the Miwok Nation, Oglala Nation, and Calpulli Tonalehqueh and the spiritual and historic journey Muwekma is on: the Trail of Truth.

    See an excerpt of the speeches given by the Muwekma Ohone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, on the steps of the California State Capitol:

    After a short break to hydrate and regroup, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, followed by their supporters in person and online, began their march to Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, to deliver the tribe’s list of demands.

    Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Chairwoman Charlene Nijmeh leads the procession to the California State Governor’s Office.

    California Governor Gavin Newsom did not meet with Muwekma;

    Instead a representative of the governor’s office came to meet the crowd at the door.

    Chairwoman Nijmeh read the tribe’s statement and personally served Gavin Newsom’s representative with a copy of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s Demand for Tribal Rights.

    The Chairwoman told the man that the tribe expects a response. That silence on the matter of the tribal rights–not just of Muwekma, but all the California Tribes who were erroneously removed from the Tribal Rolls–would no longer stand.

    “We’re going to be loud!” Chairwoman Nijmeh vowed, “And we’re not going to go away.”

    August 8, 2024 was the first time a Native American Tribe marched to the California State Capitol to demand their rights and support for federal recognition. It was a monumentally historic day for all California Natives, and for members of unrecognized tribes everywhere.

    Stay tuned for more about the Trail of Truth, and more about this issue.

    Follow the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area on their Trail of Truth at Muwekma.org, and on their various social media accounts.

  • 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 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 to provide accurate scale and positioning.

    Available in several sizes.

    Preview the new Alameda Shellmound Map V.2. Available in 3 sizes. Get it now!

    More Detailed Historic Geography

    Because of the juxtaposition of the historic peninsula with it’s present day silhouette, it is much easier to see which parts of Alameda were physically connected and formed the peninsula more recently known as the “Encinal”.

    Both Alameda and Oakland are in a region referred to as Xučyun (also known as “Huchiun”.) Xučyun is part of the ancestral homeland of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. Muwekma have lived in the Bay Area for over 10,000 years.

    Includes All Four Alameda Shellmounds

    For the first time, all four of the Alameda Shellmounds have been put onto one map. Most people only know about the shellmound on Mound Street. But there are more shellmounds, in Alameda. There were over 425 shellmounds in the Bay Area. Including Alameda’s largest shellmound, at the foot Chestnut.

    Why is this important?

    • The existence of the three other Alameda Shellmounds was overlooked by all of Alameda’s previous historians*, including long-time (since retired) curator of the Alameda Museum: George Gunn.
    • From 1948, to 2020: the Alameda Museum falsely identified the First Alamedans as “a branch of Miwok”, instead of “Costanoan” or Ohlone.
    • The Alameda Native History Project is responsible for stepping forward and correcting the record, and educating the public about the real Alameda Native History.

    This map proves that Alameda History is more than Victorian houses.

    See also: Shellmounds – What Are Shellmounds?

    Features:

    Alameda’s Ancient Live Oak Forest

    This place we call Alameda was once called “La Bolsa de Encinal”. Meaning, “the Encinal forest”. Because the peninsula was host to a verdant, “ancient”, Live Oak forest. (The forest still exists. It just looks different.)

    Many of the first accounts of the historic peninsula use rather idyllic, and paradisaic language to describe the rich pre-contact ecosystem that thrived here.

    Alameda was once referred to as a “Garden City”. This is the place where the Loganberry was supposedly born.

    Historic Shoreline

    tl;dr : Everyone wants to know where the landfill is. [There! I said it, okay?] They don’t even really care where Alameda used to be connected to Oakland. Or about the ancient whirl pool in la bahia de san leandro. But, whatever.

    Look closer, and you can see the footprints of present day buildings. That’s the landfill.

    For real though, I made this layer using pre-1900 shoreline vector data I compiled for the Bay Area region, and stitched together.

    Bay Area Historic Wetlands layers

    In Version 1, I made a kind of sloppy polygon with historical shoreline vectors, and painted it green. It was a good placeholder for the historic marshes and wetlands of the Bay Area.

    Version 2 features the finely detailed historic wetlands layer created for the Bay Area Shellmounds Maps. It features very precise cut-outs for historic creeks, channels and waterways; and features full-coverage of the Bay Area region.

    If you want some actual historical eco-data, check out the San Francisco Estuary Institute. They have some brilliant historical ecology GIS you would probably love, if you’ve read this far.

    The Alameda Shellmound Map, Version 2, is ground-breaking in its completeness and exquisite detail.

    Available Now!

    Printed in vivid color, on premium paper. Purchase through the Alameda Shellmounds Map square payment link. 10% of all proceeds from Alameda Shellmounds Map sales go to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Get the Alameda Shellmounds Map

    [Footnote: Imelda Merlin mentioned numerous shellmounds in her Geology Master Thesis, but none of her assertions were backed up with any relevant citations. And geology is not archaeology, ethnology, or anthropology, the areas of study that normally concern themselves with Tribal Cultural Resources like shellmounds.

    Furthermore, the famous “Imelda Merlin Shellmound Map” was actually a map of Live Oak trees present in Alameda at the time Merlin wrote her thesis (in 1977).

    The “Map of Whitcher’s Survey of ‘The Encinal’ in 1853. In Alameda City Hall.”, cited on page 104 of Merlin’s thesis, has never been found by Alameda City Hall, the Alameda Free Library, or the Alameda Museum.

    Certainly this means Imelda Merlin has failed to meet the burden of proof required for institutions like Alameda Museum to take reliance upon her claims re: Whitcher’s Survey, and locations of any mounds. Yet, somehow, Merlin’s geology thesis was Alameda Museum’s sole reference regarding shellmounds. (For years Imelda Merlin’s geology thesis was viewed as the authoritative source of information about Alameda shellmounds.)]

    Decolonize History

    One of the ways Alameda Native History Project decolonizes history is by interrogating the record. This means tracking down and reading citations. Critically evaluating reports and studies for bias. And calling out poor research, and prejudiced conclusions for what they are.

    We decolonize history by updating the maps and diagrams of our past. Producing accurate, fact-based educational and reference materials to replace the biased and inaccurate educational products–which are still misinforming our schoolchildren and the greater public today.

    By providing a more nuanced and comprehensive perspective; and doing away with the old, over-copied handouts from decades past: we are able to shed the misinformed, and racist, stereotypes and quackery that typify generations which brought us things like: “kill the indian, save the man”, Jim Crow, and “Separate But Equal”.

    We vigorously challenge the cognitive dissonance of so many California Historians, asking “Where did all the Indians go?”, at a time when the entire United States had declared war on Native Americans. … Including the first Governor of California, who called for “war of extermination” against California Native Americans.

    These ideas, stereotypes, attitudes, and beliefs have managed to propagate themselves time and time again in the textbooks and lesson plans used to “educate” countless generations of Americans.

    Isn’t it time to set the record straight?

    👉🏼 Your purchase of the Alameda Shellmound Map supports our mission of decolonizing history. 🙌🏼

  • Alternatives to Shuumi (2023)

    Wondering which Native American organizations you should give to on Giving Tuesday?

    Hopefully, when you read this, you already know that Shuumi Land Tax doesn’t really go to all Ohlone people. (But we don’t want to discourage your well-meaning intent and your need to help Indigenous people in anyway you can.)

    If you really want to help the Native American People in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve compiled a list of organizations where your generous donation and goodwill have a measurable impact.

    The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area

    This is the real Ohlone tribe you probably thought you were donating money to when you considered paying Shuumi “Land Tax”.

    With over 10,000 years of continuous habitation of this place now known as the San Francisco Bay Area, your donation directly to this tribe of over 600 enrolled members will be felt immediately; and put to use as Muwekma reawaken their Chochenyo language, remember dances, and revitalize their culture.

    The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is a bonafide native American Tribe, which has been recognized over and over again by The Courts, but still struggles for recognition with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Muwekma is set to begin their Trail of Truth in their epic battle for justice; in the form of a Tribal Homeland, Education, Housing, Medical Services, and–last but not least: Sovereignty.

    If you want to help Ohlone people in the San Francisco Bay Area (and beyond):

    Go to Muwekma.org to educate yourself and your friends about the Indigenous People of the San Francisco Bay Area.

    [See also: “Who/What/Where is Lisjan?“, “Who are the Lisjan Ohlone? What does Chochenyo mean?”, “Corrina Gould Convicted of Fraud“]

    Intertribal Friendship House Oakland

    Established in 1955 as one of the first urban American Indian community centers in the nation.

    It was founded by the American Friends Service Committee to serve the needs of American Indian people relocated from reservations to the San Francisco Bay Area.

    “The Bay Area American Indian community is multi-tribal, made of Native people and their descendants—those who originate here and those who have come to the Bay region from all over the United States and from other parts of this hemisphere.“

    IFH Oakland’s local programming is important and impactful.

    Friendship House SF

    Friendship House SF provides a girth of wellness services for Native American People in the SF urban rez.

    One of the most important services the Friendship House SF provides is treatment and recovery services for Native Americans. Lots of tribes will send their members to the Friendship House SF for their treatment and recovery services.

    The Friendship House SF also provides meeting space for other organizations to hold their events and retreats. Very thankful to the Friendship House SF for giving me and organizations I’ve been a part space for so many years.

    Native American Health Center

    Provides primary care, mental health, and dental services primarily. Also organizes and hold the Indigenous Red Market, contributes to Powwows, and other Native American Events and Programs throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Contributing to this organization will also support a wider range of programs and services in the Bay Area.

    NAHC is a pretty solid choice, all around.

    American Indian Cultural Center

    A member of Intersection for the Arts.

    Since 1968, the purpose of the American Indian Center has been to create a community space based on Native American values, culture, programming, traditional foods, and community support.

    Contributing to this organization will help sustain AICC’s mission to improve and promote the well-being of the American Indian community and to increase the visibility of American Indian cultures in an urban setting in order to cultivate awareness, understanding and respect.

    American Indian Child Resource Center

    The American Indian Child Resource Center is a non-profit social services and educational community-based organization serving American Indian community members from across the greater Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding counties.

    The American Indian Child Resource Center is a COA Accredited Organization.

    First Nations Development Institute

    Economic Development Corporation which invests in and creates innovative institutions and models that strengthen asset control (land stewardship is one example) and support economic development (through grants and programs) for American Indian people and their communities.

    First Nations Development Institute is another solid choice because you know your money will be well invested, and you can read the reports on how it was used.

    Which Native American Organizations Should You Donate To?

    Hopefully, this helps you decide where to invest for Giving Tuesday in the year 2023!

    P.S.
    You can always donate to the Alameda Native History Project, or any of these other organizations, any time of the year! Don’t wait until Thanksgiving.

  • 99% of Alameda Museum’s Ohlone Artifacts Were Stolen from Native American Graves

    We’ve found a pattern of reckless and careless treatment of 100% of those stolen artifacts.

    The Alameda Museum has roughly 186 Native American Artifacts. All of those artifacts were found in connection with Native American Graves, except for 2.

    So, we can’t say ALL of the artifacts are grave goods. But we can say:

    99.93% of Alameda Museum’s Indigenous Artifacts are Stolen Burial Goods from Native American Graves all over the place we now call “Alameda.”

    Shellmounds are cemeteries, ancient structures, sacred sites, historical resources, and ancient structures built by the first inhabitants of this area, Ohlone people.

    Shellmounds are made rows of burials stacked vertically and alternately; covered with the shell-laden soil found along the San Francisco Bay Region’s shorelines.

    There were several excavations of the shellmounds of Alameda.

    Artifacts saved from excavations attended by professional and amateur anthropologists/archeologists were donated to both the Alameda Library, and the U.C. Berkeley Museum. [Some artifacts were notably kept by a City Engineer by the name of I.N. Chapman.]

    Alameda Free Library existed long before the historical Alameda Historical Society, or the Alameda Museum were ever founded.

    The Two Alameda Historical Societies

    To be clear about the two Alameda Historical Societies: one of these societies existed in the early 1900’s, and is mentioned in newspaper articles, as being interested in the early Alameda Free Library’s “Museum” in the Carnegie Library.

    The second iteration of the Alameda Historical Society started in the 1940’s, and was instrumental in moving the Museum from the basement of the Alameda Free Library, into the old Alameda High School Auto Shop in the 1980’s. And then, into the storefront of the Masonic Building, on Alameda Avenue–where it remains [“lies in state”?] today.

    Transfer of Artifacts & Records from Alameda Free Library to Alameda Museum

    All of these artifacts taken from the mounds were transferred from the Alameda Library to the Alameda Museum when the Museum moved into the old Alameda High School Auto Shop.

    Those artifacts weren’t the only things transferred to the Alameda Museum.

    At it’s inception, the Alameda Museum was designated as the Official City Repository for City Records, and the Records of the City of Alameda’s Departments, including (but not limited to,) Alameda’s Fire and Police Departments.

    I know this isn’t incredibly relevant, but it’s important to know this background information, especially when the Alameda Museum claims they don’t have stolen artifacts, or that the artifacts the museum displays aren’t Native American Grave Goods. You’ll know that 99.93% of artifacts in the Alameda Museum’s possession are Grave Goods because they were taken from the Alameda “mounds”, which are Native American Graves.

    Out of the approximately 186 Ohlone Artifacts in the possession of Alameda Museum, only two of them are unrelated to Native American Graves.

    The other 184 artifacts are directly attributed to the shellmounds of Alameda.

    What’s more: the Alameda Museum’s pattern of wanton “inattention”, and reckless disregard for these burial goods are clearly stated in the museum’s own records:

    History:

    Stone mortar and pestle found in one of Alameda’s mounds. The information on the pestle can be connected to a donation documented in the museum records: Subject: One Indian Mortar and Pestle. Date received: April 1954. Unfortunately, as a result of earlier inattention there is no further description, and as a result of later inattention during moves and minor catastrophes, it is not certain the mortar and pestles are together anymore, and the connection has been lost. Part of a collection of objects found in the largest Shellmound, also known as Sather’s Mound in Alameda, or smaller mounds. The excavations at Sather’s Mound were carried out in 1908 by Captain Clark, an amateur anthropologist. The items were donated to the Alameda Free Library, and passed on to the museum when the museum moved to a separate location. Date: April 1954 Mortar Acquired from: unknown Date: before 1991

    Condition:

    Notes: 6/30/2020 MvL: The label has suffered water damage when a pipe in the museum burst. Any accession numbering of the mortars and pestles was lost and has been redone.

    The above excerpt of an artifact’s description establishes the Alameda Museum’s pattern of careless disregard, and reckless neglect of Native American artifacts.

    Grave goods belong in graves; not museums.

    Mismanagement of Ohlone Artifacts by Alameda Museum:

    • Misidentified the tribe associated with these stolen Ohlone artifacts;
    • Mixed up mortars and pestles, (among other things) so they no longer match;
    • Lost records and identifying information about the stolen burial goods;
    • Carelessly and recklessly stored, handled, and moved Ohlone grave goods.

    This mismanagement, and noncompliance with their Service Provider Agreement with the City of Alameda; with the standards and practice of commensurate professionals and institutions engaged in the conservation and preservation of historical records and artifacts; and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA); has resulted in damage to these priceless, irreplacable artifacts, which the Alameda Museum possesses without permission, or right of ownership.

    This evidence of unreported and unclaimed, loss/damage to Ohlone grave goods; and the established pattern of careless and reckless neglect of Ohlone artifacts…

    Should be reason enough for the Alameda Museum to concede it cannot adequately care for any of the 186 Ohlone artifacts it possesses; and return them to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area in the most expeditious way possible.

  • SF Bay Area Shellmounds Are Some of the Most Endangered Cultural Resources in the World

    Save Shellmounds Not Parking Lots campaign image of archaeologists sifting through soil in a cemetery. Title reads: “You wouldn’t let them dig up your grandma. Why would you let them dig up ours?”

    The San Francisco Bay Area had well over 425 shellmounds.

    Gabriel Duncan, from the Alameda Native History Project, estimates the true number of shellmounds around the S.F. Bay Area’s shoreline is closer to seven or eight-hundred shellmounds, which existed before European invasion and colonization.

    Shellmounds are ancient burial grounds used by the First People of the San Francisco Bay Area for over 10,000 years. Shellmounds form ancient mortuary complexes created by Ohlone, Miwok, and Karkin people. Shellmounds were not village sites; but they were places where ceremonies dedicated to indigenous ancestors were performed; and large seasonal gatherings were held nearby to celebrate the unity, harmony, and balance indigenous people share with the earth, each other, our ancestors, and all creation.

    Grave robbing by universities and treasure hunters; as well as desecration by railroad companies, oil refineries, and quarry operators, has made the remaining San Francisco Bay Area Shellmounds one of the most endangered cultural resources in the world.

    One of the chief defilers of shellmounds are quarry companies. These companies are still operating today, at places like the San Rafael Rock Quarry–which is home to no less than five shellmounds; and Dutra Materials Quarry, in Richmond, California–an area dotted with the highest concentration of shellmounds in the East Bay.

    But not much is being said about the historical and ongoing desecration and defiling of indigenous bodies to build the infrastructure and institutions all around us.

    This is surprising, considering the amount of time, effort, and fundraising which has gone into “preserving” a parking lot in West Berkeley, and protesting a thriving and established shopping mall in Emeryville, California.

    While other cities and corporations used shellmounds to level their train tracks, and pack for roadways: the Angel Island Immigration Station is one of the best surviving answers to the question of “What Happened to the Shellmounds?”

    Angel Island was home to about four shellmounds. All of which were quarried and used as a base for the concrete to construct the immigration buildings now standing as Angel Island State Park. However, there is no mention of this fact in the park brochure, or uttered by any tour guide on the island.

    The historical and continuing desecration goes unspoken, and right before our very eyes; all over the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Instead of directly addressing and challenging the corporations and cities responsible for the desecration of Ohlone, Miwok, and Karkin burial grounds, and sacred sites: advocates and allies are being fooled into believing these parking lots (in West Berkeley), and post-industrial waste sites (in East Oakland) are the priority for the fight against desecration of indigenous land. This is not true.

    “Saving” parking lots is not an indigenous priority over stopping the desecration of indigenous sacred sites today.

    Optic-driven, PR events, like urban gardens, and cultural easements to use our own land for free, do not address the fact that shellmounds are being quarried into extinction. That these ancient structures are being erased by shoreline development, and urbanization of the San Francisco Bay Area waterfront.

    This situation will not change; the desecration will not stop, until our supporters and allies start to critically assess the information being given to them by non-profit corporations trying to fundraise for their money, and compare that with information provided by scholars, experts, and bona fide tribes like the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Save shellmounds. Not parking lots.

  • Alameda City Council Extends Special Invitation to Muwekma Ohlone Tribe

    On December 6, 2022, at 5:00 PM, Alameda City Council will hold a special meeting to conduct a “Listening Session“, and discuss partnership opportunities with Local Indigenous People and Ohlone Tribes.

    Three tribal organizations have been invited to attend: Ohlone Tribe, INC., headed by Andrew Galvan; the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area; and the Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC.

    This listening session will seek to address a number of topics, including the City of Alameda’s commitment of $22,000 to the Sogorea Te Land Trust; Ohlone Land Acknowledgment; Possible Cultural Conservation Easement; and the creation of an action plan to raise awareness of, and educate the citizens of Alameda about Native American history and culture.

    The stakes are high for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe; as they’ve already seen interlopers raise their flags in Albany and Berkeley; as well as gain land at Sequoia Point, in Oakland, in the form of a cultural easement granted by Oakland City Council–without any regard to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, which has over 600 enrolled members, and documented history going back at least 7,000 years.

    Not only is a similar monetary commitment to the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation on the table…. This could be the last chance Muwekma has to be included in the planning of cultural easements and official recognition by the City of Alameda for decades to come.

    To find out more information about the Special Alameda City Council Meeting, follow this link to the Alameda legistar page with information about the upcoming meeting. The website says the Regular City Council Meeting begins at 7:00 PM; but the agenda for this meeting shows the Special Session starting at 5:00 PM on December 6, 2022.