A Call to Action from the Alameda Native History Project
OUR MISSION IS TO:
Advocate for tribal restoration,
Promote Native American representation, and,
Educate the public about Indigenous rights and perspectives,
Honoring the ancestral legacy of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, and,
Enriching our community through innovative tools, immersive experiences, and collaborative efforts.
Through initiatives like ACORNS!, the GIS Lab, and Land Lab, we bring this mission to life.
ACORNS!
ACORNS! is a year-round program, aligning with natural cycles: acorn harvests (fall), seed germination and curriculum development (winter/spring), community seedling giveaways and culinary classes (spring/summer), and ongoing tree nursery management.
GIS Lab
The GIS Lab is a core component of the Alameda Native History Project, and its founder is an Opensource Geospatial Foundation Member. We are currently in the process of pursuing accreditation as a Geo For All Lab, further solidifying our commitment to open-source geospatial education and community empowerment.
We are committed to fostering the free exchange of information, training our community members in open source software and, showing people how to use open data to both learn and advocate.
Our goal has always been to enable tribes and indigenous people to collect, analyze, and store sovereign data using a myriad of tools and methods. But it’s our immersive educational tools that we need the most support to develop.
Land Lab
Launching the Indigenous Land Lab has taught us valuable lessons, informing our approach to infrastructure development and community engagement. The natural materials available, open workspace, and potential as a restoration nursery are too much to pass up.
Once we are able to get the Land Lab going, we will be able to support the rest of our projects with the actual materials we need, by producing them ourselves, rather than having to buy them. And we would be able to model actual acorn granaries in situ.
Join us in empowering the Alameda Native History Project – your support will directly fuel these initiatives, fostering a deeper sense of community and Indigenous cultural connection through immersive experiences and events.
It sounds so distant when people use the word “ancestors”. Because it’s so safe; and sterilized by a false sense of temporal distance.
Even though those shellmounds contained the Great-Great-Grandparents of Muwekma (the word for “Ohlone People“, in their language, Chochenyo) who are alive and well today.
But the bodies didn’t stay buried.
Bones from shellmounds were used to fertilize the fields, gardens, and flower beds which became iconic as soon as Mark Twain called Alameda the “Garden of California”.
The remains of hundreds of Native Americans were used to pave Bay Farm Road. Twice.
The bodies of thousands of Ohlone people were crushed, and pulverized, to make concrete for sidewalks, and foundations for houses. Their graves pushed over to fill marshland, and level out the numerous railways running through the island we now call “Alameda”.
So it’s no wonder you found someone in your backyard.
Native American Graves are being Still Being Uncovered in Alameda Today
The story goes: a contractor working on a new deck, or a foundation crew digging around the cribs will find some bones. Human bones.
You’re supposed to stop work, supposed to call the Police Department and report the discover of a burial. Because it could a crime scene. Or it could be a Native American Grave.
If the bones look old enough, some contractors will turn a blind eye, and toss them back into the ground for some other guy to dig up.
But that’s not how you should do it.
Here are the 5 Steps to Honoring Native American Graves on the Stolen Land You Now Occupy
Step 1:
Don’t call the Museum!
If you find bones in Alameda while digging, do not call the Alameda Museum.
The Alameda Museum has no one on staff, or on call, who is qualified to identify or store Native American artifacts.
Since 1948 the Alameda Museum had mis-identified Ohlone people as “Miwok”, instead of “Costanoan” which is what Ohlone people in the Bay Area were known as until about the 1970’s. This mis-identification ended abruptly when the Alameda Native History Project interceded in the miss-identification of the First Alamedans (Muwekma) and mis-attribution of their stolen property.
So don’t call them. They don’t know what they’re doing.
Step 2:
Let the ancestors rest!
Stop work.
Don’t touch a damn thing.
🤬 around and catch a curse. Or a case.
[CA HSC §7050.5(a) : Every person who knowingly mutilates or disinters, wantonly disturbs, or willfully removes any human remains in or from any location other than a dedicated cemetery without authority of law is guilty of a misdemeanor….]
I know it sucks: but pay the crew for the rest of the day and send them home.
You’re done for the day.
Step 3:
Report the discovery to the police!
Who honestly knows if this is an ancient burial? Your contractor isn’t an expert either. It doesn’t matter what they say.
Stop work and call the police immediately.
The sooner you call, the sooner this gets settled.
The Coroner is the only person who has the authority to identify whether or not the remains are Native American.
“[I]f the coroner recognizes the human remains to be those of a Native American, or has reason to believe that they are those of a Native American” he or she will contact the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) within 24 hours.
NAHC will send for a Tribal Consultant from the Tribal Groups affiliated with the area where the discovery was made, and whomever NAHC also determines is the Most Likely Descendant.
Step 5:
Step back. Tribal Consultants will handle the rest.
Consultation is private. Anyone who isn’t directly involved, won’t be.
At the end of consultation, you will generally be presented with two options:
Re-Inter (or Re-Bury) the ancestor(s) in a place on the property where they will not be disturbed again.
Tribal Consultants will remove their ancestor(s) and repatriate them at their Tribal Cemetery.
That’s it!
You just helped protect Native American Graves, and reunited someone’s ancestor with their family!
Encourage your neighbors to do the same.
Encourage the Alameda Museum to do the right thing, and give their collection of stolen artifacts back to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.
It’s time the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes the existence of California Tribes.
There are a lot of problems with the Tribal Recognition Process administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Tribal Acknowledgment. But it’s their absolute resolve to stonewall almost every petitioner that dissuades many legitimate California Tribes from ever filing their petition.
When tribes are denied Tribal Acknowledgment by the BIA; the decision is almost absolutely always final. Forever.
Meaning tribes which fail to properly plead their case, or prove their continuous existence as a community, (or show a government-to-government relationship with the US,) will never be able to petition for Tribal Acknowledgment ever again.
Those Letters of Intent reserve the Tribes’ rights to file the petition at a later date.
But, because the BIA obfuscates what should be a simplified process, in an earnest attempt by the government to make good on its Trust Responsibility to Native Americans….
And, because the government has treated Tribes with hostility, denied their appeals, and left them with no recourse, and no hope to re-petition, ever….
Other tribes who haven’t submitted their petitions are beginning to think it’s easier to live a landless, nomadic existence, without the access to healthcare, housing, and homeland that so many other federally recognized tribes enjoy.
Because the alternative (permanent denial of Tribal Acknowledgment) could shut their tribe out, forever. Who wants to be the person who did that?
It’s not fair.
But there is hope!
The United States Department of the Interior is seeking input on a proposal to create a conditional, time-limitedopportunity for denied petitioners to re-petition for Federal acknowledgment as an Indian Tribe.
This means that previously denied tribes will be able to re-file their petitions and plead their case under new and changed laws; and have their cases heard with new deference and guidance from the Department Of the Interior.
Acorn Granaries are traditional Native American storage containers used to hold foods like dried berries, rice, squash, and tree nuts…. (In this case: acorns from the city-wide acorn harvest happening this fall.) …And keep them safe from animals and the environment over winter.
What is the purpose of an Acorn Granary?
To store food that people needed to survive during the coldest parts of winter, when no plants grow, and all of the animals are hibernating, or have migrated to warmed areas.
Why are Acorn Granaries important?
Acorns were one of the single most important food sources in California [Heizer 1957]. Over winter, the bounties of California’s many edible plants, and the abundance of wildlife normally acquired through hunting, trapping, or fishing, is replaced with a barren landscape.
This is why it’s so important to gather as much food as possible; and to protect it from water, wind, rain, and the animals–who also depend on caches to survive through the winter.
How widespread is the use of Acorn Granaries?
It cannot be overstated: Acorns were one of the single most important food sources in California [Heizer 1957]. Most families had an acorn granary [Gifford 1932; Fremont 1843]. Granaries were meant to hold acorns as they dried over winter, however, granaries would be kept and maintained for many years.
How many acorns does an Acorn Granary hold?
Some granaries would hold just enough acorns to support a family until the next harvest. Other granaries could hold “ten to twenty sacks of acorns” [Gifford 1932]. Although, there’s no specific weight or volume measurement for how much a “sack” is. Heizer (in 1957), noted that Patwin communities had granaries with a capacity of about 6 to 10 bushels of acorns.
Several studies included dimensions of varying types of granaries made by different California Native Tribes:
On average, the granaries were about 3-4 feet in diameter, up to 10 feet high, and at least 2 feet off the ground.
How many acorns were harvested during the Acorn Harvest?
The only limit to how many acorns could be harvested was dependent upon the method of collection, and how many people were involved in the harvest.
The Acorn Harvest happens once a year, when there is a nearly limitless supply of acorns adorning the more-than 87 million oak trees which are endemic to California. [Oaks 2040]
Competition for Acorns
Over 100 different kinds of animals eat acorns, including (but not limited to):
Bear
Chipmunk
Crows
Deer
Ducks
Foxes
Jack Rabbit
Jays
Mallards
Mice
Oppossums
Quail
Raccoons
Squirrel
Turkeys
Voles
Wild Hogs
Woodpeckers
Every single one of these animals would gladly take a pre-foraged “snack pack” [that’s what a bear would call it] in a season when no other food is available.
This is why it is necessary to create: (a) a sturdy food container that (b) hides the scent of food, and (c) deters animals from eating through the container into the actual food inside.
What are the different types of Acorn Granaries?
Below is a list granary types–but the names aren’t official. There are no standardized names for granaries because over 300 unique languages were spoken in California.
Coil-type – Acorns chill under a coil basket made from cordage. (Usually on a platform.)
Hanging basket – Hung from sturdy tree-limbs, or from a frame made from lashed wood.
Tree platform – Resting on platform build in the crook of a tree.
Free-standing – Made with sturdy legs to resist wind, and other forces.
Rock-butt – Granary resting on a rock. Sometimes stabilized by legs, or tied to frame/tree limb, or all of the above.
Construction Materials
Willow reeds & poles, and California Bay boughs, were gathered from the Indigenous Land Lab
After learning about the history, usage, and types of Acorn Granaries, we began granary construction over four sessions in July 2024.
Rolling the frame onto the hoops.
Completed granary frame.
Loosely woven base of the granary. (Take note the base is larger than the frame.)
Granary frame stuffed with bay leaves, sitting on base base, on top of tree rounds (with willow shims, lol.)
Shoring up the granary, using willow poles to stabilize with tension & compression. (MIT undergraduate remix.)
Granary Status: Ready for Acorns
Special Thanks & Acknowledgments
A huge shoutout, and special thanks goes out to the APC Farm2Market, for hosting our event, and the acorn granary.
Another huge shoutout goes to the Land Partners, who are hosting the Indigenous Land Lab, another Acorn Granary, and have graciously allowed us to harvest all of the willow and California Bay we used (and will use) for Acorn Granary Construction.
Special thanks goes out to everyone who participated in the Acorn Granary Challenge: Sandra, Liz, The Li & Pan Families, Natalie, Skipper.
We also want to acknowledge the Alameda County Arts Commission’s ARTSFUND for their part in funding this awesome, and ongoing, experience.
June 24, 1979; Gay American Indians banner at Civic Center during San Francisco “Gay Freedom Day Parade”. Photo by Joe Altman.
It’s official, the first and oldest Two-Spirit Society in the Nation, the Gay American Indians, will be appearing as their own contingent in the San Francisco Pride Parade to celebrate their 49th year in existence.
This year’s (2024) theme is “Visibility is Our Essence“.
What’s more, homophobia and learned anti-traditional behavior on reservations across Native America helped form a mass exodus of LGBTQ Native American people from their homelands, into the cities.
Because of the discrimination and ignorance both at home, and in the Castro (and other cities), LGBTQ Native American people suffered from depression, and languished from being kept out of and separated from the social support networks enjoyed by our white gay counter-parts. This situation only compounded a suicide and substance abuse epidemic–which started soon after the Relocation Act (of 1956), and still plagues our communities today.
Just because we were weren’t let into businesses and bars on the Castro certainly did not mean we were spared from “Gay Diseases” like, AIDS–which ravaged the Gay American Indian community. In fact, the AIDS Epidemic hollowed out the Native American LGBTQ community worldwide.
And, the ignorance and homophobia surrounding the virus created an impenetrable stigma which resulted in the unnecessary pain and suffering, and indignities seen across the Gay Community, but which profoundly Two-Spirit People in their own Native American communities–some of which would not let their own relatives be buried in their own cemeteries, on their own homelands.
HIV/AIDS testing and care services are still needed in Native America.
The other 36% of people who are not on medicine may not be at fault. They may be part of the 20% that doesn’t even know they’re infected; they may be unable to receive the care they need because of stigma from within their rural healthcare communities (which I have experienced first-hand) or because of the myriad barriers to gaining access to, and retaining, HIV/AIDS care and treatments.
The amount of research The lack of testing & research done on the prevalence, rates, and effects of HIV/AIDS on Native American People and Communities means that most Health & Service Agencies are blind to the true extent and impact of the epidemic on our friends and relatives. This issue became front and center when, in 1987, the late Jodi Harry became the first Native (that we know of) to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. [Harry would later take his own life.]
GAI will never forget the brothers and sisters we lost to HIV/AIDS. And we honor them every day we continue to breathe and fight for the rights and representation of our Two-Spirits relatives everywhere.
The Term “Two-Spirit”
… Refers to Native American people who do not fit the Western/European idea of what Men and Women are, and what their roles in society should be.
[The whole premise of this first sentence is offensive to Native American people because we honestly don’t care what white people think of us. And, it’s for the very reason that all People of Color have been disregarded, or all together regarded as a monolith, that has led to countless inequities in every facet of our existence in society, from healthcare to sports. In fact, the consideration and explanation of People of Color by people who treat mayonnaise as a spice, and consider the sun an enemy has never really worked out for us, at all.]
The term “two-spirit” came about as a preferred moniker to the term “berdache“–which is a french slur meaning “boy whore”–and is widely offensive to LGBTQ Native American People from a diverse plethora of tribes, communities, and backgrounds–and especially Lesbian Women, and people Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB.)
Because of the work the Gay American Indians did in bringing forth their research, and the opinions of researchers like Will Roscoe, Paula Gunn Allen, Maurice Kenny, in the first Gay American Indians Anthology: “Living the Spirit”….
… And comments and narratives from Two-Spirit People like GAI co-founders Barbara Cameron, and Randy Burns; Erna Pahe; and people like notable activist and Tribal Law Expert Clyde Hall during the 1993 American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting….
In 2025, next year, the Gay American Indians will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary. And we are going all out. We are going to be creating story boards and presentations to honor:
GAI co-founder Barbara Cameron, and her legacy as an activist, SF Pride Board Member, published author, and more.
Memorial to GAI Members who Lost Their Lives to HIV/AIDS
Commemorating GAI Veteran and Their Service To Our Country
History of Gay American Indians over Five Decades, from 1975 to 2025
If you are a GAI Member, or are an archivist, photographer, or someone who has articles, photos, recordings or other things which you think will help us tell the story of the Gay American Indians’ 50 Year Legacy, please reach out to us directly so we can arrange a time to talk about your collection/item.
If you would like to show your support for Gay American Indians, and Two-Spirits everywhere, by marching with us in this, or next years’ San Francisco Pride Parade, you can reach out to us by emailing: gai@nativehistoryproject.org.
Check out GAI’s event Friday, June 28th:
For more info email GAI@nativehistoryproject.org; or call Randy Burns (650) 359-6473
Shellmounds are ancient structures created by thousands of years of indigenous occupation.
Shellmounds are cemeteries, or mortuary complexes. The final resting places of the first people to live in this place we call the San Francisco Bay Area.
There were once over 425 shellmounds in the San Francisco Bay Area alone. In fact, there were many more shellmounds than that.
If you look closely at the distribution of shellmounds in Marin and Sonoma Counties, and apply that density to the rest of the Bay Area, you will very easily top 600 shellmounds.
Despite the fact that shellmounds are cemeteries, hundreds were still destroyed all around the Bay Area.
And–to make matters unimaginably worse–the bodies inside were ground up, and used as overspread to level out train tracks, and build massive infrastructure (like the Angel Island Immigration complex.)
“How was this possible?” (You may ask yourself.)
Wouldn’t someone be able to tell there were bodies inside of these mounds?
Yes. People could tell there were bodies in the mounds.
Even though some news stories feature witnesses who described bones disintegrating, or “turning to dust” as soon as they were handled…. People are still finding skeletons in places like Alameda, California, whenever they dig somewhere for the first time in a hundred years–which isn’t hard to do when many houses in Alameda are 100 years old.
In spite of the desecration, and destruction visited on hundreds of shellmounds here in the San Francisco Bay Area, many still survive. And a surprising amount shellmounds survive intact.
The most well known, “intact” shellmounds in the Bay Area reside in the Coyote Hills Regional Park. They are known as the “Ryan” and “Patterson” Mounds.
They join a long list of shellmounds which have been reported upon and studied over the past 100 years or more.
This list includes (but is not limited to):
Ellis Landing (Contra Costa)
Emeryville (Alameda)
West Berkeley (Alameda)
San Bruno Mound (San Mateo)
Miller Mound (Colusa)
Alameda Shellmound (Alameda)
Ryan Mound, and Patterson Mound (Alameda)
Burton Mound (Santa Barbara)
Herzog Mound (Sacramento)
… Just to name a few.
Excerpts of Illustrations from “Shell midden” surveys in SoCal showing shellmounds in situ:
These objects and human remains were taken during a period of “salvage archaeology“. Which was a period of intense extractive and exploitive research into Native American Language, Arts, Culture and Religion under the premise that the “Aboriginal Indians of North America” would soon become “extinct”.
Obviously, much of this work was made easier by the dispossession, missionization, forced internment (on reservations), and annihilation, that Indigenous People endured since First Contact with Europeans.
Just as Indigenx, Native American, First Nation and all First People of this place survived colonization: so did their shellmounds.
It’s up to us to break the cycle of destruction. The cycle of purposely disconnecting people from the places they come from. And then destroying those places (literally) for no other reason than the speculative amount of value or resources the land is worth.
One of the ways we can put the earth back into balance is by letting those who are from this earth gain access to their ancestors; and traditional places (like hunting camps) and resources (like a river) which provide a tribal cultural benefit.
Traditional tribal hunting grounds provide a tribal cultural benefit as source of traditional sustenance…. A river (or certain parts of it) where fish are caught, or plants or other things are gathered, is a natural resource which provides a tribal cultural benefit.
There is an air gap between the idea of land stewardship as a Native American landscaping service; and land stewardship through traditional cultural practices which have shaped much of the natural ecosystems of the Bay Area for over 10,000 years.
Render of a shellmound on the shore of the Carquinez Strait.
The mounds which still exist are not flat; have not been dug out; and are certainly not parking lots, transit stations, or shopping malls.
Parking lots are not “undeveloped” space.
Parking lots are not “open space”.
Parking lots have been levelled, packed, and paved.
…Just because parking lots are flat does not mean the land “isn’t developed”.
You need to know this:
When we talk about saving sacred sites. We’re talking about real sacred sites. Places which have been spared from development, either by ignorance, or by luck.
Render of a shellmound across the bay from San Francisco. Possibly in Albany, or El Cerrito.
Shellmounds are a part of the natural environment.
Shellmounds support the ecosystems they reside in.
Shellmounds are not parking lots!
Aside from the spiritual impact of shellmounds to their surrounding areas: shellmounds today provide habitat for plants and wildlife where that habitat is endangered–and, under constant threat of development.
You can help protect sacred land by protecting the environment around it.
You can help protect sacred land by advocating for its conservation, and return to the San Francisco Bay Area Ohlone Tribe: the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.
While support for land trusts, and ideas like “rematriation” are wonderful….
Fundraising campaigns like “Shuumi Land Tax” take away from the real causes of Ohlone Tribal Recognition, Ohlone Tribal Sovereignty, and Ohlone Ancestral Land Back.
For real, though, once they run out, it’s going to be a minute before another run is printed. And you’ll be forced to make due with one of our other awesome maps.
“Lisjan” has been referred to as a Traditional Ohlone Village Site, in East Oakland.
Both the San Leandro Creek, and San Lorenzo Creek bear the name of “Lisjan” creek.
But “Lisjan” isn’t even an Ohlone word.
“Lisjan” is what Nisenan People call the city of Pleasanton, California.
Uldal, J. & Shipley, W. (1966) “Nisenan Texts and Dictionary”
And, just to be clear: Pleasanton wasn’t called “Pleasanton” until the 1860’s. Up to that point, it was called “Alisal”, or “Alizal”, or “El Alizal”, or “Alisal Rancheria”. And, before that, Alisal was the Bernal Rancheria.
And Nisenan People are not Maidu People. They’re totally seperate tribes.
You could say, the present day Nisenan capitol is Nevada City, California….
The “definition” of Lisjan, a Nisenan Word…
In 1929, A.L. Kroeber published “The Valley Nisenan“, which contained an expansive, and categorized Nisenan vocabulary; and a decent explanation of phonetics. However, this was only a short list, which did not contain Place Names. But, this book is an indication of the linguistic study and research going on behind the scenes, in California, in the early 20th century.
It wouldn’t be until 1966, that Hans Jørgen Uldall, would publish “Nisenan Texts and Dictionary“, with William Shipley. This volume includes some very adult stories. So, beware. But, there are Nisenan-English, and English-Nisenan dictionaries in the back.
Uldall’s dictionary contains the entry for “Lisjan”; as a Place Name for Pleasanton, California.
But, how did that name, get all the way up to Nisenan territory, 100 miles away from Pleasanton? And 45 years after Harrington’s interviews? Why is “Lisjan” being touted as a traditional Ohlone Village Site in deep East-Oakland, if “Lisjan” is another name for Pleasanton?
Excerpt from “Chochenyo Field Notes” showing the word “muwekma”.
J.P. Harrington’s “Chochenyo Field Notes” (1921)
One of the most-cited references in Ohlone History…
In 1921, J.P. Harrington performed a Language Survey of Native Americans in the East Bay. Harrington gathered numerous languages during this time, including the “Chocheño” language; which is known as the East Bay Ohlone language, today. Despite being deeply flawed, and extremely sus at times, this document continues to be a primary influence on mainstream discussions about Ohlone History in the San Francisco Bay Area.
One of Harrington’s interviewees was a man by the name of Jose Guzman. Guzman was interviewed, along with a man named “Angelo”, and a third man who is known as “informant”–presumably, Harrington’s fixer. Francisca is another interviewee who appears separately from Jose and Angelo, most times.
This volume is incredibly informative. Even though, a good portion of the information provided by Jose Guzman, and Angelo become problematic in many places–when viewed in context with later anthropological work, and the lack of clear attribution to a speaker (if any) in many of the entries. This is a problem with Harrington, really.
A majority of contemporary work on East Bay Ohlone People cite J.P. Harrington’s “Chochenyo Field Notes”, from 1921.
This document is never more than one step removed from almost any article or research paper.
But who’s actually read it? As daunting as these tomes look in the beginning: I have to be honest, and tell you, it’s not as bad as it seems. 355 pages of hand-written notes goes kind of quickly if you can hang with the kind of Spanglish that’s spoken on many a rez, today.
It’s easy to get a feel for the personalities of the interviewees by how their interviews progress; and even the type of setting. Some interviews were taken at gatherings. There are write-ups of methods of fabrication for food and tools; songs; as well as old stories, passed down to Jose Guzman. Harrington’s hand-writing also changes, depending on the speed of the information he’s being given, and whether or not he’s having a good day. Sometimes, he had to switch pens, until ultimately finding a pencil.
In the beginning, Harrington focuses on the basics. Where are you from? What’s the name of your tribe? Have you heard of these people? Can you tell me the history of this place?
Harrington wouldn’t ask twice about something the same day. He would circle back to it again, on another day.
As his notes progress, the words move to phrases. The lists become Chocheño lists, with Spanish or English translation.
This is how “Lisjan” kept popping up.
Harrington’s Synthesis of Chocheño VS. The Way Chocheño Was Actually Being Spoken
Aside from where the notes explicitly said who the speaker was, or whether or not the interviewees agree, it’s difficult to tell the difference between Harrington’s own ideas and synthesis of Chocheño; and the Chocheño language as it was actually spoken.
The following entry shows how Harrington took a variation of the phrase “makin miwikma” (we are good people), and applied it to “lisjan”, to form “lisjanikma”–which, to Harrington’s understanding of Chocheño, means “lisjan people”.
makin lisjanikma, we are lisjanes. approved lisjanikma but could not get tongue around it.”
The result was a valid form of the word. But not a word which was actually in use; or even really pronounceable.
This would continue on the next page, with:
makin Jinijmin, somos muchachos, cannot say *makin jinijminka inf. tells me clearly
Hand-writing is unclear for “mak[n]ote”, “mak[in]ote”, “mak[s]ote”, “mak[‘n]ote”…
This is when I started suspecting there may have been drinking involved in some of these later sessions with Jose Guzman and Angelo. (Because it looks like they’re having fun, and getting kinda goofy at times.) The informant’s answer seems to say more about the philosophy, or [machismo] culture, of the group being interviewed. I can actually see it playing out:
You can’t just say, “We’re some men.” You have to say, “Puros muchachos estamos aqui!”
It was at this point, that I started noticing the strong Spanish-language influence in many of these examples of Chocheño given to Harrington by Chocheño speakers.
References to “Lisjan”
Page 54: The Ind. name of the Chocheños is lisianij.
In the first few pages, we find an entry that says the “Indian Name” of the Chocheños is “Lisjan“.
This may seem like an authoritative, and all-encompassing reference. But the specifics change over time.
Page 59: lisjanis, In. Infor. They said that S.Jose was an early mission [upside-down triangle symbol]; they called the Inds. here sometimes los viejos cristianos. Jose knows this trbu. too and uses it every day, in talking to me.
In the next entry, we find out that San Jose Mission Indians were also called “los viejos cristianos”.
We also find out that Jose Guzman references San Jose Mission Indians this way, as well. No location information is given yet. But that changes.
Soon, there are distinctions made between who is, and who isn’t Lisjan.
On page 95 of the PDF, a paragraph begins with “lisjanes were the San Jose.” It goes on to say that, neither the Doloreños, nor the Clareños, were Lisjanes.
Page 95: lisjanes were the San Jose — the name covered up as far as S. Lorenzo Angelo thinks. 8ing. lisjan. yo soy lisjan. The Doloreños were not lisjanes, nor were the Clareños. [Mention of Dumbarton Rail Bridge (opened 1910) at bottom of page?]
This entry includes a little more information about location. It states that the name Lisjan covered up as far as San Lorenzo. This is interesting, because the very first entry said Lisjan is the “Indian Name” of the Chocheños.
It’s also interesting, because the Chocheño-speaking Indians at San Lorenzo were called “Los Nepes”. Which means, they were considered a completely different group by Harrington’s interviewees.
Unfortunately, this entry only gives us a rough northern boundary to a possible Lisjan “territory”, certainly not enough information to pin to a certain geographic region. This also means that “Lisjan” was definitely not located in present-day Oakland, at all.
Pages 105-106: kana lisjanka, yo soy lisjan. makin lisjanikma, we are lisjanes. approved lisjanikma but could not get tongue around it.
The next entries that we see, are on pages 105 and 106. While the phrases “yo so lisjan”, and “we are lisjanes” are present; so is a real problem.
There is no distinction between the words and phrases that are actually used/spoken in Chocheño–and given to Harrington; and, the words and phrases J.P. Harrington created, or invented, on his own, and “pitched” to his informant, and interviewees.
Using the information found in Harrington’s notes, I prepared the following visual aids.
I wanted to find the answers to a number of questions I had:
Where is Lisjan? Is it in Oakland, Pleasanton, or somewhere else?
Who are the Lisjanes? Are they a specific group, or family?
Regarding what Angelo said about a Northern Boundary for Lisjan: is it possible the boundaries for Lisjan fall within the historic bounds of Mission San Jose?
Map showing Historic Place Names, Mission San Jose, and approximate North and South Mission Lands boundaries, as surveyed in 1852.
Where is Lisjan? Is it in Oakland, Pleasanton, or somewhere else?
[If this is the only document you’re going by….] And, if the Northern bounds of the name “Lisjan”, were located just before San Lorenzo, that means that:
Lisjan was not located in Oakland.
Lisjan was not bound by the historical Mission San Jose property lines.
Pleasanton was probably not called “Lisjan” by locals.
Who are the Lisjanes? Are they a specific group, or family?
Not much light is shed on who the Lisjanes are. While Jose Guzman probably declared himself Lisjan; it’s unclear the extent of Angelo’s affiliation to the name. At one point, one man touches his chest and tells Harrington that he is Lisjan in name, but his heart is from somewhere else.
Does this mean that Lisjan is somehow a transitory, or new affiliation based on where someone lives, now? Is this person simply saying something akin to, “I left my heart in San Francisco?” Or, “My heart yearns for home?” Or even something like, “This heart was made somewhere else; my blood pumps the blood of my ancestors, from a different place than here?”
We are told that the San Jose’s are Lisjan. The indian name for Chocheños from Mission San Jose are Lisjan. Indians from Santa Clara, and Dolores are definitely not Lisjan. Los Nepes aren’t Lisjan, either. And a tribe, from Sunol, the name of which no one could remember, was never affiliated with Lisjan.
This was one of the reasons I began to suspect that the bounds of Lisjan could be tied to the property lines of Mission San Jose.
But, alas, no matter which San Lorenzo you draw the Northern boundary of the name Lisjan upon, they always exceed the extent of mission property lines.
The Alameda Native Food Project is a program offered by the Alameda Native History Project, which seeks to educate the public about Traditional Native American Ingredients, Cooking Methods, and Contemporary Indigenous Cuisine.
The Native Food Project is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Native American connections to the natural world through the food they cultivate and enjoy.
Share the Experiences, Ingredients and Cooking Methods you learn at the Food Project with your family and loved ones!
Become a Food Ambassador
Introduce your friends to the delicious, nutritious, indigenous ingredients you learned about at the Native Food Project!
Food is the best way to travel the world and learn about other cultures and history without ever leaving home!
Join us for a series of workshops offered throughout the year.
Wait up… I thought this program was called the “Indigenous Food Lab“???
Funny story…
It turns out the term “Indigenous Food Lab” was trademarked.
So now the program is called the Alameda Native Food Project.
