Alameda Native History Project

Tag: native american studies

  • Alameda Native History Project Announces Fiscal Sponsorship

    Since Alameda Native History Project started as a small research project in 2019, it has been run using the pocket money of its founder, Gabriel Duncan.

    As the Alameda Native History Project started to become larger, and more established; being able to budget for upcoming events, meetings, classroom presentations, (and more) is becoming a vital part of operating day-to-day.

    While the model of giving away stickers and maps for donations is sustainable, it does not raise the amount of funding which would allow us to do the big projects and work the Alameda Native History Project is truly devoted to.

    Work like:

    • Correcting the inaccurate portrayals and misleading information presented by school districts, curricula, and even our local museums.
    • Developing and distributing Indigenous History Curriculum for Grades 3 & 4; and High Schools.
    • Engaging with the community to hold dialogues about our local indigenous history and strategize ways to engage everyone in the process of developing a community vision for the future which improves our present.
    • Empowering Youth and Elders to come together and share their stories and culture with each other in a way that begins to heal intergenerational trauma and restores the Continuum of Culture.
    • Recognizing that Oral Histories are a vital, integral part, of preserving our culture, elucidating our past, and helping the next generation forge their future while maintaining a connection to their ancestors, history, and culture.
    • Stimulate change, encourage experimentation with new and awesome ways to educate our youth about the pre-contact world, as well as the history of this place, which includes the voices and experience of those who lived it.
    • Provide access to, and training for next-gen equipment & software tribes can use to gather and create their own tribal data and databases, in a way that is sustainable, low-or-no-cost, and guarantees the Data Sovereignty of Tribes.
    • Providing funding, transportation, training and equipment for recording Oral Histories and documenting Elder Field Trips with Youth.
    • Give youth the guidance and knowledge they need to pursue their dreams, enhance their skills, and build the future they want to live in and leave for future generations. To let them meet and believe in themselves. And give them the space and reassurance to trust their instincts and know they are already our heroes.

    This is not a wish list of stuff we want to do….

    This is a list of programs/components which are already in development.

    The overlapping nature and community buy-in for these projects already exists; and the community strongly believes that this work is needed, and important, to the survival of Indigenous Culture, Knowledge, and History.

    The Alameda Native History Project is already beginning to plan and organize with other local organizations, educators, and change-makers to begin developing the programs and resources needed to achieve our goals.

    But we still need the funding for equipment like voice recorders, tribal computers, gps devices, student/youth stipends, remote-sensing equipment, software licenses, and more.

    Fiscal Sponsorship is a blessing

    Because of Fiscal Sponsorship, we will be able to apply for funding for our programs under the 501(c)(3) umbrella offered by our fiscal sponsors, The Hack Foundation.

    Alameda Native History Project is fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation (d.b.a. Hack Club), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 81-2908499).

    This means that all donations we receive are now tax-deductible.

    You can also leave us a nice note when you donate. ♥

    We still have the same commitment to transparent financials.

    The Hack Foundation allows us to be even more fiscally transparent: you can now view our current balance, and review our expenditures through our page on the Hack Club website.

    We’d like to thank the Hack Foundation for this opportunity, the Native Solidarity Project for referring us, and the community–especially our elders, for believing in the work we’re doing.

    Stay tuned for special events and project announcements in 2024!

    Sign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive announcements and learn about opportunities to support our work.

  • East Bay Indigenous History Resources

    Where to find Selected Primary and Secondary Sources regarding the Native American (Indigenous) History of the East Bay.

    Sources for the studious, tenacious, and determined, scholars.

    Muwekma Ohlone Tribe

    Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Recognition Process

    US DOI Bureau of Indian Affairs, Petition #111 Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of San Francisco Bay, CA

    Muwekma Tribal Publications (Research Documents)
    Featuring articles by Les Field, Alan Leventhal, and more.

    Randall Milliken

    A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1769-1810

    Native Americans at San Jose

    Old research papers by

    • Maxwell Uhle (Final Report on the Emeryville Shellmound),
    • N.C. Nelson (Shellmounds of the San Francisco Bay Region),
    • Robert F. Heizer (The California Indians, a source book),
    • Richard Levy (Handbook of the North American Indians),
    • and Alfred Kroeber, among others.

    Can be found under Keywords like:

    • “Costanoan“; “Mission Indians“; “California Indians”; “Shellmound”; “Verona Band“; “Fremont Indian“; “Rosemary Cambra”; “Jose Guzman”; etc.

    Find UC Berkeley Research Papers

    Access Archive Finding Aids

    These resources are for people who are willing to commit the time and effort into finding and reading the primary and secondary resources created by anthropologists, archaeologists, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, and Ohlone People themselves.

    This is not a complete list of sources. For instance, the California State Universities are another source for information not listed here–even though Alan Leventhal is associated with the CSU system. This is just a selected list of some resources to get you started.

    If you find other resources for primary and secondary materials which are not listed here, please let us know.

    Right now, we’re in the process of finding and compiling local archival sources.

    If you are an individual or organization who also keeps their own libraries and collections regarding this subject, or Native Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area, and you would like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

  • What about the East Bay Ohlone of Oakland, Emeryville, Alameda?

    Someone recently responded to the article “Who are the Lisjan Ohlone? What does Chochenyo mean?” with some questions of their own.

    What about the East Bay Ohlone of Oakland, Emeryville, Alameda? [The] Muwekma are not the only Lisjan in the area.

    B. Richman

    I publicly responded:

    [B.] Richman this article seeks to educate people like you about Ohlone people in the east bay. So you stop calling them “chochenyo ohlone”, “Lisjan Ohlone”, and other misnomers.

    Alameda Native History Project

    But, I wanted to address the confusion and misinformation about Indigenous People, being perpetuated by non-indigenous people.

    So I sent this message directly to that person, which I wanted to elaborate on, and share with you. What follows is based on that message, illustrated with pictures and relevant links.

    “What about the East Bay Ohlone of Oakland, Emeryville, Alameda? [The] Muwekma are not the only Lisjan in the area.”

    Questions like this are problematic because they show how much the person asking really doesn’t know about the indigenous history of their area.

    [Everyone is aware of the hype behind the Sogorea Te Land Trust, a corporation fronted by Corrina Gould, an indigenous woman who claims to be a chairwoman of an Ohlone Tribe–a corporation called the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation, Incorporated. A corporation formed by Corrina Gould, and her daughters; which is less than two years old.]

    Take a look at Corrina Gould and ask yourself why the pictures of her and her “tribe” only ever show about five people.

    Oakland, CA
    Alameda, CA
    Albany, CA

    Seriously… ask yourself why the members of the other Confederated Villages never appear in the pictures.

    If you take a step back, you’ll realize that Corrina Gould’s support is not from Ohlone people.

    It’s from non-indigenous people, and native people who aren’t even Ohlone.

    The truth is: Corrina Gould appointed herself as a “chairwoman”; she doesn’t represent Ohlone people beyond herself and her immediately family.

    The Muwekma Tribe has hundreds of members.

    Coyote Hills Regional Park
    Muwekma Group Picture 001
    Muwekma Group Picture 003
    Why Federal Recognition is Important
    Muwekma Tabling at Event

    Muwekma are actually the people who called themselves “Lisjanes” (Lisjanikma), who were called the Verona Band of Alameda County. The Muwekma Tribe is actually composed of the descendants of those who survived the missions, attempted genocide and cultural erasure.

    More pictures of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area can be found on their website: Muwekma.org

    The present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is comprised of all of the known surviving American Indian lineages aboriginal to the San Francisco Bay region who trace their ancestry through the Missions Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Jose; and who were also members of the historic Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County.

    Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area

    If you take away anything from this, it should be that:

    You need to know the difference between Tribe, and a corporation run by a convicted fraud whose main activities consist of fundraising for her own personal benefit, and that of her immediate family.

    In truth, Shuumi does not help Ohlone people.

    It’s a distraction created by someone who’s done this kind of stuff before.

    Take a second to stand back and see that Corrina Gould’s narrative is a washed down version of the real history of Muwekma.

    Corrina Gould is a recognized descendant of the Muwekma Tribe; and she betrayed her own tribe by weaponizing their own language and history against them.

    I thought her story was compelling too, until I did the research, and followed the facts.

    Once I learned to truth, I had to publicly withdraw my support. It was kind of embarrassing, and a mistake to support a group without doing my research first.

    But it’s a mistake I want you to avoid, too.

    This isn’t some nebulous grey zone. There are peer-reviewed articles and genetic studies establishing these facts. All you need to do is look at Muwekma’s petition to the BIA to learn way more than you ever needed to know about this subject.

    You should do your own research, and educate others.

    This confusion and misinformation is detrimental to the sovereignty of real, bona fide tribes.

    The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area is trying regain their Federal Recognition, and restore their homeland. Find out how you can help Ohlone people (for real) by going to Muwekma.org

    You can also learn more Ohlone History, and see more pictures of the Muwekma Tribe, as well as read a selection of academic articles, interviews, and watch Chairwoman Charlene Nijmeh at TEDXBerkeley.

  • Shellmounds: Spanish and American Influence on Indigenous Burial Practices and Shellmound Use

    A shellmound is a graveyard, a mortuary complex, an ancient structure. It’s a place where the first peoples who live along the coasts and rivers of California, used to bury their dead. This article briefly explores why that is.

    Spanish Influence on Indigenous Use of Shellmounds

    This changed when Spain Conquistador’s invaded the San Francisco bay area, on June 27, 1776, and established what’s known now as The Presidio, in San Francisco, California. [On July 4th, 1776, thirteen British colonies in North American declared their independence, and formed the United States.] Three months later, on October 9, 1776, is when Mission San Francisco de Assisi was founded and missionization of the Bay Area officially began.

    This missionization of local indigenous people can be characterized by the abduction, forced baptism, and slavery of Indigenous people by Spanish Priests and Conquistadors. And, the outright theft of natural resources (like food) which indigenous people had helped cultivate and depended upon for all of their food, medicine, building materials, etc.

    In spite of the homefield advantage, and larger numbers, indigenous people could not defeat the colonizing Spanish force.

    Spanish conquistadors were cruel, paranoid, psychopathic, mass murdering kleptomaniacs. Their expeditions were marked by massacres of unarmed people; looting of villages’ water, food and gold; and the enslavement of surviving indigenous people. Indigenous objections to the Spanish invaders were often met with attacks on villages, and public executions–a fear tactic meant to terrorize local indigenous people into submission.

    Spanish Missions are places where indigenous people were brainwashed into accepting their slavery and the belief that “indigenous people are inferior to Spanish” colonizers, conquistadors, and especially clergy. Indigenous people were indoctrinated into the Catholic labor system by Clergy through coercion, torture, and threat. And reinforced with food, personal living quarters, better jobs, and some form of acceptance into the Spanish way of life.

    When Spanish colonizers had ruined the ecosystem by grazing, logging, razing, and waste, indigenous people found themselves with little choice but to join the missions or flee to places outside of the reach of the mission system. (In reality, no Indigenous Californians were safe from the missions, except those in the far North of California, where Missions did not exist.)

    Because the Missions were located in Central Areas; and because of the Area of Influence Spanish Invaders were able to exert dominance over was so vast (due to horses); indigenous people of the area known as the Bay Area were forced to abandon their burial practices because they had to abandon the land their graveyard was situated upon.

    This meant that indigenous people had to figure out how to bury their dead using the resources found away from the coasts and rivers they were used to.

    It also meant that, indigenous people were being buried in graveyards at Catholic Missions all around the Bay Area.

    American Influence on Indigenous Use of Shellmounds

    Soon, American aggressors would begin to appear in what they though was their frontier land; an “Indian Frontier”. This was during the time of the “Wild West”, when Indian Wars were being actively fought.

    The Indian Wars would be romanticized for years to come in newspaper stories, and on the screen especially during the 1950’s with such films/shows as:

    • Winchester ’73
    • Gunsmoke
    • The Lone Ranger
    • Davey Crockett
    • They Died with Their Boots On

    But there was nothing romantic about the real story of the California Genocide.

    Americans would purposely destroy or vandalize sacred sites for entertainment or out of spite. One famous shellmound, in Alameda, California, was used to pave Bay Farm Road in 1908. The bodies of ancestors were routinely ground up and used as aggregate for cement, or even calcium enrichment for roses and other flowers (instead of eggshells.)

    The vandalization, desecration and disrespect of Native American Graves and Bodies continues to this day.

    Militias were paid by the United States Government, and (later) the State of California, to hunt and kill all indigenous people. The United States Army “expeditions”, especially what they liked to call “punitive expeditions”, were marked by the execution of indigenous men, and the rape, torture, and mass-murder of indigenous women and children.

    In 1848, the area now known as California was ceded by Mexico, at the end of the Mexican-American war. Two years later, California would officially earn statehood, and its first governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett, during his first State of the State address mentioned the California genocide explicitly.

    “A war of extermination will continue … until the Indian race becomes extinct,” Peter Hardeman Burnett, the First Governor of California continued, “the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power or wisdom of man to avert.”

    Now, all Indigenous people were actively under threat by all white people, who were paid for each “Indian” they killed, baby they stole, or person forced into slavery via “prisoner debt” to white business and property owners. Prison debt was money owed to a person or business for a crime committed against it. These were often times for extraordinary amounts of money which the debtor was only able to pay through involuntary labor or servitude. The prison debt system was created to control Indigenous People, and People of Color, and prevent them from gaining any foothold or capital in a society and world which white people viewed themselves as being solely entitled to because of their religious or racial beliefs.

    Once Native Californians were being displaced, forced onto reservations, into indebted servitude, boarding schools, orphanages; and their burial places forced abandoned, and desecrated by American invaders. Many indigenous people began the practice of cremation. One of the most common reason for why someone is cremated was because they wouldn’t be able to be buried with their ancestors, next to their loved ones, or with their family or tribe. It was better to live the afterlife free of their body than to have it defiled.

  • Ohlone Curriculum

    In 2015, the East Bay Regional Park District published their second edition of the “Ohlone Curriculum with Bay Miwok Content and Introduction to Delta Yokuts”. This was meant to be third-grade curriculum about the indigenous people of the Bay Area, created by (then) District Cultural Services Coordinator, Beverley R. Ortiz.

    This curriculum came with several resources, including: student resources on Ohlone, Bay Miwok, and Delta Yokut people; Native Peoples Map and Brochure; and the 106-page Ohlone Curriculum, itself. The curriculum is primarily directed at the Grade 3 “Core” and History-Social Science standards; as well as Grade 4 & 5 History-Social Science Content Standards.

    But, the reason it’s remarkable, is because the student’s resources are made mostly of stories and history told by indigenous people, themselves. In fact, it looks like a big family photo album. Which is pretty cool, very personal. And teacher resources and supplements are super helpful.

    Native Peoples of the Region Now Known as the East Bay

    Ohlone Curriculum Map; East Bay Regional Park District; March 24, 2020

    It feels kinda dumb to even point this out.

    The map itself is an extension of all the great energy and intention and wonderful work and the personal, lived experiences of indigenous people.

    Not only that, but the map is also:

    But it contains some really obvious catographic, and typographic errors.

    These seemingly “small errors”, or “minor mistakes” have the profound effect of being repeated in classrooms, and by park interpreters, and educators for almost an entire decade.

    And it’s comically contrary to one of the main intents of the curriculum: to dispel stereotypes and clarify misperceptions about the First Peoples of the East Bay.

    Ohlone Curriculum Map, with Markup

    So what’s wrong with this map?

    1. Huchiun Is Listed Twice.
      Huchiun appears in two different areas; the northern-most is actually supposed to be Huchiun-Aguasto.
    2. Huchiun Aguasto is Not Where Vallejo and Mare Island Are.
      Huchiun Aguasto is actually in the Richmond area; where the northern-most Huchiun label occupies.
    3. Jalquin/Irgin
      Yrgin and Jalquin are two seperate places/areas. Yrgin is spelled incorrectly.
    4. Inconsistent Capitalization
      There’s no reasoning or explanation for why any of these areas/places are spelled with upper-case or lower-case letters.

    The effect is a false sense of understanding; the continuation of misconceptions and proliferation of “educational materials” which are wrong/inconsistent with the sources cited in the Ohlone Curriculum, itself. [Like Randall Milliken’s maps.]

    Alameda Native History Project tried to tell ’em….

    It’s been almost 3 years since we first notified the East Bay Regional Park District of problems with the map they have so widely distributed and prominently displayed, we have yet to hear from the Park District.

    The East Bay Regional Park District has neither acknowledged their mistake, not made any move to correct it.

    So, we fixed the Ohlone Curriculum Map for them.

    East Bay Tribal Groups Map, made by Gabriel Duncan, for the Alameda Native History Project (2023). Map services and data available from U.S. Geological Survey, National Geospatial Program.

    lol, the invoice is in the mail.

    For information on how to get copies of this map, contact Merch.

    If you are an institution which would like large-format, or data designed to meet your cartographic and display needs, contact Collab.

  • Foreword to A Land Defender’s Guide, Vol. 1

    The following is the Foreword to A Land Defender’s Guide to: Making the Exploitation of Land Expensive & Unappealing To Would-Be Colonizers, Volume I: Work-Site Blues.

    Foreword

    You told them this was Native Land, Indigenous Territory, A Sacred Site, or even the place where your great-grandparents are buried. But they laughed in your face, and hid behind a wall of lawyers. And a wall of militarized police.

    And, then, they shook hands with the very politicians who promised to protect your tribal homeland, and your great-grandmother’s grave, as they broke ground right on top of her.

    This is not figurative, or metaphorical, in any sense at all. You literally watched the shovel break the ground above her resting body. Desecrating forever the sanctity of this place, and guaranteeing an afterlife without rest, or peace.

    It made you feel ridiculous; a welling of impotent anger, aggrieved frustration, and justified indignation at this betrayal; at the destruction of the most precious and pristine place you were proud to call your home.

    Now, it’s become the site of a lithium mine; host to a four foot wide petroleum pipeline; or worse, a dumping site for nuclear waste that won’t be safe for hundreds of thousands of years (if ever.)

    Meanwhile, your ancestors are pulled out of the ground like empty corn husks. The prairies and forests you used to visit, pray and play in have been flattened and become a parking lot for heavy equipment, modular offices.

    The water flowing from the springs smell bad now, and none of the animals will drink it, anymore because they will get sick, and die—just like the trees and plants that used to grow around this place.

    You tried to tell them they were destroying the place you held close to your heart. Tried to tell them that the well-being of this land wasn’t just important to your people, but that it was integral to the survival of all life on earth.

    Other people agreed. They said deforestation, not only led to loss of habitat for the animals you depend on, and who depend on you; but that the earth would never be able to recover from critical damage to its carbon reducing, oxygen producing, infrastructure.

    Your new friends got lawyers, and held protests, made t-shirt slogans, eye-catching signs, and raised awareness on social media. But it didn’t mean anything to the people who only saw profit in loss and exploitation. And your new friends left as soon as their GoFundMe’s reached their goals—never giving you the help they promised, or the money they raised in your name.

    Now your ancestor’s resting place has a metal fence around it with big signs saying “KEEP OUT”, “PRIVATE PROPERTY”. But you know the signs should be for them, instead of you, and your people.

    Now what?

    The guide is available by request through email, or via direct link to the PDF on Proton Drive.

  • Shuumi Does Not Benefit Ohlone Tribe

    Most people are familiar with the Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC.;

    and their fundraising (“trust”) corporation known as Sogorea Te Land Trust, INC.

    Both are fronted by Corrina Gould, an Ohlone woman, who has managed to command the attention and monies from thousands of people in the San Francisco Bay Area, and beyond.

    Corrina Gould has been lauded for her fundraising to establish urban gardens; create ad-hoc Ohlone language programs; and even negotiate for a cultural easement at a well-known park, in the City of Oakland, California.

    But Corrina Gould’s work has been done without the inclusion, consultation, or participation of her own tribe.

    And the victories that Gould has managed to score, however shallow—and in the name of “all Ohlone people”—do not actually benefit all Ohlone people. In fact, Corrina Gould is actively diverting money and support away from her own tribe.

    Shuumi Land Tax, (fundraising donations) collected by the Sogorea Te Land Trust, does not go to all Ohlone People.

    “Shuumi” stays within the Sogorea Te Land Trust, and is only disbursed to Corrina Gould’s personal corporation: the Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC.–which, in turn, only benefits Gould’s immediate family.

    [For reference, Corrina Gould’s immediate family are:
    (1) herself,
    (2) Cheyenne Gould,
    (3) Deja Gould, and
    (4) Chatah Gould.
    For all intents and purposes, these are the only members of what Corrina Gould alleges is a “confederation of villages”.]

    And…. While Corrina Gould claims that her non-profit corporation is a Tribal Government, it is not. And, despite Corrina Gould’s claims that she is a Tribal Chairwoman, she is not.

    Tribal Chairpersons are voted for by the enrolled members of a tribe, in a democratic process which all legitimate Native American tribes are required to employ, per the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

    Not only do enrolled tribal members vote for the Tribal Chairpersons; they vote for Tribal Council Members; and vote for or against the laws, regulations and actions taken by their Tribe.

    [Link to Federal Bar PDF document, “Introduction to Tribal Election Law“.]

    At most, Gould was “elected” as CEO by the Board of Directors of her corporation.

    But, in reality, Corrina Gould is the self-appointed Chief Executive Officer of a corporation she formed to affect the illusion of legitimacy; a shell corporation she could use not just for her own personal monetary gain, but also satisfy her narcissistic need to be the only indian in the room—the end-all, be-all expert on Ohlone “indianness”.

    Gabriel Duncan

    The fact that the three officers of the Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC. are: Corrina Gould, Deja Gould and “Chayenne Zepeda” (AKA, “Cheyenne Gould”), should be a red flag regarding the legitimacy of the corporation as a “tribal government”, and “confederation of villages”.

    The name of Gould’s corporation itself; a so-called “confederation of villages” forming a “nation” would imply the Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation, INC. is a large group of people—presumably, Ohlone people—who represent a number of different Ohlone villages in the San Francisco Bay Area.

    If this were true: one would expect to see a roll or roster of villages; articles of confederation signed by representatives of all the villages in the confederation.

    So, how come Corrina Gould is only pictured with her daughter and grand-children in most “official tribal portraits”?

    You may be blinded by the white faces surrounding Corrina Gould; and Indigenous supporters who are neither Ohlone, nor even from the San Francisco Bay Area.

    But those people are not tribal members. And they are not eligible to be tribal members because they’re not even Ohlone.

    This begs the question:

    • Who are the other villages in the confederacy?
    • Where are the members of those other villages?
    • Why aren’t other members of the confederacy represented in these official pictures and at official events with Corrina Gould?
    • Why are the PR photos only showing Corrina Gould’s immediate family, and a slew of non-indigenous supporters?
    Why hasn’t anyone asked these very basic questions?

    People are less familiar with the real, bona fide, Ohlone tribe Corrina Gould is a recognized descendant of: The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.

    The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is composed of all surviving lineages of Missions San Jose, Delores, and Santa Clara.
    Muwekma boasts over 700 enrolled tribal members; and a proven, documented contiguous history of living in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 10,000 years.

    In fact, the genetic ties between Muwekma and the San Francisco Bay Area fossil record are only being strengthened with each archaeological “discovery”, and subsequent “ancient DNA” analysis.

    Muwekma is a Chochenyo word which means la gente (“the people”.) This is a commonality, for tribes’ names to literally mean “us”, or “the people”. The reason why is mostly philosophical, and only a teensy bit linguistic; but this is true for the majority of groups of people when asked “what do you call yourselves?” [Indigenous People have the right to name themselves, and be referred to by the name they choose. UN Resolution 61/295; adopted Sept-13-2007.]

    This is completely different than the name “Lisjan”; which is an obscure reference to the Muwekma homeland, which included (among other locales): Alisal Rancheria (around Pleasanton, California), the Area Around Sunol (California), and the historical Hacienda Del Pozo Verona, built by the Hearst family—which had a train station named for it: the Verona Station.

    Alisal was the Land Grant Rancheria Muwekma people lived and worked on after the secularization of the missions, as vaqueros.

    Much of this land was later bought by the Bernal family (which became Pleasanton), and a southern portion was purchased by Randolph Hearst.

    Muwekma people have called themselves by a few names: Lisjannes, Muwekma, the Mission San Jose Band of Indians, and Ohlone.

    However, Ohlone people have never called themselves “Chochenyo”, or “The Chochenyo”, because Chochenyo is an Ohlone Language, not a tribal group.

    And Muwekma people have never referred to themselves as the “Verona Band of Alameda County”; this was a name used to identify Muwekma people by the U.S. Government, used in their own internal BIA/Department of Interior documents.

    Aside from the fact that:

    1. “Lisjan” is a Chochenyo and Nisenan name for Pleasanton, California; that,
    2. Corrina Gould’s corporation is not a confederation of Ohlone villages, or a Tribal Government; and that,
    3. Shuumi Land Tax doesn’t actually go to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area…
    There is the very real and (largely) unreported pattern of hostility and contempt that Corrina Gould harbors for any person who tries to advocate for, or even dares to mention the name “Muwekma”.

    In the four years the Alameda Native History Project has been operating, I have come into contact with countless indigenous people who have (tried to) work with Corrina Gould in various professional and academic capacities. These credible people, experts in their fields, sought me out, to tell me about their experiences with Corrina Gould, after I publicly withdrew my support, and admitted my own mistake in ever co-signing the narrative that Gould had appropriated (almost word-for-word) from the history of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.

    This project completely, and uncompromisingly protects, and will continue to protect the anonymity of our sources; because, some of these sources are afraid of being subjected to even more harassment and possibly violence from Corrina Gould’s supporters than they have already experienced. [However, we are not afraid. And, this topic–and the subjects within this essay–need to be discussed and brought to the general public; because they are newsworthy and important.]

    This public mis-understanding is especially problematic because it means that Corrina Gould is diverting money and support away from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Franciso Bay Area; the tribe from which Corrina Gould is a recognized descendant. [Alameda City Council, “Listening Session and Partnership Opportunities with Local Indigenous People and Ohlone Tribes“, Dec-6-2022]

    So, while people generously donate to a corporation, which they believe will help all Ohlone people….

    While the Sogorea Te Land Trust, and Corrina Gould, continue to profit from the public’s belief their donations fund programs which benefit a much larger group of Ohlone people than they actually do….

    Ohlone people will continue to suffer harms from colonization and political erasure–not just from the United States, and Spanish Governments’ policies of eradication and assimilation–but also, from misinformation and diversion by someone who would rather exploit their own indigenous identity (, and the public’s genuine good will and support for Ohlone people) for personal gain.

    Right now is a crucial time for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe; as they struggle to receive re-affirmation of Muwekma’s status as a Federally Recognized Tribe; and restore a Muwekma tribal homeland.

    These are the top two priorities of the indigenous people of the San Francisco Bay Area. Once known as “Costanoans” because they, Muwekma Ohlone people, are among the First Peoples of the California Coast.

    You can help Muwekma, too.

    One of the ways Muwekma can receive reaffirmation of their Federal Recognition Status is by an act of Congress.

    Call/Email your local representative.

    Let them know that the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area has been in the Bay Area for over 10,000 years; and they deserve a land base on their own tribal homeland.

    Muwekma deserves reaffirmation of their status as a Federally Recognized Tribe. Muwekma has the right to have a land base on their ancestral homeland, in a region where they are in danger of being gentrified and priced out of.

    Check out the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area’s website for more ways to help the tribe restore their sovereignty, and provide an Ohlone homeland for generations to come.

    “The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe knows who they are, they don’t have to prove it.”

    Lee Panich, Ph.d.

  • 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.

  • One More Reason Why Land Acknowledgment is Important: Letter to Museum of San Ramon Valley

    The following is an email sent to John Keenan, volunteer at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, in reply to his request for topics for Zoom Lectures at the museum:

    Land Acknowledgement is an important step in naming and acknowledging the people who actually belong to this land. It’s a proclamation that has no legal implications, as far as I can tell. But it is the first step in naming the people whose land you are on, and acknowledging the circumstances which forced them off of it, and into obscurity. It is an attempt to undo the continuing erasure (or omission) of the history of our people, and one way to begin the process of inviting Native American people to be a part of the planning process; as well as to make space for the representation of the actual lived experiences of Native American people.

    By acknowledging this land is Ohlone territory, you are honoring Ohlone people by referring to them by the name that they chose for themselves. And you are helping to correct the inaccurate representations of who has been here (“since time immemorial”–but at least for [7,000] years.)

    Many times, historical societies, and museums refuse to acknowledge, or take seriously the factual (historical) background of this place. But it only takes the introduction and study of archeological, ethnographic, and direct statements by Native People, in the last 50 years for one to realize, and determine that this is indeed Ohlone Territory.

    For instance, the last recorded tribal group in your area was the Verona Band of Indians, they appeared in at least two Indian Censuses, J.P. Harrington’s Research, and most recently in Randall Milliken’s detailed and thorough analysis of Mission Records. The Verona Band of Indians was recognized as a tribe by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and is known today as the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, which claims the entire San Ramon Valley area as their homeland. Furthermore, overtures made to the existence of groups in places like “Lisjan”, are direct references to places where Ohlone people lived and worked on ranches in the post-Mission Period–as “Lisjan” is a Maidu place name for Pleasanton, California.

    Inline attachment: image showing Muwekma Tribal Territory, “Some of the Direct Muwekma Ohlone Lineal Descendant Tribal Districts and Villages”

    In spite of this, museums and historical societies, such as the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, continue to insist that the tribal groups of your area were Miwok; when, in fact, they were Miwok-speaking Ohlone People. And the only reason Ohlone people were misidentified was because of the blind reliance on the languages spoken by the Native People here as the sole identifying indicator of a tribe’s identity. This, of course, is a result of the fact Miwok was the primary language spoken in California Missions. (However, Jose Guzman, pictured below, spoke Chochenyo, which is an Ohlone language.)

    By continuing to misidentify Ohlone people–who are alive and well today–and refusing to acknowledge their lives, and contributions to this area, is continuing to omit large portions of a rich and interesting history, some of which can only be presented by Ohlone People, themselves. This is aside from the reliance upon, and repetition of, what’s widely seen as explicitly racist, antiquated, and offensive language and references to Native American People, often still seen in museums, and historical societies, today.

    [Inline attachments: 1. picture of Ohlone ancestor, Jose (“Joe”) Guzman, seated in a chair, holding a cane, on a ranch in Niles, California–unidentified woman standing behind him, perhaps one of his daughters;
    (2.) Jose Guzman’s son, and grand-children, also in Niles, California. Both pictures were taken in 1934.]

    It is for these reasons, among many others, that Land Acknowledgement is an important facet to honoring the people of this area. But it is also a step forward in presenting accurate historical information, and respectful representation, of the people whose land you are on, and benefit from.

    It is also for these reasons (among many others) I would be unable to present information about Native People in the San Ramon Valley area under the guise that they are “Miwok”. Because I know this is a false representation of the facts.

    Please find the attached “Muwekma Greeting”, an official document published by the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is extremely thorough and detailed; the most pertinent facts have been verified and augmented by the Bureau of Indian Affair’s own Research and Acknowledgement Division.

    I hope this will help you as you consider which topics and information the Museum of the San Ramon Valley chooses to present to the public. I am copying this email to the museum’s main email address, as well.

    Very truly yours,

    Gabriel Duncan

    Attachment: “Muwekma Greeting”

    Muwekma-Greeting-City-of-Oakland-and-Alameda-Native-ArtDownload

  • Text of CA Senate Joint Resolution re: Muwekma Ohlone Tribe Federal Recognition

    Amended in Senate June 08, 2022

    CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

    Senate Joint Resolution
    No. 13

    Introduced by Senator Cortese
    (Coauthor: Senator Wieckowski)
    (Coauthors: Assembly Members Kalra, Lee, and Low)

    March 07, 2022

    Relative to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.

    LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

    SJR 13, as amended, Cortese. Muwekma Ohlone Tribe: federal recognition.

    This measure would urge the United States Congress and the Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Indian Affairs to reaffirm and restore the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe as a federally recognized Indian tribe and include the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe in the Federal Register as a recognized tribe.

    Fiscal Committee: NO

    WHEREAS, The United States Federal District Court of the District of Columbia recognized in Muwekma Tribe v. Babbitt (2000) 133 F.Supp.2d 30 that “The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is a tribe of Ohlone Indians indigenous to the present-day San Francisco Bay Area. In the early part of the Twentieth Century, the Department of the Interior recognized the Muwekma Tribe as an Indian tribe under the jurisdiction of the United States. In more recent times, however, and despite its steadfast efforts, the Muwekma Tribe has been unable to obtain federal recognition, a status vital for the Tribe and its members.”; and

    WHEREAS, The United States Federal District Court of the District of Columbia recognized in Muwekma Ohlone Tribe v. Kempthorne (D.D.C. 2006) 452 F.Supp.2d 105 that “The following facts are not in dispute. Muwekma is a group of American Indians indigenous to the San Francisco Bay area, the members of which are direct descendants of the historical Mission San Jose Tribe, also known as the Pleasanton or Verona Band of Alameda County (the “Verona Band”). From 1914 to 1927, the Verona Band was recognized by the federal government as an Indian tribe. Neither the United States Congress nor any executive agency ever formally withdrew federal recognition of the Verona Band.”; and

    WHEREAS, The Muwekma Ohlone people, who never left their aboriginal land and were once pronounced extinct by anthropologists, have retained their culture and social identity for the past 230 years; and

    WHEREAS, The Muwekma Ohlone people have left a record of approximately 13,000 years of human history; and

    WHEREAS, The United States government maintained a “trust” relationship with three Costanoan tribal groups, including the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, historically identified as the Verona Band, by the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1906 to 1927; and

    WHEREAS, The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe was wrongly removed from the Federal Register in 1927 despite its “trust” relationship and its previous efforts to foster and secure federal recognition as an Indian tribe; and

    WHEREAS, The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe enrolled with and was approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the years between 1928 and 1933, inclusive, 1948 and 1957, inclusive, and 1968 and 1971, inclusive, under the 1928 California Jurisdictional Act, attended Indian boarding schools between 1930 and 1950, inclusive, and have since organized according to the Bureau’s directives, but still have no right to be legally considered an Indian tribe without first obtaining reaffirmation and formal acknowledgment by the Secretary of the Interior; and

    WHEREAS, There are over 600 individual descendants of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe in the San Francisco Bay Area who have been identified by the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and

    WHEREAS, European migration led to the near decimation of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and the lack of formal recognition after 1927 by the Department of the Interior suggests a disregard for the cultural diversity and historical presence that the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe has offered to our state, including service in the United States Armed Services in previous wars and military conflicts spanning from World War I through the present day; and

    WHEREAS, Several California counties and elected officials have officially supported the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe in its efforts for recognition through legislation commending their efforts and historical and social accomplishments, supporting requests for historical claim by the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, and urging the federal government to reaffirm and restore the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe as a federally recognized tribe; and

    WHEREAS, It is imperative that the Department of the Interior and the federal government officially recognize the historical and social history of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe through its efforts to attain federal recognition; now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature does hereby urge the United States Congress and the Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Indian Affairs to reaffirm and restore the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe as a federally recognized tribe and include the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe in the Federal Register as a recognized tribe; and be it further

    Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Secretary of the Interior, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the United States Congress.

    This text of the Senate Joint Resolution Number 13 was taken directly from the California Legislative Information website. You can find more information about the Senate Joint Resolution for Federal Recognition of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe–as well as read the current text of the resolution–on the official CA Legislative Information website, at:

    https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/face/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SJR13

    To Learn More About The Tribe’s Efforts, visit the Muwekma website, here:

    http://muwekma.org/learn-more-about-the-tribes-efforts.html