Alameda Native History Project

Tag: san francisco bay area

  • 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. 🙌🏼

  • July 2024 Acorn Granary Challenge

    Free First Session Kicks Off Sunday July 7th; and Lasts All Month!

    Come join the Alameda Native History Project, as we build granaries for the First Annual Acorn Harvest!

    The Acorn Granary Challenge is a month-long series of free events which takes place on every Sunday at 10AM.

    Snacks and water will be provided.

    Reserve your space for free on our eventbrite page.

    What is an Acorn Granary?

    Acorn Granaries are traditional
    California Native food storage systems.

    • Granaries were made all over California. – The acorn was one of the single most important food items in California.
    • “Hanging Basket” stores acorns off the ground. – Some tribes built platforms to perch granaries atop of. But not all granaries were suspended.
    • Material defines shape. – Some granaries are made with twisted stems, blades, and vines to form a Coil Basket (or “Birdnest” design. ) Others are made with small bushells of wild grass and thatched into an “Inverted Basket” (or, Thatched-Cone Design.)
    • Holds acorns overwinter. – An Acorn Granary must be resilient enough to hold Acorns over the winter. Repaired and reused over many seasons.
    • Basket-in-shell design. – Every granary is created with an outer shell made from strong, natural material resistant to animals and insects.

    Hands-On Learning Experience and Cultural Exchange

    Learn about the different plants used to make Acorn Granaries; and how pests were managed before GMO and RoundUp.

    Learn how to split willow to make reeds, experiment with creating the different kinds of Acorn Granaries. Strategize how to keep out squirrels, crows, and other hungry critters!

    Each week will have a different focus, as we move through the steps of Acorn Granary Construction, and preparing for the harvest.

    From splitting willow to making various cordage, and thatching wild grass: We will work with a mix of materials old and new. And also address the non-native plant and their uses in construction and pest management.

    Most of the material gathering will take place at the Indigenous Land Lab, and the processing of cordage, thatching of wild grasses, and splitting willows will happen in town, during the Granary Construction.

    This is meant to be a very mellow and open-ended process that frankly invites a little bit of creativity, and welcomes a contemporary breath of fresh air.

    And we’re also open to this process taking longer than a month.

    Here’s a ballpark timeframe for construction and harvest preparation.

    • June-July: Gather Materials and Build Acorn Granaries
    • August-September: Continue to prepare for Harvest, Monitor Oak Trees
    • October-November: Harvest Acorns! Fill, Complete & Install Granaries

    Why Are We Making The Granaries Now?

    The main goal here is to be totally ready by the time the acorns start to fall!

    This is why we’re creating the granaries now: So we can harvest, sort, and pack our acorns into these granaries as efficiently as possible.

    But, we also want to give ourselves the greatest chance of success by using multiple granaries of varying construction materials and methods. This will also give us some data to analyze and use to plan for next year!

    Please join us for some or all of these events!

    Everyone is welcome!

    Reserve Your Space at the Acorn Granary Challenge Here.

    To learn more about the Indigenous Land Lab, and how you can volunteer to gather more materials for granary construction:

    Visit the Indigenous Land Lab Page, or email collab@nativehistoryproject.org!

  • Indigenous Land Lab Update

    This is an excerpt of an email to the Indigenous Land Lab mailing list.

    Updates:

    1. June 8th Willow Harvest Meetup went great!  With the help and enthusiasm of our Land Lab partner, Liz, we were able to harvest about 30 pounds of willow poles and reeds.
    2. We received donations of:
      • Weed whacker, from Naomi!  It worked great in knocking down those weeds at the Land Lab.
      • Beautiful Pots and Monstrously Large Sage Trimmings from Laura!  The pots are marking the outline of the site.  The sage has been trimmed and is now drying.
    3. The Acorn Granary Challenge begins on July 7th!!!  

    Priorities:

    Collecting as much materials for Acorn Granary construction as possible.

    What do we need?

    1. Willow and Hardwood poles to create the legs and superstructure of the granary.
    2. Willow reeds to weave the sides of the granary.
    3. English Ivy, Honeysuckle Vines to use as cordage and help keep everything together.
    4. Large rosemary “spears”.  Like, “big ‘ol stems or branches”.  These are for pest control.
    5. Large bay tree boughs, very important for pest control.
    6. Eucalyptus boughs, experimental non-tradish pest control.

    There are other, more serious plants, like stinging nettle, which I would like to take the time and make some cordage from.  Just like splitting the willow reeds to make strips for weaving the granaries.

    Hard-to-find materials would be redwood bark–which would be nice to use on the outside of a granary.  And then Pine Sap–which simply won’t be readily available until later, and will require some travel into higher elevations to gather.

     If you would like to help gather more natural materials for Acorn Granary Construction, please sign up for the Indigenous Land Lab Email List, to help plan what dates and times work best to plan a meet-up to harvest materials.

    Next Steps for the Land Lab:

    These are the next steps we are anticipating.

    1. Meet up to harvest materials for acorn granary construction.
    2. Weed and Hemlock Management.
    3. Cover with silage tarp for 1 month.
    4. Plan 3 Sisters x Victory Garden (create Garden Design)
    5. Harvest local plant seeds from around Indigenous Land Lab and Greater Bay Area
    6. Source heirloom and native seeds.
    7. Till soil.  Make rows according to Garden Design
    8. Build mini-greenhouse and tray/propagation tables
    9. Fence important stuff
    10. Begin planting cover crops or actual crops or both.
    11. Install Acorn Granary
    12. Begin propagation

    You are invited to participate in any or all aspects of planning and working.  We’re assuming tilling should happen sometime in August.

    Tool & Equipment Drive

    We’ve received a lot of interest, support, and some very generous donations of equipment, supplies, and money!  (All donations are tax deductible!)

    What do we need?

    We’re still looking for the basics:

    1. Shovels
    2. Metal Rakes
    3. Pickaxe
    4. Hoes & Scrapers
    5. Saws
    6. Post driver

    Specific things we need:

    1. Silage tarp (for area 30′ x 30′)
    2. 8 fence posts
    3. Chicken-wire (120′ x 4′)
    4. 3-5 Cubic Yards of Compost
    *Once the size and design of the restoration nursery is finalized, we will be adding construction materials to our list of specifics.

    We managed to find a roto-tiller we can use when we’re ready!

    Some of these things we know we can borrow, like a post driver.  But other stuff–like shovels and rakes–we need to keep on hand.

    Luckily, we don’t need a large amount of anything other than Silage Tarp, Chicken-Wire, and Compost.

    Best ways to support?

    Join us in harvesting Willow, Bay Leaf, and Nettle for granary construction. 

    Donate tools:  If you have some tools, supplies, or equipment on this list, we can pick it up.  If you have a truckload of compost, we can meet you at the land lab for a drop off.

    Purchase directly from our wishlist.  Indigenous Land Lab Wishlist is available here.

    Donate to the Alameda Native History Project.  Tax deductible donations can be made to the Alameda Native History Project here.

    Alameda Native History Project is fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation (d.b.a. Hack Club), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 81-2908499).  Any monetary donation, or donation in-kind is tax deductible, and you will receive a donation receipt whether you want it or not.  LOL.  I mean, if you say no, then we won’t, but who doesn’t like a small write-off?

    What Next?

    • Check your garden for the plants we need.  Check your neighbors’ too!
    • Come out and harvest materials for granary construction!  (Plan on about 2-3 hours. Sometime next week.)
      We’ve got lots of water and snacks.  Please bring a bag lunch.
    • The next meeting should happen in early July.  Think about when you’re generally available for a 30-60 minute Online Meeting.
      Our meetings are fast, agendized, and focused on business and planning.  Feel free to ask questions or submit a topic for the next meeting and I’ll do my best to make sure it’s covered/included.

    Anyway, it’s Pride Week, so things are totally hectic as I volunteer for the Gay American Indians.  Check out the attached fliers for GAI events.  Consider marching with Gay American Indians at Pride!

    Be well; and talk to you soon!

    Yours truly,
    Gabriel Duncan
    via collab@nativehistoryproject.org

    To join the land lab, email collab@nativehistoryproject.org, or use the form below.

    Indigenous Land Lab
    Mailing List Sign-Up Form






  • Gay American Indians To March In SF Pride Parade To Celebrate 49 Years of Indigenous Resistance

    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“.

    When Gay American Indians (GAI) was found in 1975, the world was a very homophobic and racist place. While the Castro was supposedly the Gay Mecca of the world, it was still only accessible to White Gay Men. In a very Jim Crow kind of way: Women and People of Color were refused service and kicked out of Castro businesses.

    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.

    But it was because of the tenacity and visibility of Two-Spirit Activists like GAI co-founders Barbara Cameron, and Randy Burns, that many of the services and rights for Native American People exists–not the least of which is the fight GAI and Two-Spirit People had with the American Anthropological Association to use the term “Two-Spirit” instead of the derogatory name “berdache” for LGBTQ Native American People.

    AIDS

    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.

    Roughly 20% of Native Americans living with HIV/AIDS don’t even know they are infected.

    Only 21% of Urban Natives have ever received an HIV test.

    And, despite the National HIV Infection Rate decreasing–the rate of new HIV/AIDS infections in Native American has increased by 16%.

    This is in stark contrast to the fact that only 64 out of 100 Native People living with HIV/AIDS were “virally suppressed”–meaning: taking medicine to stop the viral replication process, to become undetectable, or “untransmissible”.

    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.]

    At that time the CDC did not keep track of HIV/AIDS diagnoses or deaths in the Native American Community. But that did not stop GAI from taking care of its own members. And, when male GAI members were too few or too sick, it was the sacrifice and service of our sisters, like Barbara Cameron, which helped us through one of the darkest chapters in Gay American Indians history.

    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….

    … The American Anthropological Association has all but officially abandoned the use of the offending term, in favor of “Two-Spirit”.

    Today, Two-Spirit Associations can be found all over what some people refer to as “Turtle Island”.

    GAI’s 50 Year Anniversary

    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.
    • GAI’s ongoing legacy in SF Pride: Randy Burns, Community Pride Marshal (2005); Morningstar Vancil, Community Pride Marshal (2012); Johnson Livingston, SF Pride Board Member (2007/2008)
    • 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

  • Indigenous Land Lab Begins

    This is less a news event, than this is a prayer for healing, learning, and success. I’m humbled and ecstatic to say the Indigenous Land Lab is happening.

    There is land for a lab. With amazing potential. There are seeds. And water.  We are ready to begin.

"All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today."

    The plan, right now, is to have a (mini) propagation lab, small nursery, and 3 Sisters x Victory Demo Garden.

    And all of it will be made from the ground up.

    What a great place to start. This is exciting.

    You can share in this awesome journey, too!

    Bring gloves, a hat, and your waiver. LOL. (No, for real, it’s for our fiscal sponsor.)

    We’ll provide water, some shade, and (hopefully) lunch during official workdays. (At least snacks!)

    We would love for you to join us!

    If you would like to sign up to work on the Indigenous Land Lab with us, please use this Indigenous Plant Lab Role Selection form:

    https://forms.gle/zCe8ab5VnPwQDJYMA

    You can support the Indigenous Land Lab in other ways, too!

    The first, of course, would be by donating landscaping & gardening equipment you no longer use. But, we would be especially grateful for the use of your walk-behind “brush mower”, “brush hog” or “rotor cutter”.

    The land we have is wild, and untamed. It’s overgrown with invasive grass, some hemlock, and a random shrub or two. This is why our list sounds more like a fire crew equipment list than what you’d expect for an established garden.

    Here’s a list of what we would really like to get our hands on:

    Tools

    • Metal Rakes
    • Shovels
    • Pickaxes
    • Hoes & Scrapers
    • Chingaderas (a fire tool good for “extracting deep rooted fuels”)
    • Post drivers
    • Saws (hacksaw, chainsaw)

    Equipment

    • A walk-behind Brush Mower/Brush Hog/Rotocutter
    • Rototiller
    • Supply locker/chest/weatherproof box

    Supplies

    • Chicken-wire
    • Fence Posts

    If you wish to donate any of these tools, or if you have other tools you’d like to donate:

    Please send us an email ( collab@nativehistoryroject.org ) so we can arrange a good time to come to you, receive your generous donation, and supply you with a donation receipt you can use for tax purposes.

    One more way to support the Indigenous Land Lab is to donate to the Alameda Native History Project.

    Alameda Native History Project donation link.

    Alameda Native History Project is fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation (d.b.a. Hack Club), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 81-2908499). As such: all donations you make are tax deductible.

  • Our First Maps Class

    Announcing our brand-new Maps Class.

    Tickets are on sale now,
    scholarships are avalable,
    and more info can be found on our EventBrite page:

    https://nativehistory.eventbrite.com

    May 4th, 2024
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Corica Park Golf Course Clubhouse
1 Clubhouse Memorial Road, Alameda, CA 94502
Tickets: $15
-Limited Sponsorships Available-

    In this class:

    • You will be introduced to different kinds of maps, from topographical, to transit maps.
    • Learn by doing trip planning exercises using different modes of transportation.

    By the end of this class:

    • You will know how to read maps and orient them to your surroundings, using landmarks and approximate (relative) distances.
    • You will be able to navigate from point A to B no matter what mode of transportation you use.

    We have a very small number of free tickets and laptops to be loaned out during class. If you want to sponsor someone else’s attendance, please let us know.

    Proceeds from ticket sales go toward venue rental, lunch (and refreshments), future programming, and operations.

    You can support the Maps Class, and other programs, by donating to the Alameda Native History Project. Since we’re talking about maps, you should check out the Indigenous Bay BART Map in the Merch section of our website.

    All donations are tax deductible.

    Share these on social media!

    Special Thanks:

    We’d like to thank Greenway Golf, and the Corica Open Space Project, for providing our meeting space at the Corica Park Golf Course Clubhouse.

    The Corica Park Open Space Project is devoted to building community by expanding access (for everyone) to the open space Corica Park occupies and sustains, creating opportunities that drive the success of our future leaders, and positively impacting friends, neighbors and community members. We are excited by all of the amazing opportunities presented by this community initiative and cannot wait to participate in, and offer you more activities and events to come!

    We’d also like to thank ABM Computers for their donation of computer hardware to the Alameda Native History Project. This equipment will help us ensure that everyone has an opportunity to develop their maps skills through hands-on learning experiences.

    We also want to acknowledge that your donations, and the proceeds from the Indigenous Bay BART Map sales have made it possible for us to do this.

    Thank you for your continued support, can’t wait to see you at our Maps Class.

    For more information on how to obtain a scholarship, or how to sponsor someone, please reach out to us directly at collab@nativehistoryproject.org.

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

  • Save Shellmounds (Not Parking Lots)

    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:

    Many of the ancestors and artifacts exhumed and stolen from these mounds reside in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, on the University of California, Berkeley Campus.

    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.

    Ohlone people deserve respect and deference. When you give your land acknowledgment or money, do your research first. Don’t confuse non-profit corporations with actual tribes.

    *The Shellmounds section of this website has more links to information.

  • BART Decolonized: Travel the Indigenous Bay

    It’s The Bay

    The Indigenous Bay, that is.

    Alameda Native History Project has remixed the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System Map to show:

    • Bay Area Tribal Regions
    • Station Names
    • Indigenous IATA [Airport] Codes

    Travel the Indigenous Bay with Native Pride!

    A small run of prints are available now on our merch page.

    Get yours before they run out!

    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.

  • What is the Alameda Native Food Project?

    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.

    Stay tuned for our upcoming sessions!

  • 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.