We’ve found a pattern of reckless and careless treatment of 100% of those stolen artifacts. The Alameda Museum has roughly 186 Native American Artifacts. All of those artifacts were found in connection with Native American Graves, except for 2. So, we can’t say ALL of the artifacts are grave goods. But we can say: 99.93%… Continue reading 99% of Alameda Museum’s Ohlone Artifacts Were Stolen from Native American Graves
Category: Shellmounds
Alameda Museum Contract Expires
Should the City renew the agreement? On Monday, September 4, 2023, the City of Alameda’s five-year agreement with the Alameda Museum to provide archival storage expired. According to the agreement, the Alameda Museum, as an Independent Contractor, would provide the following: The agreement made it clear the Alameda Museum is a Service Provider; and not… Continue reading Alameda Museum Contract Expires
Shellmounds and Their Relationship to the Waterbodies of the San Francisco Bay Basin
In the Indigenous Bay Area, water and life have always gone hand-in-hand. It was impossible to tell where the sea truly ended on this coast. Even inland, the San Francisco Regions’s natural aquatic resources are used with reverence, and traded throughout the region (and beyond.) Salmon connect the sea to the rivers, streams, and lakes… Continue reading Shellmounds and Their Relationship to the Waterbodies of the San Francisco Bay Basin
Historic San Francisco Bay Area Shoreline 1851-1887
Recently, I revisited some old map and GIS files in search of the vector file I used to show the historic shoreline of the Bay Area… As I took a closer look at the layers used compose such maps the N.C. Nelson Shellmounds Coastlines: Then vs. Now…. I realized the base map was actually a… Continue reading Historic San Francisco Bay Area Shoreline 1851-1887
Alameda Shellmound Map
There’s a new map showing the Shellmounds of Alameda. It transposes the historic alameda shoreline onto the modern-day silohuette of the city. The map shows historic wetlands and tidal marshes, and the four Alameda Shellmounds. Map of theShellmounds of Huchiun,~Muwekma Ohlone Territory~Showing the Area Now Known As The“City of Alameda” By: Gabriel Duncan Description of… Continue reading Alameda Shellmound Map
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… Continue reading Shellmounds: Spanish and American Influence on Indigenous Burial Practices and Shellmound Use
What is Tribal Recognition, Who is a Descendant, How does the NAGPRA Notification List Work?
This article will be a very brief primer, touching on three important topics: What is Tribal Recognition? Federal Recognition When the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Federal Acknowledgment, formally recognizes a group (“tribal entity”) as being a separate sovereign government from the United States. This recognition “establishes” a government-to-government… Continue reading What is Tribal Recognition, Who is a Descendant, How does the NAGPRA Notification List Work?
SF Bay Area Shellmounds Are Some of the Most Endangered Cultural Resources in the World
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… Continue reading SF Bay Area Shellmounds Are Some of the Most Endangered Cultural Resources in the World
Save Shellmounds Not Parking Lots
While these places may be on our traditional homelands, and within our tribal territories: Brownfields properties and Supferfund sites are neither appropriate, nor respectful gifts of atonement to the Indigenous People the entire Western Hemisphere was stolen from. It is a waste of resources for indigenous non-profiteers, like Corrina Gould, to focus primarily on post-industrial… Continue reading Save Shellmounds Not Parking Lots
Finding the Alameda Shellmounds: Part One
The Plaque at Lincoln Park It’s hard to say exactly what this plaque meant to me, growing up, adopted, in Alameda. This was a tangible symbol of my Native American heritage; something connected to my identity. Proof that my people actually existed somewhere. Even though I couldn’t see them, or be with them. It was… Continue reading Finding the Alameda Shellmounds: Part One
