![]() “It is what makes our history rich, and connects us to our past. “Sacred ground is something to be honored, cherished, and above all else, protected,” Chochenyo Ohlone tribal member Victoria Robins says. They have also taken a resolute position that any potential further disturbance of their ancestors’ graves is not acceptable. Three Ohlone family bands-Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Him’re-n Ohlone, and Medina Family-have described the great religious and cultural importance of the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village site in their cosmology and their vision for survival. “Taking away our sacred sites is putting that last nail in the coffin,” Corrina Gould of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan explains. ![]() Despite being covered by asphalt, this last 2.2 acres of open land continues to function as an anchoring place of community prayer and ceremony, critical to the cultural survival of a people who are recovering from 200 years of genocidal policies under Spanish, Mexican and American rule. Our spirituality is not based in churches and in buildings-it is place based.”įor today’s Chochenyo Ohlone community, the property at 1900 Fourth Street represents a living link to countless generations of their ancestors. “We need to continue our obligations that were given to us by our ancestors to sing there, to pray there, to have communication. Ohlone family bands and a broad coalition of Bay Area community members have vowed to not allow this grievous injustice to occur. Under this law, 1900 Fourth could be approved in as little as 180 days with no environmental review or public process-silencing the public, steamrolling the will and voices of Ohlone people, and destroying what remains of a sacred site where human burials are likely interred. ![]() In March of 2018, developer Blake Griggs Properties announced a new plan to force the City of Berkeley to approve a redesigned, enlarged 1900 Fourth project by exploiting a brand new state law designed to address California’s housing shortages. Rendering of new 1900 Fourth project plan Ohlone family bands have joined together in steadfast opposition to the desecration of their sacred grounds and are leading a broadly-based community campaign to preserve the land. … The 1900 Fourth Street project would tower six stories high and excavate two acres of land for a basement parking garage. The last remaining undeveloped portion of this heritage site, held sacred by the contemporary Ohlone community, is now at risk of being obliterated by a proposed retail and housing development. ![]() For countless generations, they practiced ceremonial traditions and constructed a great mound in which they buried their dead-the West Berkeley Shellmound. ![]() There, at the mouth of Strawberry Creek, the ancestors of today’s Ohlone people created a unique lifeway between land and sea. Joint statement from Ohlone family bandsīeneath the pavement in West Berkeley dwells a cultural and historical touchstone of singular significance: the first human settlement on the shore of San Francisco Bay, established 5,000 years ago. We will not allow our ancestors to be disturbed.” “This sacred site represents our living culture and more than 5,000 years of our history. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |