June 2011
48 posts
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“The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.”
– -old Proverb
This is fitting for the current situation Ohlone are in, as we stubbornly hold on to what we have left and refuse to give up another inch. This is perseverance, and strength.
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Last weekend in front of Mission Dolores, I was talking about my ancestry to a non-Indian girl who rubbed me in the wrong way.
Me: This is Mission Dolores, my ancestors were a part of this. I am Ohlone Indian.
Girl: Umm, you mean Native American.
Me: No, I mean Indian... in my family we use the term Indian.
perplexed look on both sides
Don't tell people how to identify themselves.
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Ohlone Infighting, Can we overcome it?
In the Ohlone world, today’s San Francisco Bay Area, there are eight different languages in a roughly 120 mile radius from Monterey, Carquinez Straight in the East Bay, to the San Francisco Peninsula. Ohlone have never been a single unified tribe with a single government, but instead a collection of triblets linked through trade, marriage, and cultural ties. We usually refer to ourselves...
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Pasados
Today I am at San Francisco’s Presidio at a festival called Pasados, which celebrates Ohlone and Spanish culture in San Francisco. There will be Ohlone storytelling to children, which perpetuates the story that WE ARE HERE! I am part of the Mission Dolores delegation. Feels nice to be around other Ohlone.
native inspired house music.
My 100th Post
Wow. I’m glad I stuck with this. In about two months I have met some amazing people on here, and heard some fantastic stories… and have done my best to document the modern Ohlone experience from my perspective. I am looking forward to a hundred more posts!
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How Grandfather gave Ohlone their voices
Another story passed down to me that I want to document so I won’t forget.
After Grandfather finished creating the world, his next task was to give all his creation their voices.
He told all Ohlone people and animals in the land to come to the very peak of Tuyshtak, today what we call Mt. Diablo, our most important mountain, to receive their voices.
All the people, and all the animals...
“Despite the rapacity of three invasions— Spanish, Mexican, and American,...”
– —The Missons of California— A Legacy of Genocide, Rupert Costo
Describing California Indians’ affection to this land and our resistance to not leaving.
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“atemshirle”
– to speak
never be silenced.
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Why we don't like to be called "Costanoan"
Tonight, my best friend, who is studying to be a fourth grade teacher, pointed out that on her California cultural maps for Indian folks, “Costanoan” was used as the tribal name for Ohlone people. It’s inaccurate, and the sad thing is that the map she was discussing was newly printed.
The reason why we do not like to be called Costanoan it was not a term we used for ourselves,...
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For Ohlone people, it is taboo for us to travel to...
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Museums keep our baskets
they say
safe and out of harm’s way—
preserving them for all time.
Well, that may sound fine
at first listening
but something is majorly
missing.
For while offers of access
to our baskets
may seem generous
we wonder why it is
that we
must seek permission
and prove
our worth
to visit the baskets
of...
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Archaeology and Me
I have two jobs. One job, I work at Mission Dolores and strive to the Ohlone story, and work to give my ancestors a voice. My second job is I am a staff archaeologist for an archaeological firm. Like working in a California Mission, on first glance many people seem perplexed that a Native person is working in archaeology. Here is how I pride myself in working in that field.
Historically,...
Learned much about the Chumash on my second trip down to their land, and am heading home now, waiting for my plane. I realize how similar our cultures were before the European invasion, and how our modern struggles are similar today.
Back to Ohlone territory. Aho!
http://www.actaonline.org/blog/20 →
blog of ohlone basket revitalization. very interesting and shows how we persevere.
A paper I wrote over 2 years ago on Ohlone...
Vincent Medina Research paper English 1A May 22, 2009 A Race Against Time To Preserve Our History Throughout my whole life I have had my feet in two different cultures. My mother is Spanish, and her family is deeply connected through Catholicism, and the Spanish language. My father is Ohlone Indian, the native tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. My father’s family speaks English and...
“Grandfather draws straight with crooked lines.”
– Ohlone elder describing why we are all different, and perfect the way we are. Grandfather drew us all, all of creation on Earth, and Grandfather does not make mistakes.
I’ve said it a million times and will probably say it a million more: nothing compares with the beauty of California for me. I love this land with my soul, my only home. Gazing at the golden mountains right now inspires me deeply.
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where do you see yourself?
Recently I was being interviewed for an exhibit that will attempt to portray indigenous folks through their own lens and discuss how we resist oppression. While being interviewed, a question I wasn’t expecting to be asked came up.
When your children look at what you’re doing right now involving your indigenous identity, what do you want them to know about you?
Wow, tough question,...
Newsflash
If a native person tells you something offends them, you should probably listen.
I’m just sayin….
@ my friends: it’s always a good night to be indigenous! :D
chumash country: we meet again. sitting in a garden in the mountains of santa barbara, listening to a river behind me, warm night, tank top on… just finished a jog. brother moon is full. surrounded by oak trees. our ancestral lifeline.
the good life.
“Until the lions have their own historians, the tales will always be told by the...”
– Old proverb
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I am heading to a photo shoot right now in the Mission District for an exhibit opening meant to help change perceptions of how indigenous folks are viewed, and how we view ourselves and resist oppression. Rocking 250 year old Ohlone beads and feeling confident… let’s hope this goes well :)
kahsennanoron-deactivated201108 asked: How do you pronounce your post
"Our land, where we are born"?
It won't let me copy and paste what you wrote!
Every time I read something in another language I tend to read it in my own language pronunciation so I often say things wrong!
"Our land, where we are born"?
It won't let me copy and paste what you wrote!
Every time I read something in another language I tend to read it in my own language pronunciation so I often say things wrong!
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“Mak-Warep, Manne Mak Hiswi!”
– Our land, where we are born!
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El Camino Real; built by California Indians, it’s time to reclaim our history.
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My trip on El Camino Real- reclaiming the colonial...
Thursday and Friday, I was lucky to have my mentor invite me to go on a trip down El Camino Real to Mission Santa Barbara. For those of you who don’t know about California Missions, they were institutions built by Indians under the direction of the Spanish invaders in the late 1700s and early 1800s. 21 of these Missions were constructed along the coastline of California from San Diego up to...
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“‘at mak roote ‘innutka hu_i_tak…”
– follow the road to the future…
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Heron Bay
When I was a teenager, after school I would ride my bike to Heron Bay on a pretty regular basis. Every time I would go, I would feel some weird sort of connection that I really couldn’t describe. The scent of the place reminded me of a different time; marshlands, mixed with salty bay water, fresh air…. I felt connected to my roots there for some reason I never understood, it was quiet,...
