March 2012
37 posts
Congratulations to my cousin Rosalie on her new pregnancy, my grandparents for their first great-grandchild, and our community for another Ohlone baby in the world.
Mak šaaw Ohlone kalta kalta kalta :)
Some man just bowed to me after I told him I’m Ohlone. I don’t know how I feel about this, lol.
It was a really cool experience on Friday to work in a recording studio and bring the Chochenyo language back to life.
I was working on a recreation of things Huchiun chiefs were screaming at the Spanish from a distance on tule boats while in San Pablo Bay for a new museum exhibit.
As I was being recorded I realized Chochenyo words are becoming part of my daily vocabulary, something just a...
Chochenyo Ohlone is alive again..
Kamji makam?
Tuxxi amahin— kanak warka
Tuuxi utcahin— kanak jiša
‘ana?
Because we survived murtu
Sultawuš, ‘akwe tam núma tam nónawenti
Menne nutu, nutu, nutu mak warep
But ‘akwe kana ‘ek-‘íwhi because
Makin mak sipte, sipte, sixte…
Land grabbers, nutrujmin
Niini, xenwe, weja
Of the muwekma Ohlone...
Some people ask me how Chochenyo sounds. I...
My little brother comes up to me just now and says “I memorized my Chochenyo numbers!!” and recites them perfectly and says “makin mak Ohlone!” We are Ohlone.
Hard work pays off. I hope the ancestors are proud.
A major goal of mine at Mission Dolores is to create a memorial wall that pays respect to the 6,000 California Indian burials at the Mission so they don’t lay in unmarked graves. They deserve recognition and respect. Native names would be given, not the forced Spanish names.
Currently, the only commemoration to California Indian burials is a wooden marker to my ancestors, which is a good...
Late nights studying Harrington’s Chochenyo notes on the iPad in bed.. Learning new phrases.
Menem ‘aje polop. You’re an idiot ;)
The ancients had the same problems we do today in some ways….
“I didn’t know there were any Ohlone left!”
– Man at Mission Dolores just told me. Awkward….
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better....”
– Dr. Seuss, just took my little brother to see “The Lorax,” and this quote stuck with me..
Ohlone story that refuses to be extinguished. Ancestors, I praise you.
Mak šaaw Ohlone ‘akwe tušwi. Xiira ‘ayye kalta, kalta, kalta…..
Just spoke at the ancient Ohlone village of Petlunac (Land’s End) of our Chochenyo language revitalization, continued Ohlone presence, and led a traditional prayer, using Chochenyo words for the first time. Renewal.
I always strongly, strongly dislike the word describing whites coming to California as “settlers” that is always used in texts, even liberal ones. My ancestors were here for 12,000 years before Europeans arrived.. I am pretty sure in those 12,000 years they were already settled.
Maybe textbooks should use the term “invaders,” or “occupiers,” or even...
I always get the creeps when descendants of the old “settlers” come to visit Mission Dolores, and try to act as if their ancestors founded this place.
Just now, descendants of De Anza and Livermore came to visit and lamented on how their ancestors built the Presidio. “I’m Ohlone, we are still here..” I say defiantly. My coworker says “The Ohlone built this...
Oh you drunk people who don’t get it.
Welcome to my land.
This land you litter, spit on, occupy,
Is embedded in my DNA.
Warep, ‘akwet kishem tashshu?
Wáaka ‘ek ka.. it’s me.
It’s weird, beautiful, confusing to be Ohlone in this modern time.
Being part of something so old.. when so little care.
Caring so much about a piece of land, that that dominant society trashes.
Oh, San Francisco. ‘Aa, Ramajj. Do these people know they’re drinking 20 dollar cocktails on the ancient Sintilac shellmound? Do they care?
Listen
In response to the unethical treatment of ancestral bones, my cousin (who is an Ohlone MLD) sent an open letter to leaders in our community.
“Hi there,
I’ve rec’d a number of emails asking if I was the MLD who accepted responsibility for the San Carlos pre-contact human remains discovered and detailed in this link http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20074372...
Unacceptable!
Recently, one of our Ohlone ancestors was unearthed during construction of a sewer trench for a housing complex in San Carlos. Protocol was followed that the California Indian community fought for and the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) was called. NAHC appoints a Most Likely Descendant (MLD), who is a person most likely who can trace their ancient villages to the area closest to where...
Boo! Operation Make Acorn Bread didn’t end as planned. I didn’t use the right water to flour ratio, which led to the acorn mush being burnt before it could turn into bread :(
I’ll admit TEMPORARY defeat in stride, staying awake til 2am to try to save my burnt acorn mush, but there’s no use. I’ll try again next week.
But, not a total failure. I ate a bit of the...
Ohloni, Ohlonowit, Ohlonowitum!
My MiWuk Indian tongue
has many ways
To press the sounds of MiWuk words
between the lips.
Ohloni, Ohlonowit, Ohlonowitum!
Hear, you mockingbird whose voice
of gentle trill
Has long beguiled our heart in
meadow and in hill
Ohloni, Ohlonowit, Ohlonowitum!
Is not this word a thrill
the sound of which
Begets a softness gentle as
the air?
Ohloni, Ohlonowit, Ohlonowitum!
Now bear...
