This fall the remains of an Ohlone boy were discovered during a KB home building project in Santa Cruz, CA.  During negotiation meetings between the home builder, the City of Santa Cruz, CA and the Ohlone all parties agreed to respect and accept the results from two alternative proven methods of ground investigation.  The two methods include ground penetrating radar or (GPR) and specially trained forensic dogs.

In this case, Ohlone descendant Chuck Strickland recommended the GPR method. A trained GPR technician came to the building site and scanned surface of the earth to see if additional buried remains could be detected.  Unfortunately, due to layers of sediment and rock would not allow proper functioning of this method.  While this did meet the Ohlone requirement of a non-invasive method for predicting the likelihood of findings, it would not be a good match for this project.

Next, Gregg Castro, also an Ohlone descendant recommended the use of specially trained dogs from the Institute for Canine Forensics.

The institute has it’s headquarters in California, but has provided services nationally and internationally.  The institute trains for nine distinct types of area scannings.  The match for the Ohlone project would be a team of dogs who could detect historical human remains.  Dogs are taught not to disturb a scene by digging or retrieving evidence.  Further, the dog can discriminate between human remains and all other non-human items.  In this case, the dogs were able to detect the spot of the original finding as well as additional findings that would require great care if the construction project were to continue.

In this project, the Ohlone, the city and the home builder came together to agree upon these alternative scientific methods for land surveying.  It is the hope of the Ohlone Elders Circle that these non-invasive methods become part of the regular process to be implemented in order to preserve former village sites.

Santa Cruz Save the Knoll supporters gather in prayer

But KB Home, a huge national builder, and the City of Santa Cruz, don’t think so. They believe that more housing development and profit come first — natural habitats and Ohlone ancestral lands be damned. The clash between the Ohlone and their supporters and KB and the City of Santa Cruz has now begun at Branciforte Creek (locally known as the late Market Street Field), up toward the redwood forested hills from downtown Santa Cruz on the Monterey Bay.

Complete story:  http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/772/65/

Grand Entry (4/25/10)

From April 23-April 25th, the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe of Pomona (Chino), California hosted the:
18th Annual Ohlone “Big Time” Gathering & Pow Wow at Tony Cerda Park.  The turn out was great and all seemed to truly have a “good time” joining in dance, song, prayer and reuniting with family and friends.  The best part of this gathering was the chance to celebrate in the newly renamed park, the change went from “Madison Park” to Tony Cerda Park.  Tony Cerda is the long-time Chairman of the host tribe.  The change was well deserved and now the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe has a regular place to gather.  For more information on the name change see:

San Francisco and much of the Bay Area is the ancestral homeland of the Ohlone nation.

Their ancestors lie in the land here. Remnants of their villages can be found deep beneath the soil. The blood runs deep. They have lived in the Bay Area for more than 10,000 years according to carbon-dated artifacts.

Early on, the Ohlone were included in the roster of federally recognized Indians. But, as has happened to many tribes, on a whim and with the stroke of a pen, they were crossed off the list in 1927.

Almost 75 years later, in 2003, San Francisco recognized the Muwekma Ohlone as the First People of San Francisco. The Muwekma Ohlone remain embroiled in a federal lawsuit with the United States for federal recognition.

Their burial sites and ancient villages were documented by archeologist Nels Nelson in the early 20th century. Now, according to a draft Environmental Impact Report, a plan is underway to build on top of those sacred sites as part of the Candlestick Point/Hunter’s Point Shipyard Phase II Project being developed by Lennar Corporation.

Catch the full story here…

Part 1

Part 2