The Shellmound: Berkeley's Native Monument

It takes time to get to know this city.

Whether you're a student at CAL or just a resident.

Anyone who lives here at some point or another discovers that Berkeley like.

The rest of the Bay Area is a place of opportunity and culture.

But how much do we know about the grounds beneath this city?

What about the people who lived here before us? What has changed for them?

And what's next?

My name is Jaden Cruz.

And this is Cal TV.

For thousands of years.

The Ohlone people settled across the coast of northern California.

As hunter gatherers, they created a rich and diverse culture in various tribes.

Especially in the densely populated Bay Area.

After contact with both Spanish missionaries and.

American settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Their numbers dropped significantly from both diseases and displacement.

However, their descendants are still here today.

Both as members of their respective tribes and as active Berkeley residents.

I wanted to find out how, how the city of Berkeley recognizes these tribes.

And looks to preserve the Ohlone legacy. I found my answer.

At the Berkeley Shellmound.

The site of the 1904th Street project.

The shell mounds are hills sized piles of shells.

Tools, skeletons and soil created by thousands of years of use by Ohlone natives.

These piles stood high above the tides allowing tribes.

To settle near the shoreline on the remains of their ancestors.

Despite their importance to the Ohlone heritage.

Many sites have been up covered or completely.

Destroyed by decades of American urban development.

The first case, a dance pavilion for California's shell mound Park attraction.

More recently, a 19 acre shopping mall.

In Emeryville.

In 2000, the city of Berkeley designated the parking lot across from.

Spens fish grotto to be the site of the Berkeley Shell mound.

According to the city.

This parking lot covers the largest shell mound ever recorded in the region.

But that's not entirely accurate.

Maps like this have shown that the parking lot.

Was between shell mounds here and here and other studies have claimed.

That there has been almost no evidence of any shell mound.

Remains under the parking lot itself because of this ambiguity.

The lot was open to investors.

And pretty soon a number of urban planners.

Came together to design the 1904th Street project.

The project plans to use 33,000 square feet for restaurant.

And retail space with a 135 apartment complexes above.

Despite the project's proposed benefits to the housing market in West Berkeley.

Many residents have voiced their concerns.

Specifically that it would desecrate.

Ohlone legacy after reading so much about the Berkeley Shell mound.

I wanted to see the site for myself.

So I decided to take the 51 B down to Berkeley Amtrak Station.

Right next to Spenger's.

Parking lot.

There's a lot more construction here than I had realized.

It looks like this area is kind of a key place for real estate in the city of Berkeley.

But these murals give you a glimpse of the world before urban development here.

So surrounding this area is.

Fourth Street University hurst and the train tracks everywhere.

Around here used to be the shell mounds which piled up 40 50 ft high.

Of Ohlone remains and artifacts.

The Ohlone tribes would live on those shell mounds.

And they were kind of like burial grounds.

Despite that.

The city of Berkeley considers this particular parking lot to be.

The site of the Berkeley shell mound and it's a landmark.

It's kind of debatable whether it was actually the site.

The controversy surrounding the parking lot is not new to the Bay area.

Many activists began protests against the construction.

Over the Emeryville shell mound in 2002.

1 such activist was Karina Gould who began the IPOC.

The Indian people organizing for change in an effort to raise awareness about the.

Native heritage in the Bay area and the destruction of their shell mounds.

Corrina's objective is to protect these.

Grounds by gaining federal recognition for active.

Ohlone tribes and protecting the Berkeley Shell mound is one of her priorities.

In March of this year, the IPOC proposed an alternate design for the lot,

A park with a 40 ft high mound that would provide.

As both a cultural monument and a space for preservation.

But there is another side to the issue.

Andrew Galvin.

The Ohlone representative who is overseeing.

The construction of 1904th Street has voiced his support.

For the project saying that the parking lot.

Was mistakenly landmarked in the first place.

And as studies have shown he may not be wrong.

That the project promises 135 new homes for Berkeley residents.

10% of which will be designated for low income families.

It is hard to say that preserving the lot.

Based on outdated information is really worth it.

Especially in Berkeley's current housing market at the moment.

The future is uncertain for city planners and the IPOC.

But it's important for students like us to learn more.

About what's happening in our city to stay informed.

What are your thoughts on this?

Do you think that the investors have a right.

To build on the site if it wasn't actually.

The shell mound or do you think that the culture.

Of Berkeley is threatened by city projects like this?

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

If you want to find out more about the Berkeley Shell mound.

And the 1904th Street project check out our links in the description.

A very special thanks to the cinematographers who helped me film this video.

Tap or click here and here for more news and entertainment from CAL TV.

Be sure to subscribe and follow us on social media. My name is Jada Cruz.

Thank you for watching.