Likely Indian burial ground spurs debate
At first glance, the parking lot of Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto in Berkeley might seem like an odd place for prayer. Few signs above ground hint that beneath the asphalt is ground archaeologists believe is the first inhabited site in the Bay Area — the West Berkeley Shellmound, a place many consider sacred.
The history has sparked fierce public opposition to a proposed mixed-use development on the site, with angry residents flooding zoning board meetings to voice objections to the project, which would require replacing 8 feet of soil with a concrete foundation.
“It’s not just for the Ohlone people, it’s not just a ceremonial place where we pray, but a place the Bay Area in general should be proud of, as the oldest place people ever lived,” said Corrina Gould, an Ohlone woman and Oakland resident who has been working to protect sacred sites in the Bay Area for over 20 years.
Shellmounds are piles of shells and animal bones that indicate the presence of a human settlement. They can be analyzed to learn about the diet and lifestyle of ancient peoples and the climate in which they lived. Some served as dwellings or sites for ceremonies. The West Berkeley Shellmound dates to 3030 B.C., archaeologists say, and local historian Richard Schwartz says it’s the oldest of hundreds of shellmounds in the Bay Area, predating the nextoldest one by a thousand years.
The developer, Blake Griggs Properties, says a study it commissioned shows that the ground is empty of significant artifacts and remains. Opponents like Schwartz are skeptical. Schwartz criticized the study for claiming to have examined the entire site using ground-penetrating radar, but not including the data from that examination.
The study recommended that a “more thorough” ground-penetrating radar survey be conducted before further development of the site.
Some opponents of the project are calling the situation the Bay Area’s own Standing Rock, referring to the reservation in the Dakotas that became the site of enormous protests when Energy Transfer Partners attempted to build a pipeline that opponents feared would endanger the reservation’s water supply.
“If indigenous people don’t have self-determination over a site that’s as old and sacred as the West Berkeley Shellmound, then what does self-determination mean on this land?” asked Dylan Cook, an opponent of the project who attended a zoning board meeting. “Energy Transfer Partners, they were speaking this exact same language.”
The shellmound has been a Berkeley landmark since 2000, and many members of the public voiced confusion and dismay that landmark status didn’t afford the land greater protection from development.
“I was on the commission when the landmark designation was given and in our landmark designation, we clearly said, this is a sacred site to the Native Americans of our community,” said Carrie Olson, a member of the landmarks board. “I felt that at the time, I still feel that now.”
Cities considering development on sites that might contain culturally sensitive American Indian materials and remains are required to consult with a “most likely descendant,” a person of American Indian ancestry with connection to the local area.
But in this case, the choice of Andrew Galvan, who consulted on the environmental impact report that found that development with mitigation would not have a significant impact, has raised concern among residents and zoning board members.
Galvan not only consulted for the city on the environment impact report, he served as a consultant with the developer-hired archaeologists. Additionally, one mitigation currently proposed in the environmental impact report entails $75,000 in payments to the Ohlone Indian Tribe Inc. for management of its cemetery in Fremont. The report refers to Galvan as president of the board of directors of Ohlone Indian Tribe Inc., which he confirmed.
City officials say Galvan was the only person among a group of people suggested by the Native American Heritage Commission who responded to their letter about the project.
“I do not perceive that I have a conflict of interest in this project,” Galvan said.
For others, the project has stirred strong feelings.
“If you put a little gravel over a cemetery, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a cemetery,” said Chris Oakes, an Oakland resident and member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma who opposes the project.
“They keep digging up bodies every time they develop on these areas,” he continued. “This history is still there, although you may not be able to see it.”
“In our landmark designation, we clearly said, this is a sacred site to the Native Americans of our community.” Carrie Olson, member of the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission