SHELL MOUNDS

All over San Francisco archeologists have documented many Shell Mounds. Way back in 1912 and before Shell Mounds were found at the Presidio of San Francisco on Crissy Field. In 1972 human remains carbon dated to 1300 years were found by the Commissary by Crissy Field and with the remains some artifacts. These were linked to the Ohlone the First People of the San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Doyle Drive, which crosses the Presidio, will soon be torn down and there are plans to build a new Doyle Drive much of it underground. I have attended some of the preliminary meetings linked with the various plans and there is no doubt that Shell Mounds will be found and the Project Mangers will have to halt the work and attend to the consequences linked to the Archeologically requirements. The present Environmental Impact Reports are very shady and do not do the First People who are the Ohlone nor the area any justice.

It is a shame that by the Cliff House there are Shell Mounds that the National Park Service is doing nothing about. There are Shell Mounds by Upper Fort Mason in an area that the National Park Service has permitted to use as a garden. The paradox is that right where the garden is and beyond there are Shell Mounds.

We all know about the San Bruno Mountain. It is the largest intact Shell Mound in the Nation. The Old Bayshore has many Shell Mounds. In the City and County of San Francisco by Army there are Shell Mounds all documented. The area by the now closed Goodman Lumber is full of Shell Mounds. Shell Mounds were found by wetlands, and marsh lands, by creeks, and rivers all over San Francisco. Today much of the wetlands have been filled and the concrete jungles have desecrated the Sacred Burial Grounds of the Ohlone.

In the Southeast area of the City and County of San Francisco there are many Shell Mounds. The Bayview Hill by Candlestick Park has many Shell Mounds. Many human remains were scooped up from the side of the Hill now called Bayview Hill and used as fill at Candlestick Park

It is a shame that the City and County of San Francisco did not pay respect to the First People for a long, long time and even today does not have a well qualified Archeological Team to deal with issues that relate to Shell Mounds which are Sacred Burial Grounds of the Muwekma Ohlone the First People of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Some Mayors of San Francisco and the Board of Supervisors have acknowledged the Muwekma Ohlone and the Tribe appreciates the gestures.

The various Resolutions passed by the Board of Supervisors have been instrumental in Court and to educated those who nothing little about the history of the First People who were the aboriginal people and who owned all the land that we now call San Francisco and the extended Bay Area.

The land was stolen from the First People. 18 treaties signed by the United States government and the Tribes were never ratified. To this day the Muwekma Ohlone are NOT recognized officially. They were up to 1927 and then illegally removed by L.A. Dorington a corrupt Bureau of Indian Affairs official.

From time to time Shell Mounds have been found all over the Bay Area in San Jose, in Albany, in Concord, in Milpitas and people have called me since they read a little about Shell Mounds on this web site and feel that I can help them. Some years ago the Police from Albany just wrapped the remains and took them to the Police Station and dumped them in the corner. The Albany Police learn about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) the hard way.

It is a shame that our learned Universities pay no attention to Shell Mounds. Some of them are even bold enough to call them "middens" or " trash sites". It is a shame while most tradition cultures pay respect to " Sacred Burial Grounds " the so-called White culture is prone to dig graves and use artifacts to adorn the museums. In many tradition cultures it is taboo to dig graves and mess with the remains to those who have gone to the other side.

Shell Mounds are called Shell Mounds because a lot of shell remains are found around them. This is because the First People would spend months mourning their dead and while they mourned they feasted on Shell Fish, which was their stable diet. I am asked this question many times especially when I speak to young children. Young children do not like messing with graves but adults seem to like to interfere with the dead.

Right here in San Francisco the Ohlone cremated their dead. But once the cremation was done - loved ones and friends placed ornaments and other valuable things as offering to the departed. Some Shell Mounds have revealed to us great treasures. It is a shame those who should have protected and preserved the sites have not done so. The National Park Service, which is in the business of Preservation and Protection, has not been following its Mission Objective by doing justice to the First People of San Francisco - the Muwekma Ohlone.

At Stanford University an institution that prides itself as one of the best has many Ohlone sites and remains right on the Standford property. Many of the Stanford students know a little about the Ohlone but not enough that befits those who are educated from any prestigious institution of learning.

The time is right for those who are wise and right-minded to do right by the First People.