Media coverage
Berkeley Times 3/31/23: Berkeley Shellmound Legacy US Times Post 1/7/23: The fight to preserve the sacred West Berkeley Shellmound ABC7 News 11/23/22: Honoring the Ohlone or housing? The fight to preserve the sacred West Berkeley Shellmound
National Trust for Historic Preservation 3/16/22: People Saving Places: Corrina Gould and the Protection of the West Berkeley Shellmound New Republic 12/9/21: When California’s Housing Push Clashes With Indigenous Rights Challenging Colonialism podcast 11/14/21: The Matter of Shellmounds Washington Post 7/29/21: City of Berkeley, Native American tribe lose appeal to stop development of sacred site SF Chronicle 7/29/21: State Supreme Court allows housing-retail development on Berkeley shellmound to proceed Berkeleyside 7/29/21: Spenger’s development can proceed on site of Ohlone shellmound, court rules High Country News 7/23/21: The fight over a 5,000-year-old burial site in California Daily Cal 6/7/21: City of Berkeley files appeal against West Berkeley Ohlone Shellmound development SF Chronicle 6/5/21: Berkeley appeals decision to allow housing development on sacred Ohlone site Berkeleyside 6/4/21: City appeals decision to allow 260-unit complex at 1900 Fourth St. Berkeley High Jacket 4/28/21: Opinion: Berkeley Must Better Recognize Indigenous History and Present Struggles Daily Cal 4/27/21: Court rules development can proceed on West Berkeley Shellmound El Tecolote 4/23/21: The fight to save the West Berkeley Shellmound Berkeleyside 4/21/21: Court rules 260-unit apartment complex can go up at 1900 Fourth, a site the Ohlone consider sacred SF Chronicle 4/21/21: Court OKs housing development at site of Ohlone shellmound in Berkeley Berkeleyside 3/22/21: ‘This feels cruel, that our sacred site is now imprisoned.’ Ohlones protest fence around ancestral land
Daily Cal 3/21/21: ‘Imprisoning our sacred space’: Ohlone tribe protests West Berkeley Shellmound, Village Site fencing
Indian Country Today 2/17/21: California appeals court to hear arguments to erase Berkeley Shellmound (Press Release)KPFA 1/29/21: Terra Verde—Saving the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site Indian Country Today 1/11/21: Preserving Ohlone cosmology and teachings at the West Berkeley Shellmound (video story)Berkeleyside 9/25/20: West Berkeley Shellmound is now considered one of the U.S.’s 11 most endangered historic places
Daily Cal 9/25/20: West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site named 1 of 11 most endangered historic sites in US Earth Island Journal 9/25/21: Paved Over Ohlone Shellmound Site in Berkeley Listed as Endangered Historic Place SF Chronicle 9/24/20: Berkeley Native American site slated for homes named a key endangered historic place SF Gate 9/24/20: Bay Area site surprisingly named one of America’s most endangered places San Francisco Business Times 9/24/20: Designation for Native American burial grounds in Berkeley may impede planned housing development ABC Nightline 9/23/20: Turning Point— Native Americans seek reparations in different forms: Video Part 1 | Video Part 2 — A mini-doc that features Corrina Gould of Confederated Villages of Lisjan, and highlights the West Berkeley Shellmound.The Wild Hunt 10/29/2019: West Berkeley Shell Mound Update Daily Cal 10/23/2019: Judge rules against developers in West Berkeley Shellmound lawsuit Berkeleyside 10/22/2019: Judge rules for Berkeley in developer’s lawsuit over Spenger’s parking lot Daily Cal 10/22/2019: Alameda County judge rules in favor of city of Berkeley in lawsuit against 1900 Fourth Street developers Daily Cal 9/6/2018: Berkeley declines developers’ request to build on 1900 Fourth St. for 2nd time Curbed San Francisco 9/5/2018: Berkeley blocks housing project again, citing historic value of parking lot site Berkeleyside 9/5/2018: Berkeley rejects SB35 application for Spenger’s lot development, again Mercury News 9/5/2018: Berkeley rejects controversial project that sought fast-track under new state law Berkeleyside 9/4/2018: Developers drop controversial Fourth Street project, hand it over to owners SF Business Times 6/7/2018: Berkeley rejects fast-track approval for 260-unit housing project 6/6/2018 Berkeleyside: Berkeley says no, for now, to speedy application for 1900 Fourth under SB 35
6/1/2018 Daily Cal: Ohlone protests, affordable housing plans— A recap of Tuesday’s City Council meeting
5/30/2018 East Bay Express: Living on Ohlone Land (feature story by Will Parrish)
5/24/2018 League of Women Voters: Ohlone Campaign Calls for Urgent Action to Save West Berkeley Shellmound Historic Ohlone Site
5/23/2018 Berkeleyside: Desecrating the Ohlone village site at West Berkeley shellmound won’t solve housing crisis (Op-ed by Corrina Gould)
4/24/2018 Berkeleyside: It’s developers vs Native Americans in battle over Berkeley shellmound
4/8/2018 Daily Cal: Supporters of West Berkeley Shellmound flood Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting
3/26/2018 Ctr. for Intl. Environmental Law blog: Not for Sale: Final Remains of Ohlone Sacred Site at Risk
3/25/2018 Mercury News: Much-needed housing may upend Berkeley’s shellmound
3/20/2018 KPFA audio: Native Americans and Supporters Oppose Proposed Development in West Berkeley
3/20/2018 CBS Bay Area: Ohlone Tribe Protests Proposed West Berkeley Housing Development
3/13/2018 Next City: A New Calif. Housing Law Is Being Put to the Test in Berkeley
3/12/2018 Sacred Land Film Project Blog: Assault Begins on West Berkeley Shellmound Site
3/12/2018 Daily Cal: Construction may begin on West Berkeley site considered ‘sacred’ by Ohlone tribe
3/8/2018 SF Chronicle: Berkeley 4th Street developer plans to use new housing law to bypass review
3/8/2018 East Bay Times: Berkeley housing development first to seek fast-track under controversial new state law
3/8/2018 Berkeleyside: Developer invokes new state law to force Berkeley to approve 260-unit on Fourth Street
12/19/2017 Mercury News: Ohlone activists stand firm in opposing West Berkeley Shellmound development
11/23/2017 KPFA: Interview with Corinna Gould about West Berkeley Shellmound (audio, 1 hour) hosted by Karyn Sanders
10/11/2017 Mercury News: Preserving Indian shellmounds is subtheme in Berkeley on Indigenous Peoples Day
10/9/2017 Daily Cal: Community members gather at Shellmound to pay land tax, paint mural on Indigenous Peoples’ Day
10/9/2017 Daily Cal op-ed: Authority over dispossessed land must be returned to Native peoples
10/8/2017 Daily Cal: ‘The true birthplace of Berkeley’: Ohlone tribe defends sacred Shellmound site
9/10/2017 Daily Cal: Local Indigenous leaders discuss West Berkeley Shellmound, Ohlone burial site
3/23/2017 Daily Cal: Indigenous groups protest further development of West Berkeley Shellmound
3/7/2017 Daily Cal: Activists draft alternative plans for Shellmound property
3/7/2017 Sacred Land Film Project blog: Berkeley Sacred Site Threatened
3/6/2017 East Bay Times: Berkeley Shellmound alternative proposed by activists
2/27/2017 East Bay Times: Standing Rock comes to Berkeley through work of Native American activist
2/8/2017 Mercury News: Berkeley Shellmound EIR prompts call for do-over from landmarks commission
2/6/2017 Daily Cal: Public comment period extended for West Berkeley Project’s draft Environmental Impact Report
2/4/2017 East Bay Times: Berkeley Shellmound proposal comment deadline extended again
1/27/2017 Berkeley Daily Planet: SQUEAKY WHEEL: CEQA Comes to Fourth Street
1/18/2017 East Bay Times: Berkeley project site has long historical record of Native American discoveries
1/14/2017 SF Chronicle: Dispute over Berkeley project: likely sacred Indian burial site
1/10/2017 East Bay Times: West Berkeley Shellmound site sacred, project opponents say
12/23/2016 East Bay Times: Comment deadline extended for West Berkeley Shellmound site plan
12/13/2016 East Bay Times: Berkeley: Hearing on development proposal at landmark shellmound site to continue
12/1/2016 Daily Cal: Report reveals origins of human remains found at construction site
11/29/2016 East Bay Times: Berkeley: Remains of at least five individuals found at project site, report says
5/12/2016 Sacred Land Film Project blog: The Ancestors Call from the Berkeley Shellmound
5/11/2016 Berkeleyside: Second West Berkeley human remains discovery prompts call to re-examine shellmound boundaries
4/16/2016 Mercury News: Berkeley: Human remains found on Fourth Street draw scrutiny to development proposal at Spenger’s parking lot
4/11/2016 Daily Cal: Human remains discovered at 4th Street construction site
4/11/2016 Sacred Land Film Project blog: Ohlone Burial Disturbed in Berkeley
4/8/2016 Berkeleyside: Ohlone human remains found in trench in West Berkeley
4/6/2016 Berkeley Daily Planet: Berkeley Historian Disputes Rhoades Claim that He Reviewed Study of 1900 Fourth Site
3/14/2016 Berkeleyside: Critics question impacts of ‘Spenger’s parking lot’ project on Fourth Street, Ohlone heritage
5/11/2015 Berkeleyside: Housing, restaurant, garage planned at Spenger’s lot
Video clips
6/15/22: Berkeley is Ohlone Territory — 7 min., Sacred Land Film Project
4/16/21: Free the West Berkeley Shellmound! — 6 min., Sacred Land Film Project. Documents the 3/20/21 solstice mural painting and candlelight vigil.
12/15/2020: My Ancestors’ Home— Narrated by Corrina Gould 2:46 min., created by Chris Walker and Corrina Gould in collaboration with the Sacred Land Film Project.
7/17/2019: An Ohlone View of the Fourth of July — 4:30 min., Sacred Land Film Project.
10/18/2018: A New Vision for the West Berkeley Shellmound — 3:30 min., Sacred Land Film Project.
5/25/2018: Corrina Gould on the West Berkeley Shellmound — 33 seconds, Sacred Land Film Project.
10/22/2017: Bioneers: Corrina Gould and the Ohlone Shell Burial Mounds — 1:22 min., Bioneers Indigenous Forum on Genocide and Survivance
3/28/18: Spring Equinox 2018 gathering at the West Berkeley Shellmound Site — 5:25 min., Sacred Land Film Project.
12/20/2017: Protecting ancient shellmounds, from Emeryville to West Berkeley — 1:40 min., Sacred Land Film Project. Corrina Gould speaks about protecting the West Berkeley Shellmound.
2/7/2018: West Berkeley Shellmound Action and Interfaith Prayer on MLK Day — 2:50 min., Sacred Land Film Project.
Injunuity: “Buried” — 3:28 min., animation of Ohlone educator Corinna Gould talking about shellmounds and the destruction of sacred sites.
PBS Natural Heroes: Beyond Recognition — 26 min., "the struggle to preserve one’s culture and homeland in a society bent on erasing them," an episode length documentary about the Ohlone struggle for survival in the East Bay. [film website ]
Ariel Luckey: Shellmounds — 4 minutes, 2007 excerpt from the longer hip-hop theater performance series Free Land: The Shellmound Story— Part 1 / Part 2 .
West Berkeley Site information
12/15/2017 Statement of Ohlone Family Bands opposing any development at 1900 4th St.
3/13/2017 Vincent Medina, Chochenyo Ohlone— Comment Letter regarding 1900 Fourth
May 2018: Historic Maps of the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site
May 2018—Sacred Land Film Project blog: Propaganda vs. Facts at West Berkeley Shellmound
Why Here? Settlement, Geoarchaeology, and Paleoenvironment at the West Berkeley Site — by Christopher Dore, Stephen Bryne, Michael McFaul & Garry Running; Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology, Volume 17, 2004.3/13/2017 DEIR Comments on the West Berkeley Site by Kent G. Lightfoot , Professor of Anthropology at UC Berkeley
2000 Landmark Application: The Site and Remnants of the West Berkeley Native Shellmound (CA-Ala-307), Willow Grove Park and Lower Strawberry Creek (97 pages)
Garcia and Associates, Jan. 2002— Cultural Resources Inventory, Significance Evaluation, and Effects Assessment for Capital Improvement Projects in Public Streets in the West Berkeley Redevelopment Area (redacted)
3/2/2017 DEIR Comments on the West Berkeley Site by Christopher D. Dore, Ph.D. , Registered Professional Archaeologist
3/13/2017 DEIR Comments on the West Berkeley Site by Stephen Bryne , Registered Professional Archaeologist
Recorded sites and historical data within and around CA-Ala-307 — by Berkeley historian Richard Schwartz 3/16/2017 Confederated Villages of Lisjan DEIR Comment Letter
1/5/2017 DEIR Comments from Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Indian People Organizing for Change: West Berkeley Shellmound page
Sacred Sites International: West Berkeley Ohlone Shellmound, Village & Burial Site
1900 Fourth proposed project
Relevant laws and policies
Relevant City of Berkeley documents
Shellmound info
Ohlone tribal websites & campaigns
