The November Newsletter
History of the Ohlone and New Member Intros
Volume 98 | November 14th, 2022 | By Meghan Boyle
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NOVEMBER BAY STREET WALKING TOUR |
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When: Saturday, November 19th
Time: 11AM-12:30PM
Where: Meet in front of P.F Chang's at 5633 Bay St, Emeryville, CA
In this Walking Waterhoods tour, you will be able to learn about the forgotten history of the highly contested Bay Street in Emeryville. We will be revealing stories from years past along Temescal Creek, observing the Shellmound memorial, and talking about the rich history of Indigenous life in the area. You may also be able to spot some native species along the way! Make sure to bring a camera, water, friends, and family! Click the link here or use the "register" button above to sign up for this event!
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What else are we up to? Wholly H2O regularly plans exciting environmental events throughout the year, including beach cleanups, walking tours, art projects, and nature observations (aka BioBlitzes). |
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History of the Ohlone: Part 2 |
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Indigenous stories from the past and present |
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Illustration of an Ohlone village |
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The San Francisco Bay Area is renowned for its technology, innovation, and ingenuity. But while we continue to blaze forward into the future, what about the Bay Area’s past? The people that used to occupy this land? We’ve covered the story of the Ohlone shellmounds, and now it’s time to dive deep into the history of the people who created them.
The Ohlone are not a single tribe or group of people- "Ohlone" is actually a broad term used to describe numerous native Bay Area groups that spoke similar languages. These tribes have occupied the land from the San Francisco coast all the way down to Monterey and Salinas, spanning 7 current NorCal counties for about 10,000 years.
As the Spanish began to arrive in the Bay Area circa 1769, vast amounts of Ohlone people were brought into missions and Christianized. Many others fled, and a huge amount died from European diseases such as syphilis, measles, and tuberculosis. It is estimated that compared to pre-mission numbers, Ohlone populations had been reduced by nearly 90%.
In the missions, some individuals willingly converted to Christianity, but for many, this conversion was forced upon them. Once a part of the mission system, individuals were considered property of the church and without permission, were not allowed to leave their mission. Conditions in the missions were harsh; the Ohlone people were required to follow strict schedules each day, which normally left them with little to no free time (or much freedom at all). They were subject to occasional beatings, meager food portions, and hours of hard manual labor. As a result of this, many people tried to flee the missions and were forced to go into hiding. Individuals who were caught running away from missions were hunted and punished. Some runaways would even have rewards placed over their heads for any hunter that was able to capture them.
This brutality did not end with the mission system, however. After California became a state and entered its iconic gold rush, thousands of Ohlone were hunted and killed in a nearly-forgotten genocide. Assisted by the California government through legislation, new settlers began enslaving and exterminating the Ohlone. In the decades following 1850, there were roughly 150,000 remaining Indigenous people. Nearly 100,000 Indigenous people died in the first two years of the Gold Rush, and California only officially acknowledged the violence in 2019, over 100 years after the start of the incident.
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However, the Ohlone are far from gone. Despite not being a federally recognized tribe (which has caused a own host of other issues- such as the Ohlone not being able to access their ancestor’s remains from archaeological archives), Indigenous activists are still fighting for land rematriation and federal recognition. One group leading this fight is the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, an organization run by Indigenous women in the Bay Area. Led by Corrina Gould and Johnella LaRose, Sogorea Te’ is working to restore Ohlone people to their native lands and educate others on Ohlone culture across the Bay Area. To support this goal, you can donate to Sogorea Te’ through this link.
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Giving Thanks: Meet Our New Members! |
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Welcoming our new staff and interns! |
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Ah, November. The leaves are painting themselves red and gold again, pumpkin spice lattes are back, and the work at Wholly H2O never ends. As a nonprofit organization, we are always working to educate and inspire, and this incredible work could not be done without our amazing staff and interns. In this month's segment of Giving Thanks, meet the new members behind the scenes, including our talented project manager, dedicated researchers, new interns, and yours truly, the newsletter writer.
Our ongoing tour program, Walking Waterhoods, takes a lot of work and dedication to run. In order to ensure everything goes smoothly, we have our lovely project manager, Noel Fagerhaugh, to thank! It takes a great deal do this job- from managing technology, working with interns, editing, and researching about Bay Area ecology, Noel is truly doing it all! Her commitment, organization, and enthusiasm are deeply appreciated.
A large amount of research goes into all of Wholly H2O’s work to make certain that the information we present is reliable and accurate. This research extends beyond the environmental aspect though- we are always striving to include Bay Area history and the stories of the people as well. Two new team members providing us with information about the Bay Area’s BIPOC history are Yasmin Golan and Miranda Rideout, Wholly H2O’s historical researchers. They are vital to the work we do at Wholly H2O, and their dedication is greatly valued!
Onto our interns! Currently, Wholly H2O has two interns serving as grant writers: Kelly Bernd and Brian Sugrue. They draft and submit grant proposals on behalf of the organization, and their skills are what allow us to access necessary funding to keep doing what we do! Also by way of interns- each spring and fall, Wholly H2O hires a set of interns from UC Berkeley as part of the E.S.P.M Community Partner Pod. They help create events, conduct research, produce Walking Waterhood tour content, and overall keep Wholly H2O running smoothly! Our Fall 2022 interns include the talented: Wenhan Sun, Catherine Gai, Xiayi Wu, Haojun Liu, Dereck Ruiz, Malaya Perushek, Yazda Cokgor, Celeste Edell, Bailey Cox, Fanni Fabian, Yasmin Ho, and Violet Li.
And finally, in my humble attempt to break the fourth wall, I introduce myself to you as Meghan Boyle, Wholly H2O’s very own newsletter writer! I am sixteen, a current high school junior in the Bay Area. I’ve been writing and designing newsletters for Wholly H2O since September of 2022. For our dedicated readers, you might remember October’s “The Haunting History of Bay Street” and September’s “Extinction in the Bay Area + Celebrating Local Artists.” These were my first two newsletters for Wholly H2O, and I am so grateful for the overwhelming support those pieces have received. Storytelling has always been a passion of mine, and I enjoy being able to use my creative side to educate others and bring light to lesser-known topics in the Bay Area!
In case you missed the previous newsletters, we are currently working on creating a section of our website where all of them will be available to view, so make sure to stay tuned! And of course, feel free to tell your friends and family to join the newsletter email list if you haven’t already!
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Check It Out! Wholly H2O's Bird Poster and Bird Song Guide |
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Take a look at our beautifully designed local bird species and songs poster! The incredible artwork was done by a lovely past Wholly H2O intern, Tatteera. From warblers to screech owls, this poster has a plethora of detailed drawings of local Northern California bird species. Check it out in detail using this link, and if you like it, order it here! To go along with it, feel free to check out our 28 Common Birds of NorCal and Their Calls guide on our website to learn even more about these local creatures and their songs!
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Want to Give Back to Your Watershed? Join our Board of Advisors! |
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During the last 100 years, California has been in on-and off drought conditions. We also have one of the five most important delta systems in the world, yet, most Californians do not know where their water comes from, how much they use a day, or what watershed they live in. At Wholly H2O, we are creating deep connections with watershed ecosystems in order to inspire people to take long-range personal and political action, while still having fun. And our Board of Advisors are a crucial part of how Wholly H2O functions. We ask for a solid commitment to:
- Join a 1.5 hour board meeting every other month (total 9 hours a year).
- Put the word out about at least 3 Wholly H2O events a year (3 hours a year)
- Attend at least 3 events a year (6 hours a year)
- Assist us in making connections for program content, partners, funding, and growing our programs.
We're looking for experts in Bay Area creek and marine ecosystems, East Bay BIPOC history, citizen science, curriculum development, East Bay K-12 schools, art, marketing, or outreach. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, apply using this link. Also, feel free to check out our current Board of Advisors page for more information and learn more about our current board members!
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Check out some of our open volunteer opportunities, like podcast producing, accounting, and content editing through Volunteer Match!
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Our lives depend on healthy watersheds, and Wholly H2O depends on YOU!
Support Wholly H2O as we plan so many more events over the next year, like our super interactive watershed tours and BioBlitzes!
Wholly H2O creates educational content that connects YOU to the watersheds you live in, and we love doing what we do! No matter how much you decide to donate, you will make an impact on what we can accomplish. Click the button above to contribute a tax-deductible donation or check out our fundraiser on our Facebook page!
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Our Interns Do Really Cool Stuff |
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We always have a pod of 10-15 interns researching creek histories, creating wildlife guides, editing livestreams, writing copies for our watershed tours, and more. We promise you will never be bored - lend your skills or add your curiosity to our work!
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Wholly H2O catalyzes dynamic, informed connections between people and their watersheds that yield proactive and appropriate water management through conservation and reuse. Our watershed-positive educational programs engage Californians in community , citizen science, art, and green infrastructure education.
Our activities: waterhood tours, BioBlitzes, Moth nights, and art events are bringing waterhoods to life for hundreds of water users around the San Francisco Bay area! Join us for an event, follow us on social media, volunteer or intern, or donate to support our fun and innovative work. (We love matched donations from your workplace!)
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