Sunrise Gathering Continues Tradition of Native Activism on Alcatraz

An unbroken chain connected the original occupiers to this year’s gathering, with Elijah Oakes, Richard Oakes’ grandson, tending the fire in the center of the circle. Desiree Harp sang “Water so deep, water so wide” as seagulls cried overhead, human and avian voices joined together. Round Valley Pomo dancers performed as well as drummers and other musicians, with breaks in between for speakers. 

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Indigenous Peoples of the Bay Area: A History of Survival

Given the massive diversity in languages, family groups, customs, and cultures, the native people of the northern and central California coasts likely would not have seen themselves as belonging to any single common group prior to the arrival of the Spanish. To some degree, this persists today, with many local Indigenous people self-identifying primarily as members of one or more of approximately 58 distinct regional cultures that are grouped under the umbrella-term “Ohlone.” 

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The Guardsman