July 12, 2014: Coyote Hills East Bay Regional Park --Volunteering on maintenance of Ohlone Shell Mound

July 12, 2014: Coyote Hills East Bay Regional Park --Volunteering on maintenance of Ohlone Shell Mound

all images copyright Casondra Sobieralski


As part thematic exploration of "Home" with my camera, I decided to learn more about the local tribes as I asked, whose home was this before it was mine? 

I spent a year teaching in New Mexico, where Native American culture is so front-and-center.  In California, it is very quiet, even hidden.  I think there are many reasons for this.  Some have to do with protecting sites from a dense population, but I think part of it is also economic. New Mexico's economy is driven by cultural heritage tourism, NoCal economy is driven by tech.  Another reason, I believe is something I learned in the classic book, The Ohlone Way:  in Ohlone culture, it is disrespectful to speak of the dead.  From an Anglo narrative perspective, it is hard to talk about the past and to keep history alive if you cannot talk about the people who forged the history.

But then there is the material record. 

At Coyote Hills East Bay Regional Park, there is a 2500 year old Ohlone Shell Mound.  It is a federally protected archaeological site, so you can only peer through a chain link fence and poison oak to see it.   I have wanted in there for years to learn and to feel...

So in July I found a way to make that happen.  A few times a year, the park gives lectures inside that fence, or you can volunteer to do restoration work on the site.  I opted for the hands-on approach.   I volunteered for a day with my friend and co-worker Miho and her son Hiroshi.

This is a reconstructed Ohlone dwelling. 

This is Ranger Dino showing us how the Ohlone stripped willow bark to make a tea rich in acetylsalicylic acid.   Ranger Dino was impressed that I knew this meant... aspirin.  I knew because Dr. Ross, the chiropractor I used to work for, taught me that you can drink willow bark tea instead of take aspirin because that is what aspirin is made from.  So if you are lost in a marsh and have a tooth ache...

Miho gives it a try...

These shells are NOT reconstructions. These are actually left there from centuries of making tools and scraping food.  Gave me tingles all over!

This is a reconstructed Ohlone sweat lodge.  Note how different the shape is compared to the Coastal Miwok sweat lodge in the following post. 

After an afternoon of laboring in the sun, I took Miho and Hiroshi to a [no] swimming hole I know of in Sunol Regional Wilderness, about 40 minutes from Coyote Hills EBRP.  I have been to this special site many times, and "magical", "beyond coincidence" things always happen there.  So many I should write a little series of short stories just on THAT!  

There is a strong Native American energy there, too.  I do not know of any specific Native American history for this park;  but this is the first time I noticed, only while processing my photos, that the dominant rock formation on the right looks like the profile of a man.  Maybe it is an indigenous ancestor watching over this spot.   

Reminds me of a DaVinci painting, but needs one more person for the right Renaissance geometry. I call this, "Miho of the Rocks".