Send Us Your Chief Approach Should Not Prevail in Sogorea Te Sacred Burial Site Dispute

by Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Condition. Discussion »

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief

It is time for the officials in Vallejo, California to properly engage in dialogue with the protesters to bring an end to the plan to install two toilets and fifteen parking places at Sogorea Te sacred burial site, commonly known as Glen Cove.

The officials in Vallejo, California have engaged in a methodology that has worked against the overall well-being of American Indians for centuries by talking to certain American Indian groups that agree with their position and pitting them against other groups of Indians.

Sometimes called the “send us your real chief” routine, the approach works as follows: Non-Indians will reject any American Indian who voices a dissenting comment to what they want to do. They then say, “Send us your real chief” who can officially speak for all American Indians. Then they proceed in their process until they find the one or two - or even group of American Indians - who endorse their plan.

The officials want to define or determine who should speak for American Indians. Then, they wage a public relations campaign to demean the efforts of those American Indians who oppose their position.

Historically, these plans have included: loss of land, endorsement of plans that most Indians oppose. This time the “send us your real chief” methodology is transparent. Vallejo officials are getting the word out that the protesters are not the “right” Indians and really don’t have a say in determining what should occur at Sogorea Te.

Non-Indians want the general public to believe that American Indians are monolithic.

Well, we are not. I have three children, who are Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation members. Therefore, all three are American Indians. All three have the same father and mother. When they were young, I sometimes could not get them all three to agree on where they wanted to eat. One wanted pizza, while the other two wanted to Mexican food. All three are young adults now with intelligent and independent minds of their own. And, still do not think alike on all subjects.

So in the course of deciding public policy matters - on matters that have long term effects and ramifications - American Indians should not be made to feel they should speak with one voice, with one chief.

The protesters who have been at Sogorea Te for almost two weeks should have a seat at the table to end this plan.

Simply getting a few American Indians to endorse the Greater Vallejo Recreation District’s plan should not play into the final outcome to the protest. The protesters, some of whom can trace their tribal lineage to the Ohlone Indians, who occupied Sogorea Te 3,500 years ago, should be heard.

Further consideration should be made to understanding that American Indians were moved off reservations and moved to cities, such as San Francisco, as part of the federal government’s Relocation Policy during the 1950s and 60s. American Indians who moved to urban settings suffered from the loss of a land base, which they had on reservations. In a sense, they discovered land bases, such as the Sogorea Te sacred burial site, to hold ceremonies - spiritual ceremonies - which allowed them to carve out a sense of belonging again.

This is the case of many of the protesters. They view Sogorea Te sacred burial site as their part of their land. Yes, it may belong to the City of Vallejo, but the Indians who are now there protesting know it was their ancestors - collectively - who lived and dwelled there thousands of years ago.

Vallejo officials should not worry about who the real chief is, but worry about how they are in the process of doing long-term damage to a people who have lost so much already.

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