Sogorea Te Protesters Walk 10 Miles to Other Shellmound Sites and Receive Support from Some in Jewish Community

Sogorea Te Sacred Site Protest - Days 24 & 25

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

VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA - Protesters who have occupied for the past three weeks the Sogorea Te sacred burial site, commonly known as Glen Cove, held a peace march through Oakland, California on Saturday to bring attention to other sacred burial sites in the area.

Sogorea Te Sacred Site

The sites known as shellmounds are mounds, generally consisting of mostly molluscan shells, were made by the Muwekma Ohlone for thousands of years and act as cemeteries.

All seven of the shellmound burial sites visited Saturday, Day 24 of the protest, in Oakland have been desecrated and paved over with streets, sidewalks, apartments, a public library, an office building, and a bar. The shellmounds at Sogorea Te are some of the few remaining Ohlone burial sites in the entire Bay Area that have not been covered by concrete and asphalt.

The protesters have been at Sogorea Te to oppose the Greater Vallejo Recreation District’s plan to spend $1.5 million on the proposed park that, if constructed, will have 15 parking spaces and two toilets at the Sogorea Te sacred burial site.

Sogorea Te was an Ohlone village that dates back 3,500 years. American Indians from various tribes from throughout the United States gather there for ceremonies at various times throughout the year.

On Sunday - Day 25 of the protest, about 75 people gathered to honor mothers and women on Mother’s Day.

“It was a good day with people coming out,” said Norman (Mu-wek) “Wounded Knee” DeOcampo, one of the leaders of the occupation. “We even had some supporters come out to from the Jewish community to show us support. It means a lot when others from other communities come out to express their pain they have had. It is as if they know our pain.”

Some members of the San Francisco Bay area have come out in support of the protesters. The following was taken from the Pro-Israel Bay Blog:

“We are admonished not to ‘stand idly by’ in the face of evil. Again, it is time for the Jewish community to mobilize, not for Israel, or for each other, but for our neighbors… After all, as Jews we know what it is to have our own sacred burial sites co-opted and desecrated. We can share our histories and stand in solidarity.”

See the whole statement in the Pro-Israel Bay Blog »