We Are Going to Stand Our Ground

Willing to Go to Jail to Prevent Toilets on Sacred Site

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

VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA - American Indians from throughout the San Francisco Bay area are occupying Sogorea Te, commonly known as Glen Cove, in Vallejo, California. Sogorea Te is a sacred site where there are many ancestral remains buried.

Yesterday Morning 150 American Indians Formally Occupied Sogorea Te

The American Indians are occupying Sogorea Te to prevent the Greater Recreational District (GVRD) from putting fifteen parking spaces and two toilets there. Several non-Indians are on site as well to lend their support.

“We are here to deal with another situation where non-Indians want to desecrate a sacred site,”

said Mark Anquo (Kiowa).

American Indians are Occupying Sogorea Te

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“We are going to stand our ground!”

“This time Indian people will be valued. We have the right to define where our sacred sites are. Worldwide, indigenous people have rights. The United States recently signed on to the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We are drawing the line this time. We are not backing down, ” said a passionate Anquo.

Anquo is a member of the American Indian Movement and the International Treaty Council.

American Indian Protesters Marched to Vallejo City Hall

Currently, there are 30 American Indians at the site. Officials of the Greater Vallejo Recreation District have said there is no camping allowed at the site. The protesters are willing to go to jail if necessary to demonstrate their solidarity and commitment to resist the desecration of the burial site.

Early yesterday morning 150 American Indian community members from various tribes for the San Francisco Bay participated in a ceremony to formally begin the occupation of Sogorea Te.

Protesters Marched on Greater Vallejo Recreational District Offices

The protesters marched to Vallejo City Hall early yesterday.

“I want to thank those who have come out to support us. People have brought us food. The media is doing a good job of helping us to get the word out about what is happening here,”

said Henry “Grey Eagle” Padilla, a member of Sacred Sites Protection and Rights of Indigenous Tribes organization. Grey Eagle also is a Long Walker who spent a month along the southern route of the Longest Walk 3 - Reversing Diabetes.