Animator Chris Walker and Ohlone leader Corrina Gould of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan have collaborated with the Sacred Land Film Project to take you back in time 5,000 years to imagine the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village site, where Corrina's ancestors built the first settlement along San Francisco Bay. Learn about the development that now threatens this historic sacred site and the alternate vision for an Ohlone cultural park that Chris Walker and Corrina Gould have envisioned through their work with the Emergency Committee to Save the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site. The site was recognized in September 2020 as one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
More info at: Shellmound.org
This video initially premiered in an online Berkeley City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Corrina Gould’s hour-long presentation was designed to educate council members about the long Ohlone history of Huchiun, the land that is now known as Berkeley, California.
Special thanks to Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and Vice-Mayor Sophie Hahn for your support. Thanks also to historian Richard Schwartz for the village boundary and “the birthplace of Berkeley” concept.