For three days in August, over 120,00 people will be walking into Golden Gate Park to listen to music and enjoy themselves All of this is taking place on the ancestral lands and territory of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the SF Bay Area. Haight Street Voice wanted to take a moment to recognize the Ohlone’s sovereignty. We share with you the following, directly from the Muwekma.org website:
If you are visiting traditional tribal lands, remember that for Native Americans land is more than just real estate. They have a deep emotional and spiritual connection with their land and respect it. You should do the same.
Protecting Native American Lands: Why Federal Recognition of Tribes Is Vital
A love for one’s historic homeland is a universal one. And when people have their land taken away and stolen from them, it is not just space, soil and the animals and plants that live on it that are lost – it is the history and heritage of those people, their home.
Native American tribes lived on and cared for the vast land that is North America for many millennia before the European invaders arrived. Within a century of the settlers’ arrival, native lands were stolen by various nefarious means. A few federally recognized tribes were issued, for the most part somewhat useless lands, called reservations on which they could live and practice their traditional ways of life, but these were, to be honest, little more than large ghettos created to salve the conscience of the invaders which made them feel they were being fair to the people whose lands that were being stolen, as in the case of certain California Indian tribes. The tribes that had not formally obtained or retained, federal recognition, as in the case of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe fared even worse.
Today, it can be argued that with an increasing number of Native Americans integrated into the American lifestyle and residing in urban areas, the need for federal recognition of tribes is no longer an issue. However, nothing could be further than the Truth. The Declaration of Independence states that every citizen of this country has an undeniable right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” However, citizenship was not accorded Native Americans until 1924, after 17,000 Indians served during WWI overseas in Europe (1917-1919).
The history of Native Americans is tied to the land they live on and unless that land can be guaranteed to them through federal recognition, how can their futures be guaranteed and their cultures and traditions survive? How then can they exercise their right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness? Federal recognition will not just guarantee them the protection of their land, it will secure their right to maintain their traditions and cultural identity and remain who they are., especially after being on their lands for over 10,000 years. An excellent example of the importance of this recognition is the case of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe in the San Francisco Bay Area as a landless tribe. Check out the Tribe’s website to see how important Ohlone language and revitalization efforts and integrating Muwekma Ohlone Tribal events and celebrations into their present-day lifestyle is for them. It is something that applies to all the tribes.
