Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Land Acknowledgment
Cal State University East Bay recognizes that it is located on the ethnohistoric territory of the Jalquin (hal-keen) / Yrgin (eer-gen), the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo Ohlone-speaking People, the successors of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. This land was and continues to be of great importance to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and other familial descendants of the Verona Band.
We recognize that every member of the Hayward community has, and continues to benefit from, the use and occupation of this land, since the institution’s founding in 1957. Consistent with our values of community, inclusion, and diversity, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the university’s relationship to Native peoples. As members of the Hayward community, it is vitally important that we not only recognize the history of the land on which we stand, but also, we recognize that the Muwekma Ohlone people are alive and flourishing members of the Hayward and broader Bay Area communities today.
The Walkway is intended to honor the Muwekma Ohlone on whose ancestral land this University was built. During the academic year 2022-2023, the Library received a grant from the California State Library (under its Library Services and Technology Act funds), to create a prototype of the Walkway, which showcases both some of the tribe's plants and flowers and some of the traditional growing practices which emphasize respect for the land and sustainability. Ethnic Studies Professor, Dr Enrique Salmon and his students have planted the prototype located by the bridge entrance of the CORE building on our Hayward campus.
"Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things--from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen--provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth's oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation." (Quote from CSUEB Library website)
"The Chumash people have lived in coastal California from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara for thousands of years. Their homeland is an area of uncommon biological richness and diversity, featuring over 1,500 species of plants. Their traditional foods, medicine, raw materials for making clothing, all kinds of tools and utensils, religious paraphernalia, and other items essential to existence were derived from the natural world; in one way or another, everything the Chumash people made involved plants. This painstakingly researched and scrupulously documented book, intended for the layperson interested in gaining a deeper understanding of a significant California Indian culture, reveals a landscape seen daily by thousands of people but understood by very few." (Quote from CSUEB Library Website)
"Both American Indians and the pioneers knew and used many different plant species-for food, fibers, medicine, tools, and other purposes. This unique book is a guide to identifying more than 220 such plants. But it goes much further-it also tells the reader how to prepare, cook, and otherwise use them. Some of the dishes for which recipes are given have won culinary prizes. All have been tested not only by the author but also by her students and by journalists-who have been uniformity surprised and impressed. The plants are organized by habitat communities. Description, photos, drawings, and distribution information are given. Where poisonous look-alikes exist, they too are illustrated. Much fascinating information about Indian uses of native and introduced species is included. The author emphasizes conservation considerations; the aim of the book is to educate the reader about intriguing uses of the plants, and to tell how to gather and use the most palatable and abundant species without damaging the environment." (Quote from CSUEB Library Website)
" "A beautiful catalogue of 80 plants, revered by indigenous people for their nourishing, healing, and symbolic properties." --Gardens Illustrated The belief that all life-forms are interconnected and share the same breath--known in the Rarámuri tribe as iwígara--has resulted in a treasury of knowledge about the natural world, passed down for millennia by native cultures. Ethnobotanist Enrique Salmón builds on this concept of connection and highlights 80 plants revered by North America's indigenous peoples. Salmón teaches us the ways plants are used as food and medicine, the details of their identification and harvest, their important health benefits, plus their role in traditional stories and myths. Discover in these pages how the timeless wisdom of iwígara can enhance your own kinship with the natural world." (Quote from CSUEB Library Website)
"An extraordinary compilation of the plants used by North American native peoples for medicine, food, fiber, dye, and a host of other things. Anthropologist Daniel E. Moerman has devoted 25 years to the task of gathering together the accumulated ethnobotanical knowledge on more than 4000 plants. More than 44,000 uses for these plants by various tribes are documented here. This is undoubtedly the most massive ethnobotanical survey ever undertaken, preserving an enormous store of information for the future." (Quote from CSUEB Library Website)
We hope you will visit the Muwekma Ohlone Walkway located by the bridge entrance of the CORE building on our Hayward Campus. It is importance to acknowledge the significance of this Holše Warep (hol-sheh wah-rehp) ~ Beautiful Land to the indigenous Muwekma Ohlone People of this region. We ask everyone who attends or visits Cal State University East Bay in Hayward, to be respectful of the aboriginal lands of the Muwekma Ohlone People, and consistent with their principles of community and diversity strive to be good stewards on behalf of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, on whose land you are their guests.
This online exhibition is created by the University Libraries and our Library Student Ambassador Team at Cal State East Bay. Thank you to all of our contributors.
Published on January 4, 2024