Berkeley Returns Long Contested Ohlone Land

The City of Berkeley will soon return sacred land to an Indigenous trust, in what Berkeley’s mayor has called the largest urban land give-back in California history. After nearly a decade of litigation the city acquired a 2.2 acre parking lot in West Berkeley which sits on the last undeveloped land of the oldest Ohlone shellmound, which was designated as a city landmark in 2000. The city acquired the land for 27 million dollars, mostly with money from the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. We’ll talk about the plans for the site and what it means for Ohlone people, the city of Berkeley and the future of the land back movement.

Guests:

Sophie Hahn, councilmember, Berkeley District 5

Corrina Gould, director, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust; spokeswoman and tribal chair, Confederated Villages of Lisjan/Ohlone

Melissa Nelson, board president, Sogorea Te' Land Trust; professor of Indigenous Sustainability, Arizona State University

Farimah Faiz Brown, City Attorney, Berkeley

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