Ohlone Women

OHLONE WOMEN ELDERS: RESTORING A CALIFORNIA LEGACY

“The elders were always honored.  At the gatherings elders go first.  They are our teachers.”  Terry Reynaga

Costanoan Indian Research, Inc., under the direction of Ann Marie Sayers, conducted honoring ceremonies for Ohlone women elders in 2004 and 2006 at Indian Canyon.  The elders speak of their experiences and reflect on the meaning of the honoring ceremony.  By their very presence they provide the vital connection with the past and toward a more positive future for the Ohlone people.

The Costanoan/Ohlone people lived for thousands of years in harmony with their environment that extended from San Francisco to Big Sur and from the Pacific Ocean to the eastern side of Mt. Diablo.  Foreign incursions into Costanoan territory began in 1769 when Portola traveled the San Francisco peninsula.  The Spanish invasion was the prelude to the far more devastating rush for gold that almost over night became an assault on California native people and their living space.  It is estimated that between 1848 and 1850, at least 4,500 California Indians were murdered by whites.  Volunteer militias waged a war of extermination supported by public policy.  Municipal governments offered bounties for Indian scalps and heads.  Edward Cheever, writing in 1870, stated that “The Indian, if he becomes an obstacle, is classed with the wild animals, and is hunted to the death; this antagonism becomes mutual and is perhaps as natural as the antipathies of cats and dogs.”   As a result of this holocaust, many native Californians bore silent witness to the horror.  This assault has had lasting consequences that are still playing out.  Silence became a tool for survival that has been passed down through generations long after the murdering ceased.  To honor our living elders is also to honor those who came before, those who could not speak.

This exhibit consists of an introduction panel and 14 framed photographs with quotes from Ohlone women. The frames are 22”x28”.

 

Honorees include Elders:

Louise Angulo

Delfina Diaz

Sisters Lu Diaz & Marie Rhyans

Ruth Orta

Charlotte Paes

(Sisters) Ella Rodriquez & Babe Littlejohn

Eva Tuosto

Laverne Wilcox

Irene Williams

 

And Convenors:

Ann Marie Sayers

Terry Reynaga

Charlene Sul

Kanyon Sayers-Roads