Berkeley will return Ohlone site to indigenous trust

BERKELEY, Calif. - The city of Berkeley has agreed to return the Ohlone Shellmound Village site to an indigenous trust.

City councilmembers on Tuesday announced a settlement to purchase the site, which is a parking lot now, and hand it over to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, 

The 2.2 acre site, at the mouth of Strawberry Creek, was the first human settlement on the shores of the San Francisco Bay. It dates back 5,700 years.

"This was a long, long effort but it was honestly worth it because what we’re doing today is righting past wrongs and returning stolen land to the people who once lived on it," said Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, according to Fox News.

Ohlone tribal leaders say this marks one of the most significant victories for the urban "land back" movement in California. 

"We're getting our land that belongs to us and I tell everybody that I see every day that this land is our land," said one woman who a press conference about the deal. "We're still here. We never left. My family's never left Alameda County ever since time began. And we're still here."

A developer accepted $27 million for the property. The trust put up $25.5 million and the city of Berkeley contributed $1.5 million.

The trust plans to build a park with a shell mound and center to feature artifacts like pottery and jewelry that have been housed at the University of California, Berkeley, Fox News said.

The site had been used as a parking lot for Spenger's Fish Grotto, which was Berkeley's oldest restaurant when it closed in 2018 after 128 years.