Note: You must be under the overpass to experience what you need to discover and admire. Street parking may be available; there are several lots nearby (see waypoints); and if necessary, there is meter-parking at GZ.
This is a tribute and a testimonial to the many tribes of extraordinary Native people who settled and lived between the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.
One Ohlone tribe settled and built their village and shellmound (see the plaque mentioned below for a description) near where you are standing at the outlet of now-named Strawberry Creek in West Berkeley. This was about 5,700 years and hundreds of generations ago! Recent archeological research shows that their culture had a richness, longevity, and depth that was much more than what we previously knew.
The Ohlone believed and kept close to the Spirits of the water, the land, plants, and animals. Their ancestral stories told them that these spirits knew each tribe member, kept watch over them, and expected them to follow the culture’s rules of behavior and to always do the right thing.
The many Ohlone tribes had a relatively peaceful and collaborative living environment. This is mostly attributed to a much wetter climate and the abundance of plants and animals. No one tribe needed to “protect” their own resources. They often visited with other villages and generously brought food and mutually shared skills, tools, experiences, songs, and dances.
As hunters, fishers, and gatherers, the cautious stewardship they exercised over their animal and land resources was a special and admirable skill. It came from ancestral knowledge and deep experience in managing and improving native plant and animal populations. They were most careful never to overuse their resources and to keep diversity alive.
“We did not own the land; we belonged to it. Generation after generation, we cultivated reciprocal relationships with the plants and animals we shared this place with and developed beautiful and powerful cultural practices that kept us in balance.” 1
These Ohlones have recently re-acquired a portion of their indigenous land at its original site. It’s the large lot just north of where you are at this underpass. Their remarkable plans will recreate a model village and shellmound exhibit, re-open the creek’s waterflow above-ground, and restore their sacred relationship with these ancestral lands. See the picture of the new painted creek path in the lot to the north!
At GZ admire the Ohlone Dancers on the eastern wall.
Then, discover the Poem verses on both sides of the overhead cement support beams all the way - westward - up to the Amtrak Station.
On your walk up there, you’ll see a beautiful mural on the building just to the south showing a Native paddler and some other interesting details.
At the western end of the underpass there is a descriptive, red-bordered plaque which is well-worth a read.
Check out how big their shellmound was!
Logging requirements: In addition to your comments about what you’ve seen and learned, you must confirm your visit by including two things in your log:
(1) a picture of yourself or a personal item (such as a name tag or piece of paper with your name on it), and
(2) showing one of the verses of the poem overhead that you like best.
Bye Bye Fog by Betsy Davids2
Looking West the poem reads:
BYE BYE FOG SEE YOU LATER
TELL THE EGRETS WAIT FOR ME
GIVE MY LOVE TO SHORELINE BREEZES
SO LONG OCEAN VIEW
WE’LL BE BACK BESIDE THE BAY
SURE AS TIDES AND SUNSET
And looking East it reads:
WELCOME BACK
HERE YOU ARE WHERE BEACH WAS
WHERE ANCIENT PEDESTRIANS
GATHERED OYSTERS AND ACORNS
WHERE TRACKS CROSS SHELLMOUNDS
WHERE HIDDEN CREEKS AND FREEWAYS FLOW
Sources:
1 https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/lisjan-history-and-territory/
2 Where Freeways Flow - https://www.jesseduttonkenny.com/where-freeways-flow
*West Berkeley Shellmound - wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Berkeley_Shellmound
*Lightfoot, Kent G. And Parrish, Otis (2009) ‘California Indians and Their Environment, An Introduction’ University of California Press
*Margolin, Malcolm (1978) ‘The Ohlone Way, Indian life in the San Fransisco—Monterey Bay Area’ Berkeley, California: Heyday Books.
*The Cultural Conservancy, www.nativeland.org
*Wikipedia: ‘Ohlone’; ‘Ohlone Languages’
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.