Berkeley will buy Ohlone shellmound site, return it to Indigenous land trust

The city of Berkeley will purchase and transfer the Spenger’s Restaurant parking lot property in West Berkeley to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.  After a recent settlement agreement, Berkeley City Council unanimously approved the purchase, making Berkeley among the first in the country to outright return land to Indigenous people. Many believe the parking lot covers the last undeveloped part of the oldest shellmound and village site around the Bay, a ceremonial site and fishing village. “It’s one of the most culturally significant sites for the Lisjan people and to have it protected forever, I think I’m without words,” said Corrina Gould, a co-director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. Read more about this groundbreaking deal in this article: https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/03/12/berkeley-shellmound-spengers-lot-sogorea-te-settlement by Ally Markovich of Berkelyeside News.