Long before the name ‘Oakland’ existed, native Ohlone peoples inhabited what we now know as the Bay Area for thousands of years. ‘Ohlone’ is a loose term used to name the dozens of indigenous groups, with distinct dialects, that have lived and given to this land before European invasion. They knew and understood the natural world with an intimacy unfathomable to society today, and knew how to balance human needs with that of the land and all other inhabitants.
Because of colonizer and settler-introduced diseases, intentional violence against Native populations, and state-sponsored massacres of Native peoples in California, the population of Ohlone peoples in the Bay Area dwindled. Preserving what remains of Native history is paramount when so much has already been destroyed.
