Alameda Native History Project
2201 Shoreline Drive #6334
Alameda, California 94501
(510) 747-8423
[email protected]
April 24, 2025
Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft and Members of the Alameda City Council Alameda City Hall
2263 Santa Clara Ave
Alameda, CA 94501
Re: Objection to Continued Payments to Alameda Museum and Call for Repatriation of Funerary Objects
Dear Mayor Ashcraft and Members of the City Council,
I am writing to express my ongoing and urgent objection to the City's continued payments to the Alameda Museum for the storage of official City archives.
The Alameda Museum is not a responsible steward of these public records. The Museum is barely open to the public, with hours limited to Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It has repeatedly misrepresented and erased entire communities from Alameda history. Native American history is inaccurately labeled, with Ohlone people misidentified as Miwok. African American history is absent. Asian American history is missing.
The Museum continues to display funerary objects that were stolen from Ohlone burial grounds, and when called out, it quietly removed photographs documenting the dedication of a plaque rather than correcting its mistake. This is not transparency or accountability. It is censorship.
The objects currently in the possession of the Alameda Museum are not its property. They were taken from Alameda shellmounds and transferred to the Alameda Library. No documentary evidence exists showing any lawful transfer of ownership. Under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990, associated and unassociated funerary objects must be returned to the culturally affiliated tribe. California's Native American Historic Resource Protection Act makes it a crime to remove, possess, or display items from Native burial grounds. Assembly Bill 52(2014) and Senate Bill 18(2004) require meaningful consultation with tribes regarding cultural resources. Assembly Bill 389 (2023) strengthened California's requirements for repatriation. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Submitted by Gatmiel Dunca
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Founder, Alameda Native History Project
Gabriel Duncan
Sabriel Duncan
Respectfully,
who built this island.
equitable and inclusive city while continuing to support an institution that erases the very people Healing from the past requires truth, accountability, and respect. Alameda cannot claim to be an African American, Asian American, and other historically erased communities. accurately represents Alameda history and honors the contributions of Native American,
4. The City develop and fund a new, inclusive cultural history center or museum that materials in the Museum's possession.
3. The City conduct an independent audit and inventory of all City-owned historical Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.
and place them in a safe and appropriate facility until they can be returned to the
2. The City take possession of all funerary objects currently held by the Alameda Museum management of public archives.
1. The City immediately cease all funding to the Alameda Museum for the storage or I respectfully demand the following:
Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Alameda Museum to hold and display funerary objects that rightfully belong to the Muwekma The City of Alameda is currently in violation of these laws and standards by allowing the of human remains and ceremonial objects.
Indigenous Peoples, adopted in 2007, affirms the right of Indigenous peoples to the repatriation