January 7, 2025
City Council
DATE: January 7, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Council Member Gayle McLaughlin
Councilmember Doria Robinson (Co- Sponsor)
Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez (Co- Sponsor)
Subject:
Resolution Urging the Federal Government to Support the Immediate Recognition of the Confederated Villages of
Lisjan Nation, Muwekma Tribe and Ohlone Tribe’s Federal Status
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There are no direct financial impacts associated with the adoption of this resolution.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Resolution Urging the Federal Government to Support the Immediate Recognition of the Confederated Villages of
Lisjan Nation, Muwekma Tribe and Ohlone Tribe’s Federal Status
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution urging the U.S. Congress, the White
House, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to acknowledge and fe derally recognize all of the Chochenyo speaking tribes of the East Bay,
including the Muwekma, the Confe derated Villages of
Lisjan Nation and the Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area – Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin (510 -620-
6636), Councilmember Doria Robinson (510 -620-6568),
and Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez (510-620-6565).
AGENDA
REPORT
January 7, 2025
DISCUSSION:
The Verona Band is the only Bureau of Indian Affairs documented and historic Ohlone Tribe from the San Francisco Bay Area, who have maintained their distinct culture, social and political identity for the past 230 years despite genocide and political erasure.
As there have always been multiple Tribes within the territories of the East Bay that share a language- Chochenyo, there has never had one overarching tribe, but multiple Tribes that do not share the same ethics, values or political belief systems.
The direct ancestors of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation and the Ohlone Tribe were missionized into the three Bay Area Missions: Santa Clara, San Jose, and San Francisco during the expansion of the Spanish Empire into Alta California from 1769 to secularization in 1836.
The United States Government maintained a “trust” relationship with the Verona Band as historically identified by agents and superintendents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, from 1906-1927. The Verona Band has never been legally or illegally terminated by an act of Congress but were bureaucratically politically removed from the list of landless tribes and bands identified and eligible for land/homesites purchase via the Congressional Appropriation Acts of 1906, 1908, and later years, without any due process in 1927 despite its “trust’ relationship and its previous status as a federally recognized tribe.
This item seeks to rectify this injustice by adopting this resolution and directing the City Manager t o draft and execute a letter transmitting this resolution to the Bay Area Congressional delegation and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, with instructions that all actions be taken to support and ensure the immediate recognition of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation, the Muwekma Tribe and the Ohlone Tribe’s federal status, and include them with the federal registry of recognized tribes under the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution