Walk into Fremont Main Library and you’ll find a curved alcove on the first floor, framed by large windows that look out onto Central Park. For now, it functions as a quiet sitting area. But soon, it will have a new name, chosen by the Ohlone people themselves, and a new purpose: a permanent space for indigenous artifacts and history at the heart of Fremont.
The space is the centerpiece of a collaboration nearly two years in the making between Fremont librarians Amy Hakanson and Brittany Hersh, and Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino of Café Ohlone, an indigenous-run dining experience rooted in East Bay Ohlone food traditions.
This summer, the library will host a series of programs centered on Ohlone history, culture and living traditions, with events designed for a range of ages.
“We noticed we don’t have much representation for Ohlone culture in our building,” Hakanson explained. “We thought, instead of just focusing on doing something for [Native American Heritage Month], we wanted to build something that would last longer and be more permanent, kind of woven into the fabric of our building.”
The partnership grew out of a conversation with the East Bay Regional Park District, who connected Hakanson and Hersh with Medina and Trevino as the librarians sought to represent the Ohlone community respectfully. Medina, who grew up visiting Fremont Main Library as a child, was immediately enthusiastic. He and Trevino already lead programs at library systems in Berkeley and San Francisco, but saw the East Bay, with its deep connections to Mission San Jose and the Sunol area, as important ground.
The first program in the series took place earlier this spring. Medina and Trevino shared stories and passed around family baskets that have been in their community for generations, drawing in families from the children’s section who wandered over to listen. “At the end of the program, everyone was chatting, and it felt like everyone was connecting,” said Hakanson.
Plans for the space extend beyond the programs themselves. The alcove will eventually be filled with curated displays and artifacts, and the library also hopes to invite Ohlone elders into its local history archives, a collection of old maps and records that may hold new meaning when viewed through an Ohlone lens.
“We have a book in our reference office that had declared the Ohlone people were extinct,” Hakanson noted. “Lending their knowledge and perspective to our items, in order to bring more representation and understanding of everyone’s history matters is so important.”
Hersh emphasized that the programming is intentionally multigenerational. Children’s librarian, Kelly Pollard is managing the children’s programs, and teen librarian, Beth Buchanan, is managing the teen programs. “We thought it would be really important to learn, and a lot of libraries focus on kids and teens,” she said. “But if you didn’t get that history, or the correct history, early on, as an adult it’s still important to learn it.”
After the first program, an attendee asked whether the upcoming children’s storytime would also be open to adults. Hakanson brought the question to Medina. “He said, ‘Oh, we can do an adult one,’” she recalled. “It’s interesting to see there is a need and people do want to learn.”
The long-term dream is to help Café Ohlone create an archive of oral histories housed at the library. For now, the focus remains on finishing the Ohlone space and building momentum through the program series.
“Ohlone is not something in the past,” Hersh said. “It’s a living, breathing culture and people who are still here and contributing, and to get that in the community’s consciousness is really important.”
Upcoming programs
Fremont Main Library
2400 Stevenson Blvd., Fremont
Ohlone Storytime
Friday, Jun 26, 11am; ages 2-6
Learn to play Ohlone games
Tuesday, July 21, 1pm; ages 8-12
Ohlone cultures past and present
Saturday, Oct 17, 2pm; all ages
