On July 22, the Union City Council voted 5-0 in support of a resolution urging federal recognition of the Muwékma Ohlone Tribe. Councilmember Jaime Patino, who brought the issue before council, said, “This was a long time coming. I’m glad we did the right thing.”
While several official land acknowledgements currently exist amongst local municipalities and academic institutions, including Chabot College and CSU East Bay, this is the first time a Bay Area city has legally pledged their allegiance to the Ohlone people, sending a powerful message to Washington, D.C. Specifically, the resolution “urges action from Congress, the White House, the Department of the Interior, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”
Several friends and allies of the Muwékma Ohlone Tribe were on hand, sharing stories which resonated with Mayor Singh and his fellow councilmembers. Aaron He, a student at Bellarmine College Preparatory and founder of the Indigenous Justice Coalition (IJC), was pleased with the turnout. “This is just part of a broader movement that is gaining momentum across the Bay Area from citizens and municipalities in support of federal recognition.”
Thanks to outreach efforts by the IJC, other cities like Livermore, Palo Alto and Concord are now considering the matter. “We have been ignored and betrayed by local politicians for so long that we have lost faith in our political institutions,” said Charlene Nijmeh, chairwoman for the Muwékma Ohlone Tribe. “But now, because of the actions of the mayor and councilmembers of Union City, as well as the determination of the IJC, we have hope that a new generation of leaders is emerging in the Bay Area.”
The history of the Muwékma Ohlone people and their fight for federal recognition is complex. Over 10,000 years ago, roughly 50 aboriginal tribes with related languages inhabited the region from San Francisco down to the Salinas Valley, and are collectively known as the “Ohlone.” “Muwékma Ohlone” is a contemporary term (Muwékma translates to “the People” in the traditional Chochenyo language) for descendants of the Verona Band, who were granted federal recognition in the early 20th century.
In 1925, UC Berkeley anthropologist Alfred Kroeber falsely declared the Muwékma Ohlone extinct. And the following year, Lafayette A. Dorrington, commissioner for the Sacramento Indian Agency, was tasked with providing Congress a list of the 134 Indian tribes that had been promised land, including the Verona Band. He completely dropped the matter, and so these tribes disappeared from federal records.
“It’s political warfare,” asserts Alan Leventhal, a retired archeologist and ethnohistorian at San Jose State University. “Historically, California Indians were not considered citizens, so they have not been afforded the normative constitutional processes that are the rights of all Americans.”
Leventhal has been studying and assisting the Muwékma Ohlone for over 40 years, and has been deeply involved in documenting their story. He cites the importance of being federally recognized: “First off, it legitimizes the history and heritage of the tribe.” It also gives the tribe access to federal funds and services, including healthcare, education and housing, all managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
Petitioning the BIA is one way to achieve federal recognition, but can be a lengthy process. There are seven criteria that need to be met, all requiring extensive documentation. Leventhal is confident that the Muwékma Ohlone meet all of the requirements, but is frustrated with a historically racist and politically driven bureaucracy. “They told us it would take them 24 years before they could look at our documents,” he says.
Historically, California Indians were not considered citizens, so they have not been afforded the normative constitutional processes that are the rights of all Americans
Alan Leventhal, a retired archeologist and ethnohistorian at San Jose State University
An Act of Congress or court order can also grant recognition. For the past few decades Leventhal and his academic colleagues have been attempting to raise awareness of the Muwékma Ohlone’s plight throughout the community by making school presentations, hosting art exhibits, contributing scientific articles and educating city governments.
Similarly, social justice groups like the IJC are keeping the cause alive through political outreach, in the hopes that one day, the right person in the right place will take up the cause in Washington, D.C. “If the senators and congressional members see that the citizens are behind this movement, well, they have to listen to their constituents,” says He. “We have the momentum.”
“The Union City Council’s resolution in support of federal recognition for the Muwékma Ohlone Tribe is a powerful acknowledgment of our People’s enduring presence,” says Monica V. Arellano, former vice chairwoman for the Muwékma Ohlone Tribe, Ohlone cultural bearer and language keeper, and Verona Band descendant. “As we say in our beautiful Chochenyo language, Makkin Mak Nommo—we are still here. We have never left our aboriginal homelands, and it is time for the San Francisco Bay Area and the United States to finally recognize that truth.”
The visitor center at Coyote Hills Regional Park has displays on how the Ohlone people lived historically, and on Oct. 5, 2025, the park will hold the annual ‘Gathering of Ohlone Peoples’ which educates on indigenous stories, foods and games. Learn more at: ebparks.org/parks/coyote-hills.
