Vincent Medina and Andrew Galvan can trace common Ohlone ancestors back to Mission Dolores in the late 1790s. (Courtesy Andrew Galvan)
Listen up all you immigrant slackers. Yeah, I’m talking to you. It’s about time you learned about the language that was spoken around here long before you were a glimmer in your daddy’s eye.
English? Wrong direction. Spanish? Not even close.
I’m talking about Chochenyo, the indigenous language spoken by Ohlone people in the East Bay which evolved over thousands of years. The language — once considered dead by scholars — has been rejuvenated in recent years thanks to a small but vibrant effort to reconnect with a culture that once extended over much of the greater Bay Area.
On Saturday at Mission Dolores, the revitalization of the Chochenyo language takes center stage during a day-long focus on Ohlone culture and history.
Andrew Galvan, curator at Mission Dolores, and assistant curator Vincent Medina are among those proudly redefining the role played by the Ohlone in the history of California and the creation of the Missions.
Galvan — himself the great-great-great-great-grandson of a Bay Miwok baptised at Mission Dolores in 1794 — told SFBay he is working to re-educate the public on the role played by the Ohlone and other indigenous people in early California:
“We’re not changing history, just qualifying it, interpreting it. We are interpreting what happened over 200 years ago, not from the perspective of the conqueror, but from the conquered.”
The message spread to more than 30,000 fourth-graders — who visit Mission Dolores for their state history requirement — has been recast to be more inclusive, Galvan said:
“History used to say, ‘the padres built the Missions.’ Now, we say, ‘the indians built the Missions under supervision of the padres. Because that’s how it was.”
The kids seem to be getting the message. Galvan said that before he was curator at the Mission, most children who sent drawings as ‘thank you’ notes would almost always draw the Mission itself. Now, Galvan says, most kids draw pictures of the Ohlone ruway, or traditional house, now in the Mission Dolores courtyard:
“Coming to a Mission now is about indians.”
If you have even a passing knowledge of California history, you know that the Spanish splashed across California in the late 1700s, spreading Catholicism through a series of Missions from Sonoma to San Diego.
Less well-known are the divisions of indigenous people who occupied modern California in the centuries prior to European domination. The Chochenyo lived in the East Bay throughout modern-day Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Galvan and Medina can both trace their Ohlone lineage back over many generations. Through research, the pair discovered they are actually distant relatives, sharing the same ancestral ties back to Mission Dolores.
Galvan says his heritage and role at the church give him a unique perspective on the Missions, the Spanish, and California’s indigenous people:
“Those of us who are here today, don’t pick a fight with us. We’re the tough ones. We’re survivors. When people ask ‘who won?’ I tell them the indians are in charge in 2012. Not the Spanish. I think the indians won.”
Saturday’s program runs from at 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Old Mission Dolores at 16th and Dolores. For more information, call 510-882-0527.
Last modified August 27, 2012 1:26 pm
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I would relaly like to thank Jesse, the editor of SFBay.ca, for quickly editing mistakes in the article. In my opinion, this shows extreme strength for a publication as he eagerly and openly worked with me to correct facts. Before this article posted I had no idea about SFBay.ca, but definitely will be a reader in the future as this shows a lot of integrity in my book.
Thank you Vincent for your comments, and for providing information to strengthen this story! Best Regards -- Jesse
I am Vincent Medina and very upset with this article as I was not consulted before it was published. It is full of inaccuracies and would prefer this article would be taken down, or at the least my name and photo would be omitted.
The last thing many in our community are attempting to do is exploit this language, which has suffered enough. The language will not be "taught" to those in audience during the lecture, as we are still working primarily to teach our own and not to teach non-Ohlone for "the fun of it," as language is sacred.
Other edits I shouldn't even have it make if the correct person was consulted are as follows:
*the Chochenyo Ohlone language was NOT spoken throughout "much of northern California" as stated, but instead in the East Bay of the modern SF Bay Area. Hundreds of other languages were spoken throughout northern California, as distant as English and Chinese in some cases.
*the language did not start at 500 AD, this is a joke. Our language has evolved over thousands of years, evidenced with "proto-Costanoan" vocabulary. Saying our language is a mere 1,500 years old is a way many inaccurately justify that our connection to this place is not deep, significant, real.
*much is known of other northern California tribes, as they still exist and are vibrant in many ways all the way into the modem day. Their languages, stories, arts, dances, and culture are not only documented, but in fact still passed down to the current day.
I am asking for this article to please be edited, taken down, and if that is not possible then for my name to be entirely omitted. I do not want to be linked to an interview that is inaccurate in the slightest way, especially when it deals with my language, an issue that is dear to my heart.
I am Vincent Medina and very upset with this article as I was not consulted before it was published. It is full of inaccuracies and would prefer this article would be taken down, or at the least my name and photo would be omitted.
The last thing many in our attempting to do is exploit this language, which has suffered enough. The language will not be "taught" to those in audience during the lecture, as we are still working primarily to teach our own and not to teach non-Ohlone for "the fun of it," as language is sacred.
Other edits I shouldn't even have it make if the correct person was consulted are as follows:
*the Chochenyo Ohlone language was NOT spoken throughout "much of northern California" as stated, but instead in the East Bay of the modern SF Bay Area. Hundreds of other languages were spoken throughout northern California, as distant as English and Chinese in some cases.
*the language did not start at 500 AD, this is a joke. Our language has evolved over thousands of years, evidenced with "proto-Costanoan" vocabulary. Saying our language is a mere 1,500 years old is a way many inaccurately justify that our connection to this place is not deep, significant, real.
*much is known of other northern California tribes, as they still exist and are vibrant in many ways all the way into the modem day. Their languages, stories, arts, dances, and culture are not only documented, but in fact still passed down to the current day.
I am asking for this article to please be edited, taken down, and if that is not possible then for my name to be entirely omitted. I do not want to be linked to an interview that is inaccurate in the slightest way, especially when it deals with my language, an issue that is dear to my heart.
Right you are, Vincent. Recapturing Indian language is a matter of survival, not entertainment. It is also time that lay journalists and editors be sure to check with actual experts before they go blundering off in realms they know little about. I recently spent may weeks working with television journalists to get the story of Ishi, one of California's most well-known Native person, accurate. Due to subsequent editing and the superimposition of images not related to the Yahi, Yana, or any other California Indians, the resulting broadcast was filled with errors. Neither I nor Ishi's family had any control over this. Journalists must respect the information provided by knowledgeable people, and seek it out before they publish.