A San Francisco Bay Area parking lot that sits on top of a sacred tribal shell mound dating back 5,700 years has been returned to the Ohlone people by the Berkeley City Council after a settlement with developers who own the land
An aerial view is a parking lot that was once the Shellmound village site in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, March 12, 2024. The Berkeley City Council on Tuesday will consider a settlement to return land that once held the Shellmound village site, a ceremonial and burial site, to the Sogorea Te' Land Trust, a Bay Area collective that works to return land to Indigenous people. .
The 2.2-acre parking lot is the only undeveloped portion of the West Berkeley shell mound, a three-block area Berkeley designated as a landmark in 2000. “It's a very sad and shameful history,” said Berkeley City Councilmember Sophie Hahn, who spearheaded the effort to return the land to the Ohlone. The settlement was reached after Ruegg & Ellsworth agreed to accept $27 million to settle all outstanding claims and to turn the property over to Berkeley. The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust contributed $25.5 million and Berkeley paid $1.5 million, officials said.
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