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Press Conference and Native American Ceremony Mark 80th Day of Tree-Sits in Oak Grove 2-20-2007 For Immediate Release - Contact: Zachary Running Wolf (510) 206-4160 Berkeley, Calif.-The 80th day of the arboreal sit-in protest in Berkeley's grove of heritage oak trees will be marked today at 5 pm by an announcement of unexamined archaeological sites in the area. Leaders in the Native American community have uncovered paperwork that indicates burial grounds of indigenous tribes in the vicinity of the oak grove where tree-sitters have perched since Dec. 2, 2006 to stop a massive construction project by the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). One of the issues developers are required to address in obtaining approval for projects such as this is the possible presence of archaeological sites. The oak grove is located on Piedmont Avenue below UCB's Memorial stadium just north of Bancroft Way and the International House. Zachary Running Wolf, a key organizer of the tree-sit, is bringing other Native American leaders to the grove today for a ceremony to honor the ancestors whose spirits they believe will be disturbed by breaking ground on the site. The ceremony will be preceded by a press conference, all at the grove. The land to which UCB claims ownership is the ancestral land of a now-extinct tribe and surrounded by Ohlone land. Ohlone people inhabited the Bay Area for generations prior to the migration of Europeans invaders to California. According to papers uncovered, burial sites under the adjacent UC stadium were destroyed and removed when that facility was built. Speakers at the press conference will include Running Wolf, a Blackfoot Native American leader who ran for mayor in Berkeley's last election, and spearheaded the oaks tree-sit by climbing a redwood tree in the oak grove on Dec. 2, along with a UCB student and another activist, who occupied oak trees. Other speakers are Corrina Gould, an Ohlone tribal member who is with Indians for Public Change (IPOC), north bay Native American Wounded Knee, who is with the Vallejo Intertribal Council and Morning Star, with the Native Youth Movement. It is illegal under City of Berkeley law to cut heritage oaks such as the trees in the grove under the Berkeley Coast Live Oak Moratorium. The University has persisted in this ill-advised project, despite growing opposition from students, neighbors, Berkeley residents, UCB faculty, City of Berkeley officials and biologists. Four lawsuits have been filed against UC to stop the project but have yet to be heard. However, an injunction based on the lawsuits was granted on January 29. ###  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom Subscribe Get action alerts, updates, and other important news in your email inbox by signing up with your email address here: Learn more about events | See the BACHList FAQ |
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