SUPPORT REGIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

September 4, 2012

Dear Allies,

We need your support in providing comments to East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) as they update their master plan. Aside from providing comments by October 11th, we ask you to join us for a public meeti
ng with EBRPD on September 11th.

Your input in support of regional Indigenous people’s concerns is critical. For more than a decade tribal leaders have fought EBRPD to implement appropriate protection and management of cultural sites and resources within their jurisdiction with little acknowledgement of Indigenous desires. The recent video Buried Voices https://vimeo.com/4309275 provides insight into this conflict specific to Brushy Peak, the site of the Ohlone, Miwok, and Yokut origin stories that EBRPD developed into a recreation area against the wishes of Indigenous people.

The Master Plan shapes the organization’s policies. Despite stating that they would actively include Indigenous voices in the revision process, EBRPD has made no attempt to do so. As is, the language in the proposed update (see: http://www.ebparks.org/Page50.aspx and http://www.ebparks.org/Assets/Features/Master+Plan+2012+-+Issues+Defined.pdf) fails to offer a concrete guideline for the agency’s protocol in the treatment of Indigenous sacred areas and does nothing to ensure that meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities will be a top priority. In fact, EBRPD’s conduct around the update of this document precisely reflects why their policies are in need of radical revision.

At this point we are asking supporters to take several critical actions as follows to help us hold EBRPD accountable for their continued lack of attention to the concerns of Indigenous people and encourage them to create a responsible position for the future:

1) Please write letters to EBRPD prior to October 11th to insist that they give Indigenous people a defining voice in how the District manages their sacred sites. The more specific that you can be in reference to the proposed revisions, the better. Please save a copy of whatever you send for future documentation. If you are in need of a template letter, please contact Corrina, Vince, or Michelle.

Hard copies of your letter should be sent to:

Board of Directors and General Manager Robert Doyle
Master Plan Policy Update
East Bay Regional Park District
2950 Peralta Oaks Court
PO Box 5381
Oakland, CA 94605-0381

Emails should be sent to:

General Manager Robert Doyle:
bdoyle@ebparks.org

The Board Clerk:
apulido@ebparks.org

2) Please join us at the first of six public meetings on September 11th at 7pm at Richard Trudeau Training Center, Redwood Regional Park, 11500 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619. We hope to have a strong turnout to encourage the district to put Indigenous people’s concerns at the forefront of their revision process. A complete schedule of upcoming meetings can be found at: http://www.ebparks.org/Page50.aspx.

3) Submit comments to the EBRPD’s online Master Plan comment forum at: http://ebrpdmasterplan.org/

4) Please forward this message widely and repost it on facebook and relevant places.

Many thanks for your continued support. Wishing you all the best!

Sincerely,Corrina Gould, Vince Medina, and Michelle Grace Steinberghttps://vimeo.com/4309275vimeo.com