Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 13, 2007 14:30:17 GMT -5
UC Announces Plans for Archaeological Survey
By Richard Brenneman
UC Berkeley officials announced Thursday that they will conduct an
archaeological survey at the site of the Memorial Stadium oak grove.
The announcement came two days after Native American representatives
gathered at the site to protest plans to build a $125 million gym next
to the stadium—which sits directly atop the Bay Area's most
earthquake-prone fault.
Marie Felde, the university's executive director of media relations,
said the university would conduct a survey at the grove, and at all
other southeast campus locations where excavations are planned as part
of a major new construction campaign.
"The timing is not yet determined," she said.
Meanwhile, at the same time Felde was sending an email response to a
reporter's queries, campus police were conducting their second raid
of the grove site, hauling off the personal belongings of the supporters
of protesters who have taken to the trees in hopes of stopping the
university's plans to ax the stand.
"It's outrageous," said Ayr, one of the activists who has
been caring for the tree sitters ensconced in platforms high above the
earth where tribal representatives said Tuesday that they believe some
of the their dead ancestors may be buried.
Police and campus grounds crew staff gathered all the protesters'
belongings both from locations within the grove and from the sidewalk
along Gayley Road, where Ayr said protesters had been told previously
that they could use as long as they didn't block pedestrian traffic.
"Right now, we're doing a cleanup here at the oak grove,"
said Sgt. David Roby. "We're picking up everything on the
ground."
No arrests had been made, and no citations had been served, he said.
It was the second time campus police had made a clean sweep of the
grounds, gathering up the gear of protest supporters and hauling it off
in a dump truck. The first raid was made before dawn Jan. 12.
Tuesday's raid came in the early afternoon, four days after campus
cops arrested Zachary Running Wolf Friday, the former Berkeley mayoral
candidate who launched the arboreal protest Dec. 2 when he took up
residence in a redwood on the morning of the annual Big Game with
Stanford.
According to the police website, he was picked up on a charge of failure
to appear to answer charges of vandalism, but Running Wolf said Thursday
the actual charge was probation violation.
The activist had been arrested and charged earlier for defacing stop
signs in the area by stencil-painting the word "driving" beneath
the octagonal signs' STOP.
Though he had been served at the time of Friday's arrest with an
order to stay off campus for the next 14 days, Running Wolf returned for
a press conference and ritual held at the grove with other Native
Americans, including representatives of the Ohlone nation, who once
lived along the East Bay.
Wounded Knee, an Ohlone leader, began events with a prayer and call for
the university to halt construction plans at the grove. "They are
here," he said. "We know, the Indian people, that our ancestors
are here."
Fred Short, an American Indian Movement activist, joined in the call, as
did Ohlone activist Corrina Gould.
Just how many burials may have been unearthed during the construction of
the stadium remains an open questions.
A university press release issued Monday said that, despite the
"several" skeletons mentioned in a contemporary news account,
they had records of only one burial found during construction of
Memorial Stadium—and that they don't known if the bones belonged
to a Native American.
In the prepared statement, unnamed "university officials" also
said the discovery and the location weren't included in
environmental documents for stadium area construction because of a state
guidelines barring disclosure of Native American burial and cultural
sites.
The statement said nothing about other burials discovered nearby during
construction of the university's Faculty Club in 1925 which were
identified at the time as Native American by University of Washington
archaeologist Leslie Spier, who had been called in to examine the
remains by the university, according to an article in the June 21, 1925,
San Francisco Examiner.
Despite prior discovery of human remains, Monday's statement did not
call for an archaeological survey prior to construction—unlike the
city, which did require a survey at 700 University Avenue prior to
approval construction at that site.
The statement did cite the project's Environmental Impact Report,
which called for a survey in the event any artifacts are discovered
after construction commences.
The release quoted Dr. Kent Lightfoot, curator of archaeology at the
university's Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, who said a
partial skeleton had been discovered during stadium excavations, though
there "is no indication from the records that this isolated skeleton
is part of a larger archaeological site."
By Richard Brenneman
UC Berkeley officials announced Thursday that they will conduct an
archaeological survey at the site of the Memorial Stadium oak grove.
The announcement came two days after Native American representatives
gathered at the site to protest plans to build a $125 million gym next
to the stadium—which sits directly atop the Bay Area's most
earthquake-prone fault.
Marie Felde, the university's executive director of media relations,
said the university would conduct a survey at the grove, and at all
other southeast campus locations where excavations are planned as part
of a major new construction campaign.
"The timing is not yet determined," she said.
Meanwhile, at the same time Felde was sending an email response to a
reporter's queries, campus police were conducting their second raid
of the grove site, hauling off the personal belongings of the supporters
of protesters who have taken to the trees in hopes of stopping the
university's plans to ax the stand.
"It's outrageous," said Ayr, one of the activists who has
been caring for the tree sitters ensconced in platforms high above the
earth where tribal representatives said Tuesday that they believe some
of the their dead ancestors may be buried.
Police and campus grounds crew staff gathered all the protesters'
belongings both from locations within the grove and from the sidewalk
along Gayley Road, where Ayr said protesters had been told previously
that they could use as long as they didn't block pedestrian traffic.
"Right now, we're doing a cleanup here at the oak grove,"
said Sgt. David Roby. "We're picking up everything on the
ground."
No arrests had been made, and no citations had been served, he said.
It was the second time campus police had made a clean sweep of the
grounds, gathering up the gear of protest supporters and hauling it off
in a dump truck. The first raid was made before dawn Jan. 12.
Tuesday's raid came in the early afternoon, four days after campus
cops arrested Zachary Running Wolf Friday, the former Berkeley mayoral
candidate who launched the arboreal protest Dec. 2 when he took up
residence in a redwood on the morning of the annual Big Game with
Stanford.
According to the police website, he was picked up on a charge of failure
to appear to answer charges of vandalism, but Running Wolf said Thursday
the actual charge was probation violation.
The activist had been arrested and charged earlier for defacing stop
signs in the area by stencil-painting the word "driving" beneath
the octagonal signs' STOP.
Though he had been served at the time of Friday's arrest with an
order to stay off campus for the next 14 days, Running Wolf returned for
a press conference and ritual held at the grove with other Native
Americans, including representatives of the Ohlone nation, who once
lived along the East Bay.
Wounded Knee, an Ohlone leader, began events with a prayer and call for
the university to halt construction plans at the grove. "They are
here," he said. "We know, the Indian people, that our ancestors
are here."
Fred Short, an American Indian Movement activist, joined in the call, as
did Ohlone activist Corrina Gould.
Just how many burials may have been unearthed during the construction of
the stadium remains an open questions.
A university press release issued Monday said that, despite the
"several" skeletons mentioned in a contemporary news account,
they had records of only one burial found during construction of
Memorial Stadium—and that they don't known if the bones belonged
to a Native American.
In the prepared statement, unnamed "university officials" also
said the discovery and the location weren't included in
environmental documents for stadium area construction because of a state
guidelines barring disclosure of Native American burial and cultural
sites.
The statement said nothing about other burials discovered nearby during
construction of the university's Faculty Club in 1925 which were
identified at the time as Native American by University of Washington
archaeologist Leslie Spier, who had been called in to examine the
remains by the university, according to an article in the June 21, 1925,
San Francisco Examiner.
Despite prior discovery of human remains, Monday's statement did not
call for an archaeological survey prior to construction—unlike the
city, which did require a survey at 700 University Avenue prior to
approval construction at that site.
The statement did cite the project's Environmental Impact Report,
which called for a survey in the event any artifacts are discovered
after construction commences.
The release quoted Dr. Kent Lightfoot, curator of archaeology at the
university's Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, who said a
partial skeleton had been discovered during stadium excavations, though
there "is no indication from the records that this isolated skeleton
is part of a larger archaeological site."