The Ohlone sacred site and burial site at Glen Cove was in the spotlight this weekend. Thus far the Glen Cove site has escaped development, but the city of Vallejo is now moving forward with plans to convert the land into a park with picnic tables, trails, restrooms and a parking lot.

Local native people and those in favor of keeping the ancient shell mound intact, including the Vallejo Inter-Tribal Council, Sacred Sites Protection & Rights of Indigenous Tribes and the International Indian Treaty Council, have been fighting development plans for years and intend to continue to gather at the ancient site they call Sogorea Te to rally for its protection.

The culturally and spiritually significant shell mounds, sacred to the Ohlone, have largely been obliterated throughout the Bay Area. A widely publicized example is the Emeryville shell mound, which was destroyed to build the South Bay Street Shopping Center.

A portion of the Bay Bridge is built atop an Ohlone tribal burial ground on Yerba Buena Island, partly on state-owned land and partly on federal land. Bodies unearthed on the state land were ceremonially reburied, but those found on federal land were not released for reburial because the Ohlone is not a federally recognized tribe.

Without federal recognition, the Ohlone and supporters face an uphill battle to protect sacred sites like Glen Cove. Norman “Wounded Knee” Deocampo, a member of the Vallejo Intertribal Council, said the tribe is considering a court injunction and searching for a pro bono lawyer to stop the plans at Glen Cove.

• If you would like to get involved in protecting Glen Cove, send an email to protectglencoveATgmail.com.

• For a creative look at shell mounds in the Bay Area, check out this video.