At first, this was just a class project to propose the renaming of an Alameda park to show homage to the Indigenous people who roamed this land before us. But now, after being educated on what really happened to these tribes and how much they suffered, we believe it is right to honor them and immortalize their legacies for future generations to come with the renaming of McKinley Park to Muwekma Park.

The Muwekma tribe is the name of an Ohlone tribe whose Native Ancestors roamed Alameda and some of the surrounding Bay Area during the 1700’s. They had modest lives, as they would gather acorns and berries, make clothes to stay warm, and build dome-shaped huts. This peaceful existence, however, could only last so long, as the Spanish arrived in the Bay Area in 1769, and not long after would colonize the Muwekma Ohlone tribe.

William McKinley had done good things for this country, however, showing kindness to Indigenous People was not one of them. William McKinley stripped land away from Indigenous people and gave it to American settlers. He did this by signing the Curtis Act, which broke up Indigenous territory all over America by taking away about 90 million acres of it. All of the laws that the Indigenous governments had created for their societies were instantly taken away by the Curtis Act, invalidating anything their governments would do or say. Additionally, he annexed Hawaii, unjustifiably taking away land from Indigenous Hawaiians. Before the treaty was signed, nearly half of the Indigenous Hawaiian population signed a petition in an attempt to oppose the treaty taking their land away, however, McKinley didn't listen. McKinley Park itself as well as most of island of Alameda actually used to be Native Ohlone land, with Ohlone shell mounds covering the island. This is why it is very counter-intuitive that the Indigenous Ohlone land is named after the man who took Indigenous land away from people all over America.

Overall, William McKinley has had this park named after him for over 100 years, and it is time for a change, and right now, that change is to honor the Ohlone people who were here before all of us. This all starts with you, and your signature helps so much. We need 500 signatures to be able to present it to the Alameda City Council, and every vote counts. Thank you! 

-Joshua Perez & assisted by Shing Li, two freshmen students at Alameda High School