will we have to suffer the whole day through? when will i see you again when will our city hall be together. are we friends, let -- yes, we are friends? this is not the end. when will i see you again? precious moments. >> thank you, next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i just want to say thank goodness for district elections. i want to speak about the recreation and parks department commission and the need that they have through the parks

department commission. there has been several instances where there has not been what i believe it is legitimate public outreach. i believe we have a happy outcome. what he realized is downtown, south beach, our open spaces are rare and cherish. the changes impact all of us. i and stand -- i understand that

we have constraints, however we should not be selling our public spaces without a good discussion. i'll encourage you to pursue having the board of supervisors appointed commissioners not reparations and paris, along with other commissions. thank you. >> thank you. >> i work with the inner-city

adolescent network. we provide programs for the use such as continued education, job training, job readiness. i'm here today to ask for support. our funding is running out, there are collaborating partners. i want to come in and ask for some support. >> thank you, next speaker. >> i am with the foster services agency. i would like to urge the board

of supervisors to look into the funding. there are large number of children. there is a 2-3 years in which they end up homeless. what we want is for the board to look at the funding and the mental health services. we have expanded with the agency's 22 intervention which helps children to have schizophrenia. -- we're expanding the agency's ability to do intervention. we did you that you would look into funding for these programs

and also to help with the violence that the children are experiencing. they described their living situation as living in a war zone. we look to help veterans, we have to realize that we have a war zone in the city and county of san francisco. i am begging you to please look into the funding for these programs. >> thank you. >> and i am chairman of -- in one we are some of the indigenous people from the san francisco area. i was one of the ambassadors --

and we would like the recognition of our people. we would like to have recognition, we would like to be recognized. indigenous means that for thousands of years our ancestors were buried in the ground. they became part of the trees, the grass, the rocks, the animals. that is what we are, we are the indigenous people of this land and we would like to be recognized as that and we would like to be respected. to earn respect, that is the way that we honor that respect and we take care of that and we are responsible for our actions. we are responsible for our actions. we will learn about this.

we don't just to send letters, and we are the ones living in our culture and our religion and doing the things that we do. we are very happy to be here in san francisco after a very long absence. indigenous people for a long time has been in the woodwork. in the last 30-40 years, that is when people have been coming out and identify themselves. thank you for listening to us.

that is what this land is.

we participated in a sunrise ceremony today. all of the trees, the rocks, the dirt, the mother earth, everything as thousands and thousands of years of my ancestors, who said that prayer, just like i do today and just like my kids will do after me. i am proud to be there is singing with them under my feet. and the trees making the oxygen for me to breathe. it made me strong and made me feel like a proud ohlone woman to go to sites like that where my ancestors gave themselves. >> one of the rules of our chambers is that we not applaud or express any expressions of opposition to comments that would allow it to our procedures today. if i could ask the members of

the public to respect that, i would appreciate that. >> i am here as a representative of the ohlone nation. for over 10,000 years, our people have resided in the area known as the san francisco bay area. our ancestors participated in ceremonies and were living with the earth. as a resident of the area, we were taught that our existence as a people ceased after secularization. it is not taught that we are and -- we continue to live. there is a denial of our existence. i am asking if you can help us and work with us to guide society as a whole to recognize us as a people. our ancestors have participated in ceremonies and then within the city limits of in san

francisco. we are asking to recognize these things and to allow us to continue to participate in these ceremonies. you know that our future generations can continue to participate in the ceremonies. that is what we're asking for here, for help. our tribe as a city entity can work together to. recognition for our people. we can work on being a part of this society and being a part of the way of life in which we live. >> i am here to let you all know that we have been participating in ceremonies since before my time. to let you guys buying no --

guys know that you can work with us and to have respect for ourselves and give us the opportunity to show the people in the communities that we are still here and we are not going anywhere. and to give us some space and time to show the community that we are still here and to show the future generations to come and we are still with us that we are still with us and we are still here. i hope that you respect that and give us the time and space to show the people in our community that we are still here. it is not that we are extinct. as you can see, we are still here. >> i am ohlone. one bank of the things went to

divide in our tribe was the need for a wellness program. many of our tribal members are not insured due to not being recognized. we are not covered in some of the native health care centers. we decided to go out on our own to form a wellness center that would help with many of our tribal members and all that stuff with diabetes and other health problems. -- suffer with diabetes and other health problems. a community garden in our community. different organizations from the boy scouts, girl scouts, different churches have established relationships with local colleges and also with other health maintenance colleges, health organizations. we are working to ensure that

our tribal members to get the health care that they need, whatever it takes to do that. a change in lifestyles, helping them grow organically. we also have a pipeline to college to ensure that our children get the education that they need. >> thank you. >> my name is rodriquez. i am hair -- here to share with you about our culture. some of the things that we do with our culture. one of the things i have learned is that, our culture, we have to have an education. it is not an education for ourselves. it is an education for you guys.

what i have done is to teach people. not just california, but america. our history does not say what it is supposed to say. it says what other people want to put in there. it was not written by us. we are here. we teach. i have been doing presentations at schools with teachers, and universities, and different things like that. what we are looking for is some recognition.

>> my name is jesse. i want to thank the city for inviting us up. in the developments of the area, also the veterans. i will like to thank the city for doing this. we have been working with veterans groups in southern california. we are one of the indian nations that has a food bank ministry. veterans and family members are fighting in battles. they need to be more heard and seen and worked with. without the veterans, we not be

-- we would not be here today. we are here today as people to let you know that we are here to serve with all nations, all tribes. also, to support the city and any veteran unities you want to do. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i am with my people today. i asked and pray that you recognize that we still exist here. i hope. >> many of our grandfathers and grandmothers were slain for

their land. a lot of people do not know the history. i have one question, where do we stand with you? >> i have the privilege of helping to bring some of this with us. i wanted to clarify one thing. this group, living primarily among us, can document that they've lived here until 1834 in san francisco. before that, in 1775 they were here and greeted the spanish when they first arrived. that is documented by the people that stand before you. it is a rare and awesome opportunity.

i urge you to get deep into that. i wanted to thank you for the resolution you are considering. they have had some input and some concern about this. i also wanted to say that though i appreciate everything you have done and you have done about as much as you can, we really need to go further. we need to make sure that the promises can be fulfilled. one of the ways i see the potential for that is that you take more responsibility for the redevelopment process. there has been some discussion of that. mr. campeau's -- campos, you advance that. >> eighth part of our history that we do not like. we really value diversity in our

culture in san francisco. the group before you has the quality. the most critical is that the forces us to look at our own history. the flip side of that is an appreciation and joy for us being able to overcome the history of that we do not want to see. there are a few more speakers. >> thank you very much. >> good afternoon. i am the tribal chairperson of the nation. there was a sunrise ceremony. the power of prayer was unbelievable. the connect with all the light that us around us. i live in indian canyon. it is the only recognized indian land in the ohlone territory.

we have opened it up to all indigenous people that are in need of land for ceremony. at one time, it was of no difficult to have a ceremony. now, it is. i ask that you support the native people in the city of san francisco in any manner that you can. the power of ceremony, the place where ceremonies can take place, you will be amazed how it makes it so much easier when the light understands what you are trying to do. i am very happy to be here. i cannot encourage you enough to acknowledge the local

indigenous people in this city and the entire ohlone territory that extends from here down to the big sur area. so it is in a spirit. >> next speaker, please. >> my name is mary jean robertson. i am not ohlone. i have been doing a radio show in san francisco for over 37 years. it is called "voices of the native nations." those of us of our age were moved around by our parents a lot. i was born in new york. my brother was born in cleveland. we lived in los angeles and san jose.

when i turned 21, it was very important to have a homeland. i chose this city as my city. i moved here and i have not lived anywhere else. i have voted hear my entire adult life. i got to know all of you and enjoyed working with a lot of you over the years. there are some really strong friendships in the city. as a relocated native woman, my father always told me that one of the first things that you need to do when you move to a place is to honor and respect the original people who live there. we started as a ohlone profiles project. we are going to continue to inform people about the regional people of san francisco. that is a very important aspect

of our city. we are such a strong, diversity. such a place where we encourage people from all over the world to come here. it is so important to have a place for indigenous people to welcome all indigenous people from all over the world. the aboriginal people coming here. it is very important to have a space in the city for our original people to welcome other people to our city. thank you for all of the work you have done and keep up the good work. >> thank you, next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i would like to welcome home the ohlone back here. i feel very honored that they have come here to be with us and remind us of the richness of the

history of our area that goes back 10,000 years. i want to thank those supervisors that have been working with the ohlone profiles project to help recognize this rich history of the ohlone people. i want to encourage all of you to pass the resolution to include ohlone in all of the planning processes of the city. they are representative of the rich heritage that goes back so far and can lead us to a healthier life in the city. i hope the development that is going on will include them and a place for ceremony. a way to allow the ohlone people

to share with us their knowledge and plan how some of that land will be used for ceremony and whatever other purposes. i want to thank you and encourage each and every one of you to recognize this great opportunity to honor the ohlone and our own heritage in this city. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i am a vietnam veteran. i worked at post 69 over in the veterans building. i am here to support the ohlone nation. i would like to see them recognize. -- recognized. as a vietnam veteran, i did not fight to coming -- come back to this country to see that my

native brothers and sisters were having struggles of their own. what we failed to do is to get respect. if we want respect, we have to learn how to give it. i know that there are good people on this board. we always need more people to support that. as a vietnam veteran, i want to say to the ohlone the veterans, you have been invited to our meeting. we welcome them and support them and their struggles as well as the other tribes and nations in california. for those of you that do not know what this means, this is the four colors of man. father, sky, and mother earth. it was the african and that turned me on. the aboriginal gave me my heart.

it was the european that gave me my sorrow. it was the american that sent me to war. it was the vietnamese that gave me forgiveness. may i forgive myself. the elders are still waiting. so they still are. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. to the h ohlone -- the ohlone, then to supervisor eric mar. >> how do we place this on the projector? >> i am volunteer with the international indian treaty council for a little bit more than 20 years. i was born and raised here. my focus were on issues of native peoples whose homeland was in the san francisco area.

i wanted to point out that the board of supervisors supported a resolution for federal recognition. i urge the board of supervisors to pass similar legislation. it is imperative that you take everything that the speaker said to heart. this is their homeland. i am a volunteer with the california archaeological stewardship program and. you can see right here where hunters point is. it is a high concentration of this. these are their cultural treasures. most of them are under a lot of this. this is an opportunity to try to save what little is left of these ruins and ancient monuments and to let these people connect with their ancestors. that is something that they have been prevented from doing.