Liberation Wall

This mural is a manifestation of our shared dream of liberation for all Native people from Lisjan Ohlone lands to Palestine. We are connected by the Earth’s waters, undivided by “borders,” and united by a love of life and land. We follow in the footsteps of our ancestors, who have resisted colonization for centuries, and those who are now leading us on the frontlines towards freedom. 

The liberation tree is situated between Tuyshtak on one side and the coast of Jaffa on the other. Tuyshtak, the original Chochenyo name for what is often called Mount Diablo, is at the center of the creation story of the Lisjan people. The top of the mountain is a sacred space that has held ceremony for generations. It was also a place of refuge for the Lisjan when the spanish colonized the land. After over two centuries of colonization, the Lisjan do not have rightful access to their sacred place.

The coast of Jaffa was the first Palestinian city to be captured by zionist forces during the Nakba in 1948. The capture of this city allowed zionist forces to occupy and control the entire coast of Palestine, keeping Palestinians from their beloved sea and limiting their freedom to move. Palestinians can smell the Mediterranean sea from the refugee camps in the West Bank, but are prohibited from going there by the zionist occupiers. Through the hole in the apartheid wall, a Gaza fisherman is seen spreading his net which turns into a kuffiyeh. Gaza is featured here as it is not far from Jaffa, but our people have been separated by the walls built by the occupier. Although Gaza is on the coast, the brutal siege has violently prohibited Palestinians from sailing far from the coast, and fishermen are regularly targeted by zionist forces. Our people dream for Gaza and Jaffa to meet again, and to sail the sea as we always have before. 

These two places tell the story of return: to return to Tuyshtak and Jaffa is to achieve liberation for the land and for the people. To return is to heal from the past and build a liberated future on our beloved lands. On either side of the tree are the California poppy and the Palestinian poppy (الحنون), a plant relative shared by the Lisjan and Palestinians. In Palestine, the poppy is a symbol for our martyrs, who return to visit us every spring when the flowers fill the countryside. Glory to our martyrs, may they continue to visit us every spring in a free Palestine. The poppies are painted in different stages of life, conveying their long term prosperity and resilience.

We chose the Oak tree because the Lisjan people and Palestinians share this plant relative. Oak trees are the livelihood of the Ohlone people and serve as gathering spaces for Palestinians. They have also been affected by colonization: in Huchiun they suffer from sudden oak death, a disease brought from overseas by colonizers. In occupied Palestine, zionist colonizers have replaced oak trees with European pine trees that harm the land and are unable to survive the climate. 

In our liberated future, oak trees will once again thrive alongside our people. The Lisjan will celebrate the first drop of acorns and Palestinians will gather under their shade. The strong roots of the Oak are breaking through the zionist apartheid wall on one side, and the so-called US-Mexico border wall on the other. Freedom is only achieved through the sacrifice of all those before us who rooted themselves firmly in justice, making our movement unshakeable and resilient. It is with them that we dismantle these walls and borders and create a free world for the next generations.  

The liberation of the people and the land is intertwined and this mural situates our shared lifeways in the leaves of the Oak tree. We have represented many of our shared traditional practices: boatmaking and fishing, cultivating and sharing food, basket-weaving, music and dance, traditional embroidery and jewelry-making, plant medicine, and storytelling. We refuse to let these traditions go: the dancers in the center leaf are replicas of the Lisjan people dancing in their homelands for the first time in over 250 years!       

At the top of the tree are the Shellmound and Al Aqsa mosque. The sacred Shellmound was recently liberated and returned to the Lisjan for rematriation! When Palestine achieves victory Inshallah, Palestinians will be free to pray in Masjid Al Aqsa without the constant threat of violence from the zionist occupiers. Spiritual freedom and the right to pray and honor our ancestors is one of the highest forms of freedom. Centuries ago, colonizers destroyed the Shellmound, selling it as fertilizer. 250 years later, the Lisjan are rebuilding their sacred site. This is a testament to steadfastness until liberation: no matter how long it takes and no matter how many times the occupier tries to destroy the sacred, the people will remain and rebuild. Likewise, all of Palestine, including Occupied Jerusalem, will be liberated!