San Francisco in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
San Francisco's First People
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 23, 2020
1. San Francisco's First People Marker
Indian people have long held close relationships with the plants. Plants have provided food,
shelter, clothing, baskets, cordage, games, musical instruments, hunting and other tools,
medicines - the list could go on. Plants were, and still are, thanked with offerings and sung to.Linda Yamane, Rumsien Ohlone
The tule reeds in front of you were life sustaining material for the Yelamu, a community of the Ohlone people who were the first inhabitants of San Francisco. For countless generations Yelamu families lived nearby in a small village called Petlenuc, located one mile away near the entrance to the Golden Gate. Intimately familiar with the landscape, they thrived by collecting plants like tule and managing natural areas for resources to support their families' needs. The Yelamu used tule to build their houses (called reewah) and boats (called wahlee).
Erected by Presidio Trust, National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans • Natural Resources.
Location.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 23, 2020
2. San Francisco's First People Marker - wide view
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Anza Expedition Camped Here (a few steps from this marker); Juan Bautista de Anza (within shouting distance of this marker); St. John’s Presbyterian Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); The San Francisco Columbarium (approx. 0.9 miles away); Post Chapel (approx. one mile away); Old Post Chapel (approx. one mile away); Bachelor Officers' Quarters: Pershing Hall (approx. one mile away); At Home in the Nineteenth Century Army (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.
More about this marker. The marker is located on the south shore of Mountain Lake, in the Mountain Lake Park area of the Presidio, by the tennis courts.
Also see . . . Yelamu (Wikipedia). "The Yelamu were a tribelet of Ohlone people from the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. The term Yelamu, or "the western people" was used by east bay Ohlone to describe the Ohlone people living on the San Francisco Peninsula. A more correct identification is Ramaytush, according to an account by J.P. Harrington made in 1921 by a Chochenyo Ohlone who identified the peninsula as "ramai". Ramaytush was also the language spoken by them.... Randall Milliken's study, "A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769-1810," estimates that 160 to 300 Yelamu were living in San Francisco when the Spanish opened
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 23, 2020
3. Tule Reeds (from marker site)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 23, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 23, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Sacramento, California. This page has been viewed 87 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 23, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Sacramento, California.
