Feature Archives

After days of Donald Trump threatening to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents began massing at Coast Guard Island in Alameda on October 23. Residents across the Bay Area responded that same day by organizing emergency rallies. At Coast Guard Island, authorities used at least one flash bang grenade on demonstrators. Shortly after the confrontation, Trump walked back his troop threat.

The Amah Mutsun Land Trust has announced that by the end of 2025 they will acquire a 50-acre property near the intersection of Highways 129 and 101 in San Juan Bautista, marking the first time the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has regained full access rights to land in its traditional territory since their forced removal over 225 years ago. The property has been renamed tooromakma hinse nii, which means “bobcats wander here”.

The racist mural on 41st Street and Piedmont Avenue in Oakland was finally fixed. Neighbors hugged with joy as they celebrated the artistic amendment that included depictions of Indigenous resistance to colonial violence. Titled "The Capture of the Solid, Escape of the Soul,” the mural was originally painted by non-native artist Rocky Rische-Baird in 2006 to the loud and persistent protest of the local Indigenous community.

On August 25, Aleyda Rodriguez was grabbed by ICE agents in East Palo Alto as she, her husband, and their child were leaving to go to work and school. She fainted when agents pulled her out of her car and carried her away. She was brought to Stanford Hospital, kept under watch of armed guards, and five days later discharged to DHS while in a catatonic state. Shortly after, hospital workers and community members staged a protest.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency injunction on August 18, blocking the Trump administration from handing Oak Flat over to a private mining company while three lawsuits challenging the land exchange proceed. Without the injunction, the public lands about 40 miles east of Phoenix were expected to be transferred to Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of multinational mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP.

On July 19, hundreds of people showed up in Dublin to oppose the establishment of new detention centers in Northern California and across the U.S. ICE has signaled serious interest in reopening the notorious FCI Dublin prison as an immigration detention center. FCI Dublin was closed in 2024 due to powerful survivor-led organizing following years of horrific staff sexual abuse, retaliation, and medical neglect.

After years of prayers and protests, the struggle to protect the West Berkeley Shellmound Sacred Site has prevailed. On March 12, the Berkeley City Council approved a global settlement with the owners of the Shellmound village site and adopted an ordinance giving title of the land to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. The deal results in what Ohlone tribal leaders describe as one of the most significant urban land back victories in United States history.