At 12:00 noon on Monday, October 10th — Indigenous People’s Day — members of the Elem Pomo tribe will march to the offices of millionaire businessman John Nady in Emeryville to demand that he immediately halt his planned desecration of Rattlesnake Island. The Elem Pomo have invited supporters to join the protest and tell Nady that from the Bay Area to Lake County, people will stand up to oppose the desecration of sacred native sites.

Located on the eastern end of Clear Lake, Rattlesnake Island has been the ceremonial center of the Elem community of Southeastern Pomo Indians for thousands of years. The island was stolen from the Pomo in 1877, when it was deeded to settlers as private property in a supposed “clerical error”. Ever since that time, the Elem Pomo have been fighting to regain their traditional ownership of this sacred land, which is now privately held by John Nady.


With blatant disregard for the wishes of the Elem people, John Nady is attempting to build vacation homes on the island, and has already illegally installed a septic tank, and thousands of feet of roads, trails, and utility trenching. He has now strong-armed his way out of conducting the required environmental impact report and is poised to begin further construction at any moment.

Following the annual sunrise gathering on Alcatraz Island, Elem Pomo representatives and supporters will deliver a letter to millionaire developer John Nady at the Emeryville headquarters of his electronics business urging him to stop the desecration of Rattlesnake Island. Event details

See also: Indigenous Peoples Day events