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In 2006 Catherine Herrera introduced me to Tony Cerda. I have supported Ohlone organizers since 1993. I had no idea that 2,000 Ohlone live in Pamona California, or that their Chief is such an interesting, open, supportive, and powerful leader. For the last two years he has been performing ceremony to heal the San Francisco Bay at Coyote Hills. Last weekend, in Pomona, some of the tribe performed a play he has written to tell the story of how they fled San Francisco in 1856, making their way down to the Los Angeles River, and surviving there among the largely Mexican communities during the later part of the 19th century when so many California natives were massacred.
I was able to find a videographer, John Gannon, who filmed the play and a discussion after it with Tony.