Heading to Berkeley? That's now Ohlone territory

BERKELEY (KGO) -- You may want to take a closer look at the welcome signs next time you go through Berkeley. Right above the population number you will now find the words "Ohlone Territory".

These new signs will go up in about 30 locations along the city's borders. Berkeley is the first Bay Area city to acknowledge the area's Native American heritage in this manner.

The Ohlone arrived in Northern California about 3,000 years ago and lived in tribes of several hundred people along a vast region of the Bay Area, from the Diablo Range to Big Sur. About 3,000 of their descendants, still reside in the Bay Area.

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"This is really a recognition that our people not only have been here but continue to be here. And we have a resiliency and preserving our sacred sites and language," said Corrina Gould, a Bay Area representative of the Ohlone community.

One city sign will go up near this parking lot at Fourth Street and University. Developers are suing to build housing on this land that the Ohlone claim was once a sacred site.