Photograph of Mission Cemetery taken in present day (2020)
A sketch of a proposed future Mission Cemetery by Seth Hanson.
As the current cemetery stands, there is an inherent lack of acknowledgement for its Ohlone ancestral connection as a sacred burial site. Out of fifty randomly selected students, only three were aware that it was a cemetery, and of those three, only one knew that Ohlone ancestors were buried underneath. This highlights the negligence of due diligence to the Ohlone people whose grounds are the foundation for Santa Clara University.
There are a variety of ways in which SCU can take action to improve the Ohlone representation in regards to the cemetery. The easiest method that requires no maintenance after its implementation would be the installment of a plaque. This plaque could hold a variety of information such as the names of the natives buried (cross reference burial records with the records of what time period natives were buried in the cemetery) or even just the designation that the site is in fact an Ohlone cemetery. The commemorative plaque would ensure Ohlone acknowledgement at a minimum, but additionally provide the public with a simple resource to learn a little more about the Ohlone without having to do extensive research. A picture of a proposed plaque is featured to the left. This could be in addition to a plaque on the outer edge of the cemetery that details information about the history of the site so everyone passing by will be educated on this piece of land.
