Filmed by Frances Carlson ’26 and Sanya Sohal ’26
December 3, 2025 – “Indigenous Peoples and Voices in the Present,” a senior history seminar taught by René Villicaña, visited Cafe Ohlone on the University of California, Berkeley’s campus. Throughout the semester, students have reckoned with Turtle Island’s (known today as the United States) violent history of genocide against Indigenous communities, and learned about Native survivance in the face of erasure. For their final unit, students seek to answer the question: “What can settlers do to be in more just relationships with Native peoples today and in the future?”
Cafe Ohlone was founded by Louis Trevino and Vincent Medina to revitalize traditional foodways, foster respect and create community for Ohlone individuals, while pushing UC Berkeley to be in more just relationships with the people upon whose land their institution is built.
After welcoming students, along with Christy Godinez-Jackson and Samu Cortez, Medina gifted acorn-flour brownies and rosehip tea and spoke traditional cooking techniques and the Ohlone history of perseverance.
Returning to school, students were met with a meal catered by Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Crystal Wahpepah’s, a member of Kickapoo Nation, East Bay restaurant aiming to advance Native food sovereignty. Students ate while reflecting on their takeaways from the day, ending the trip in unity.
