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The circles in the center of this concept hold placeholders for the patterns we've seen that represent the ethnicities in Oakland. The half-diamond motif signifies the Ohlone people, the Native American collection of tribes who lived in the area now known as Oakland (and the whole Bay Area) before Spanish colonization. 

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For context, please read the following excerpt which resonates not only with this design, but the intentions and spirit of the project.

 

(From the essay The Ohlone People Gather by Gregg Castro)

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"In the origin narratives of many indigenous communities that have lived in what is now known as California since time immemorial, there is a recurring concept that “The People” are connected to a specific place. These ancient chronicles articulate the deep understandings that “The People” were not only from a distinct place, but are made of that place. Creation narratives often describe how humans were made of the very materials of that landscape at the world’s dawn. Whether plant, rock, soil or other living ingredient, the accounts of humans coming into the world made very clear the what, when and how of our existence. They stated why “The People” must know of their beginnings, so they can learn how they are to live in their birthplace and the crucial lessons of respecting their homelands to create abundance for all living things. Above all, they teach us to be grateful for this gift of the homeland, humans often being the last of living things brought into the world that The First People (first beings living in this world, before humans) labored to maintain for our benefit.

 

These concepts are among the fundamental elements of what it means to be Indigenous. This certainly applies to our Ohlone communities of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas, who have been the caretakers of this part of the world since time began (as much as 15,000 years based on western science). Despite the severe disruption and near eradication of Ohlone People over the last two and a half centuries, the unbreakable bonds with our homelands have allowed us to survive the genocide of Native Americans in California. Now, at the dawn of a new millennia, Ohlone People in their varied communities, organizations and extended family groups are thriving in their homelands once again."

 

This design concept will be developed by additional design elements in the signature styles our artists are known for.