Re-interpreting the Discovery Site

Over the centuries, the lens of history has sharpened. The notion that America was vast and empty, waiting to be discovered and settled by Europeans was based on the pretense that no one of significance was here before. The truth is that indigenous people with thriving and highly developed cultures lived across the continent for thousands of years before colonization started.

The Portolá Expedition was befriended by Native peoples along the way. When the party reached the bay area, they were hungry and sick. The local Ohlone shared their food and accompanied Sergeant Ortega to first view San Francisco Bay.

The “discovery" of San Francisco Bay would soon mean the loss of Ohlone lives, homelands and traditional ways. Yet, a new chapter would begin as four men from the expedition would marry native California women and raise families that contributed to the coming Californiano culture.

In 1987, Sweeney Ridge became part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This reinterpretation of the Discovery Site reflects the National Park Service’s desire to accurately and equitably portray this land’s diversity of people.

What is the legacy colonization?

Jakki Kehl (left) and Linda Yamane open Presidio Pasados in 2019.

Presidio Trust

Jakki Kehl & Linda Yamane
Jakki Kehl is Mutsun Ohlone. Her fourth great grandfather is Sergeant Ortega. Linda Yamane is Rumsien Ohlone and descends from Manuel Butrón, a Catalonian volunteer soldier. Both men were assigned to the Portolá Expedition. Jakki and Linda are Ohlone friends of 30 years. They are very active in the Ohlone community and often share culture through basketry, stories and songs. They are two of many expedition descendants in California today.

Banner and post cards promoting the 1909 Portolá Festival.

Descendants of Portolá Expedition members, historians and dignitaries gather at the "discovery" site at rededication of the Portolá Festival in 1947.

Top Images: Robert Bowen Family Collection
Bottom Image: SMCHA 1064.B San Mateo County Historical Association Collection

The Portolá Festival
Captain Gaspar de Portolá’s “discovery of San Francisco Bay” in 1769 has long been memorialized. In 1909, San Francisco held the Portolá Festival, a month-long event celebrating the city’s history after rebuilding from the 1906 earthquake. In 1947, descendants of the explorers gathered with historians and dignitaries to officially designate the Discovery Site. The first permanent marker was placed on this hill in 1975, and the second eight years later.