The Granada Community Services District had been redesigning the slice of land north of Surfer’s Beach known as Burnham Strip and given it a working title of “Burnham Park.” Last week, the strip got a new name.
Last week the board voted 3-2 to change the park name to Granada Community Park. The board considered three proposals: Burnham Park, Granada Community Park and Chiguan Park. Chiguan was the indigenous name for the area encompassing El Granada where the Ramaytush people lived long before European colonization. According to Ryan Molyneaux, the Ramaytush established two villages within their Chiguan territory near Pillar Point and Miramar. Archeological evidence shows that groups fished, hunted and played games in the area, including what is now the Burnham Strip. He noted that renaming the park could spark educational programs explaining the history of the Ramaytush and Ohlone.
“With so many El Granada streets named after conquistadors, naming the park Chiguan provides a more expansive and balanced part of our history,” Molyneaux said.
Ultimately, three board members voted to select Granada Community Park to reflect the years of work from GCSD board members to preserve the land from development.
“I recognize the Chiguan as part of the place broadly,” GCSD President Nancy Marsh said. “To me, in this particular place, the only reason it isn’t apartments or office buildings is that people worked through Granada Community Services District to preserve it specifically for a park.”
Marsh and other directors said the project should include interpretive signage honoring the history of the Ramaytush on the park trails and new recreation center. For some in attendance, the name Granada Community Park recognized residents who worked on the design and the community tax dollars paying for the park.
“People have worked for decades to bring us to the point where we are,” said Director Matthew Clark, who said he worked with Ohlone people at archeological sites for 40 years. “I think we should honor that work and that vision that a few active people over many years have almost brought to fruition.”
Director Barbara Dye agreed. “It really was the people of El Granada who made this park happen and it’s the people of El Granada who will pay for this park,” she said. “I don’t think the name reflecting that means we can’t have interpretive materials. There are a lot of options ahead of us on developing the site.”
Burnham Park essentially became the default name initially because the land has been called the Burnham Strip for years and it would keep the connection to Daniel Burnham, the renowned architect who designed El Granada. Others suggested the park shouldn’t have Burnham’s name because he didn’t come to El Granada. Meanwhile, members of the indigenous community made a compelling case to rename the park after the land’s original inhabitants.
“The thing I love about the name of Chiguan for this area is that it’s inclusive,” said Cata Gomes, a Ramaytush elder and executive director of Muchia Te’ Indigenous Land Trust. “Both of the known village sites in this area would all be considered part of Chiguan. We really want you to consider the renaming of this area. Not only would this be a wonderful way to honor our ancestors, we feel this is an important tool for the generations of today and the generations to come.”
Directors Jen Randle and Jill Grant both wanted the Chiguan name, noting that it would signal inclusivity to marginalized and underrepresented groups. They also said that having both Granada Community Park next to the Granda Community Center sounded redundant.
“I struggle with why anyone would resist creating such a meaningful piece of space for the actual stewards that made it possible for us to live here today,” Randle said. “And we have no representation of them in our community.
“We wouldn’t be here today without the indigenous people,” she said.
(2) comments
I’m embarrassed to be represented by Directors Dye, Marsh, and Clark. They chose to honor themselves over the indigenous people whose land they live on and enjoy.
Thank you Directors Grant and Randle for providing some much needed common sense to the Granada Community Services Board. Please keep it up, we need more of you on this board!
The reasons offered are pretty lame. Dye, Marsh, and Clark seem to have embarrassed themselves on this one. Sad.
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