Faculty Research Fellows Talk with Claire Urbanski

Claire Urbanski: "Indigenous Sacred Site Desecration and Property (Re)Production in the San Francisco Bay Area"

This presentation examines the role of Indigenous sacred site desecration in the reproduction of modern U.S. colonial property systems. Focusing on the desecration of Ohlone shellmounds in the San Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Urbanski shows how colonial acts of Indigenous sacred site desecration are not isolated to discrete instances, but rather reverberate and extend in operation across time, working to invalidate Indigenous land claims throughout past, present, and future. In turn, Urbanski shows how Lisjan Ohlone-led efforts to protect the shellmounds disrupt colonial property systems, while transforming societal conceptions of land.

Claire Urbanski is a 2022-24 Clayman Institute Postdoctoral Research Fellow.

Clayman Faculty Affiliates are welcome to attend the lunch seminars.  All Stanford academics are eligible to become Clayman Institute Faculty Affiliates. Please RSVP to Lea Gottlieb (lgottlie [at] stanford.edu (lgottlie[at]stanford[dot]edu)) if you wish to attend.