The Ohlone people were the first people to live in the area we now call the San Francisco Bay in California. They lived there for thousands and thousands of years, long before any cities or roads were built. The Ohlone were made up of many small groups, and each group had its own village and its own leaders.
The Ohlone were very good at using nature to get everything they needed. They gathered acorns from oak trees and ground them up to make a kind of flour for cooking. They caught fish in the bay and hunted deer in the hills. One of the most amazing things the Ohlone made was beautiful baskets. They wove the baskets so tightly that some could even hold water! They also built small boats out of tule reeds to travel on the water.
When Spanish explorers arrived in the 1770s, life changed for the Ohlone people. The Spanish built missions and wanted the Ohlone to live and work there. Many Ohlone became sick from new diseases, and their old way of life became very hard to keep. Even though this was a sad time, the Ohlone people did not disappear. They are still here today!
OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia
