Listen To US

September 26 7.00 – 9.00 pm
| 
at Pier 33, San Francisco
Sponsor: www.walkablecities.com

Join us for a unique, guided walk through the heart of San Francisco, led by six American Indian poets. From Pier 33, where we will reflect on the ‘Indian Occupiers – This Land is My Land‘ marker, we will journey through the city’s rich American Indian history and culture, making our way to the American Indian Cultural District near Pier 4, the original Alcatraz Ferry Pier. Along the route, the poets will share their favorite poems by John Trudell, offering a deep connection to the land, heritage, and activism that resonate through his words. These poets, representing California tribes and other indigenous communities, will provide insight into the diverse narratives of Native American life and history.

Itinerary:

• Start at Pier 33 – Here we’ll gather at the ‘Indian Occupiers – This Land is My Land’ marker, a place of reflection on the legacy of indigenous activism, particularly the historic Occupation of Alcatraz. The ferry to Alcatraz departs from here, and we will take it on Saturday to continue our literary pilgrimage of John Trudell’s work through lectures and discussions.
• Filbert Steps & Grace Marchant Gardens – After Pier 33 we cross The Embarcadero and we climb up the Filbert Steps (no wheelchair access), leading us to the beautiful, hidden gem of the Grace Marchant Gardens. Grace Marchant (1886-1982) started at age 63 in 1939 to plant her world-famous garden on Telegraph Hill. She worked on the steep hillside day in and day out for 33 years. This garden on Telegraph Hill was created on land once filled with debris. Over the years, Marchant transformed it into a sanctuary of native plants and flowers. As we ascend, we will be surrounded by vibrant flora, a testament to resilience and renewal.
• Telegraph Hill & Views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge – From the summit of Telegraph Hill (elev. 285 ft (87 m)), we will take in breathtaking views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the surrounding neighborhoods. This hill, once called Loma Alta (High Hill) during the Spanish and Mexican eras of San Francisco has played as one of the original “Seven Hills” a key role in the city’s history. In the old days the Telegraph Hill ended in the Bay untill the shoreline of San Francisco had been pushed eastward by landfill. In 1853, the first telegraph in California, was set up on the hill, therefore giving the hill the name of “Telegraph Hill.” This telegraph was destroyed by a storm in 1870.
• Coit Tower & Native American Resistance – In 1932–1933, Coit Tower was built where the telegraph once stood. At Coit Tower, we’ll reflect on the New Deal mural that tell stories of California’s history during the Great Depression. The mural is commissioned in 1934 by the Public Works of Art Project. A violent strike at the time of the paintings led pieces of the murals to be repainted. The project supervisor of this mural in the Coit Tower, Robert Arnautoff, also painted the murals at Washington High, which depict George Washington as complicit in the genocide of Native Americans and slavery.

In this panel Washington is pointing white trappers forward into the American frontier as they step over the lifeless body of a Native American. Among the vivid colors of the landscape, the trappers are grayed out, like ghosts, apparently a comment at the state of their souls. Nearby, a white man and Native sit sharing a pipe; a broken tree branch overhead is a subtle symbol of broken treaties.

• At Coit Tower, we’ll also note that the statue of Christopher Columbus at the base of Coit Tower was removed by city workers in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder on June 18, 2020. A rally set for the following day had planned to tear the statue down and hurl it into the bay. 
• Caffé Trieste & Allen Ginsberg’s House – After Coit Tower we’ll take a moment to pause at Caffé Trieste, an iconic Beat Generation hangout where poets and writers, including Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and many other Beat poets, once gathered. After a drink, we’ll walk to Allen Ginsberg’s house, just around the corner, and reflect on how the Beat poets helped shape the city’s literary scene.
• The Transamerica Pyramid – After Allen Ginsberg’s house we cross Broadway and walk to the 850-ft-tall Transamerica Pyramid building. We don’t spill time on Broadway as American Indian stories are still underrepresented on Broadway. At one of San Francisco’s most famous buildings, we will find a garden with some great sculptures. We don’t visit this garden. The only reason that we walk via the Pyramid is that we want to bypass Columbus Avenue during our Listen To Us Poetry Walk.
• Portsmouth Square & City Lights Bookstore – On our way to City Lights Bookstore, we will pass through Portsmouth Square, this lively park has been the site of significant cultural moments in the city’s history. From here, we’ll continue to City Lights Bookstore, a legendary independent bookstore and publisher founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. City Lights is known for its commitment to world literature, the arts, and progressive politics, including works that focus on indigenous issues.
• Ina Coolbirth Park and Rain In The Face – We then cross the Cable Car at Mason Street and climb the Vallejo Street steps via the Ina Coolbirth Park to Russian Hill. Ina Coolbrith was California’s first poet laureate and a prominent figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary community. She also wrote the historical poem “The Captive Of The White City” (1895). Which was published in her second poetry collection Songs From The Golden Gate about the legendary Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux chief Rain in the Face who battled General George A. Custer at the Little Big Horn river in southern Montana. The battle is now known as “the Custer massacre” (listen also to this youtube story about Custer’s last stand). The poem reflects on the pain of dispossession, vengeance, and the tragedy of cultural loss, using vivid imagery to highlight the contrast between the jubilant crowds and the silent, proud figure of the “captive” warrior. It asks profound questions about justice and reconciliation. Also Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem “The Revenge of Rain-in-the-Face” about Rain In The Face 50 years before and it was published as part of Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha in 1855. The Song Of Hiawatha is an epic narrative that explores Native American myths and legends. In the poem, Rain-in-the-Face is a warrior who seeks vengeance for the death of his people and the destruction of their way of life. The poem reflects Longfellow’s sympathy for Native American culture and the tragic consequences of the conflicts between indigenous peoples and European settlers.

• Russian Hill – At Jones Street we will have another stunning view of Alcatraz. The neighborhood’s got it’s name from the Russian crew members of naval and merchant ships that got buried their since 1806. The cemetery was eventually removed, but the name remained. This spot is perfect for reflection before continuing our journey.
• Lombard Street and Water Reservoir – After a few blocks we hit the Lombard Street. Here we go the left to chase – with up to 17,000 visitors per day on a busy summer weekends – eachother on foot by taking the 8 switchbacks on those worldfamous scenic steep street. Chase scenes in many films have been filmed on the street, including Good Neighbor Sam, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, What’s Up, Doc?, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. When we are down we can hear people grunting, screaming and swearing while they run behind a ball on a tenniscourt. This tenniscourt is build on the water reservoir. The reservoir can store 6 millions gallons (22,7 million liter) water. It has been providing clean, safe, and reliable drinking water to San Francisco residents in lower Russian Hill and areas of North Beach and Chinatown for almost 165 years now. George Sterling Park is located adjacent to Lombard Reservoir. This park is named after another great poet George Sterling (1869-1926). He was a leading light of the Russian Hill literary community. Sterling is best remembered for his poem describing San Francisco as the “cool gray city of love.”
  She is fairer than others are
  Whom they sing the beauty of.
  Her heart is a song and a star –
  My cool, gray city of love. 
  From “The Cool Grey City of Love” By George Sterling 
• Larkin Street and the Heart @ San Francisco – After Sterling we walk over Larkin Street down to Francisco Park. Larkin Street is mentioned after the early settler Thomas O. Larkin who arrived in San Francisco in 1832 during Mexican rule. He was appointed by President John Tyler as the first (and only) US consul to Alta California and served as a clandestine US agent during the Bear Flag Revolt. He later served as a delegate to the California Constitutional Convention in 1849. At Francisco Park we stop at the public sculpture called the Heart. It’s the centerpiece of Francisco Park. The sculpture has some similarities with Anish Kapoor’s ‘Bean’ in Chicago.
• Beach St and Cable Car – After crossing Bay Street and Northpoint we arrive at Beach St. This street believe it or not has a real sand beach. More interesting is the Cable Car Turntable. A Cable Car has no engine or motor on the cars themselves. The power source is centralized in the cable car barn and powerhouse at Washington and Mason Streets (also home to the Cable Car Museum). There, powerful electric motors drive giant winding wheels that pull cables through a trench beneath the street, centered under the cable car tracks.
• Pier 4 – Shortly after the Cable Car Turntable we arrive at Pier 4. This is the original Alcatraz Pier. From here John Trudell, Richard Oakes, LaNada Means and others left by ship to occupy Alcatraz on November 20, 1969. Seven months later the City Of San Francisco took this ship down with help of Hartford Insurance as you can read below.

• American Indian Cultural District – Our walk concludes at the American Indian Cultural District. AICD is housed in a 13-acre complex of renovated military buildings on the waterfront offering venues for the arts. At AICD we will celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Native communities in the Bay Area.

We look forward to sharing this poetic journey with you as we walk, listen, and reflect on the enduring spirit of John Trudell’s poetry.