Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is honored to collaboration with Oakland Museum of California in the Good Fire: Tending Native Lands Exhibit.
Rinihmu Pulte’irekne by Renee Castro Ring
Our creative team participated in planning and worked with OMCA to commission new works including a gorgeous triptych telling the story of Rinihmu Pulte’irekne by Renée Leann Castro-Ring (Lisjan Ohlone), a short film exploring intergenerational relationships to fire in urban Indigenous landscapes bu Ashley Salaz (Coharie) and a “LandBack FireBack” shirt design commemorating a future cultural burn we dream of by Victoria Montaño.
Good Fire explores how Native communities in Northern California have used controlled fire—also called “good fire” or “cultural burning”—to care for the land and sustain traditions for millennia. Organized in collaboration with Native Northern California fire practitioners, artists, ecologists, and cultural leaders, the exhibition reframes fire as not solely a destructive force, but as an essential tool for supporting healthy ecosystems and vibrant communities.
In this immersive exhibition, explore fire-dependent plants, regalia, basketry, videos of cultural burns, and artworks that help us understand how “good fire” benefits all life—humans, animals, and plants alike. Rooted in Native knowledge and stewardship, the exhibition challenges colonial narratives that have suppressed Native fire and land relationships in what is now known as Northern California. Good Fire: Tending Native Lands is ultimately a call to reimagine California’s relationship with fire, honoring Native sovereignty and building a future where fire once again sustains life.
The exhibit will be showing from Friday, November 7, 2025—Sunday, May 31, 2026.