The Sogorea Te Land Trust

An urban Indigenous women-led land trust that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people

Caring for the Land

Lisjan

In the heart of deep East Oakland, Lisjan is a traditional village site and the first piece of land rematriated to Sogorea Te’ within the territory of Huichin.

Lisjan is home to the first arbor, a Californian Native ceremonial space, in this territory in over 250 years; a symbol of Ohlone peoples’ resistance and strength in the face of colonial adversities. Here we operate out of a standard sized shipping container named Jakelin, in memory and honor of Jakelin Caal Maquin, a  Qʼeqchiʼ (Guatemalan) baby that passed away unjustly while in custody of US border patrol. Our work at Lisjan and at each site is for the future for Indigenous youth.

At Lisjan, we cultivate traditional and medicinal plants such as sage, tobacco, mugwort, soap root along with a variety of fruits and vegetables. It also the location of our first Himmetka emergency response hub.

We have a rain water catchment system and X gallons of water storage.

This quarter acre site was rematriated by Planting Justice after they returned from Standing Rock and asked how they could support Indigenous peoples here in Oakland.

Rammay

West in the Chochenyo Ohlone language, Rammay is a beautiful urban garden in West Oakland.

Here our crew grows 12 different varieties of fruit trees and bushes, Native plants like Mugwort and Soap Root, and various produce. Projects at this site include a Tobacco and Medicine Drying shed, Plant Identification Workshops, and community harvests. We are happy to share this space with the American Indian Child Resource Center that serves Urban Native youth living, working, or studying in Oakland. 

We received a low-cost long-term lease on this small plot of land in the heart of the city.

Gill Tract

The Gill Tract Community Farm is a collaborative community project between the University of California Berkeley and the local community, focused on food justice and urban farming.

The community works to conduct collaborative community-driven research, education, and extension focused on ecological farming and food justice, and to foster equitable economies, a healthy environment, and increased resilience in vulnerable communities, both urban and rural.  It is located in Albany, CA, at the corner of San Pablo Ave and Marin Ave. Here, STLT does field and garden care for both produce and Native plants. It is an urban farm where you can come and harvest food for yourself and your family in exchange for regular volunteering; it aims to supply fresh organic food to anyone who lacks access to it in our East Bay communities. Sogorea Te’ Land Trust collaborates with regular farm volunteers and the Black Earth Farmers collective to rematriate this space. 

STLT was invited by the Gill Tract community and Black Earth farmers to share the land and food.

Mugworts

A QTBIPOC* centered site in northern California that is shared for community and social movement care.

Mugworts is part of an emerging effort to create a collectively advised, alternative land sharing model that is working to support social justice movement building while redistributing resources. Here we focus on the values and lessons of economic justice, Indigenous intersectionality, Two Spirit and LGBTQTGNC+, intergenerational, abolishing the concept of “private property”, open imagination for “What is Home”, and democratic and non-hierarchical governance.