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The Sogorea Te Land Trust

The Sogorea Te Land Trust

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

  • About
    • Purpose and Vision
    • Our History
    • Staff & Board
    • Partnerships & Alliances
    • Contact Us
  • Lisjan (Ohlone)
    • Lisjan History & Territory
    • Mak Noono Tiirinikma
  • Initiatives
    • Cultural Revitalization
    • Himmetka: In One Place, Together
    • Mitiini Numma Youth Program
  • Rematriation
    • Land in Rematriation
      • Lisjan
      • ‘Ookwe
      • Rinihmu Pulte’irekne (Sequoia Point)
      • Rammay
      • ‘Ištune
    • Return Land / Land Return
    • Rematriate the Land Fund
  • Media
    • Updates
    • Resource Library
    • Creative Collaborations
      • Hella Feminist
      • On Indigenous Land Field
      • Rematriate the Land Billboard
      • RETURNS: Participatory Rematriation
      • STLT x Jackie Fawn
      • Tule in the Sky
  • Engage
    • Make a Request
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    • Other Ways to Engage
      • Land Acknowledgements
  • Pay Shuumi
    • Shuumi Land Tax
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    • Testimonials

Our History

Sogorea Te’ Land Trust Timeline

The Reawakening of Sogorea Te’

The name of our Land Trust is inspired by a sacred place and a sacred struggle to protect that place from desecration. In 1999, a campaign started in Vallejo to stop plans for a construction project that threatened Sogorea Te’, a 3,500 year old Karkin Ohlone village and burial site located at Glen Cove.

Poster by Melanie Cervantes of Dignidad Rebelde

Wounded Knee DeOcampo, a Tuolumne Miwok elder, was organizing with the local Indigneous community to halt the City of Vallejo’s plans to redevelop the grounds of Sogorea Te’ into a recreational public park. The development would pave over parts of the Shellmound, further harming the ancestors buried there, remove native trees to improve the view for nearby condos, and increase visitors’ impact on the sacred site. Corrina Gould, Johnella LaRose, and their newly formed organization Indian People Organizing for Change began collaborating with DeOcampo and supporting the ongoing effort to protect Sogorea Te’. For twelve years, Indigenous organizers attended city council meetings, met with recreation district officials, held demonstrations and prayer walks, and submitted their objections during the environmental review process for the proposed park. Dismissing the requests of the Native community, the city pressed forward with their plans.

After learning that the City of Vallejo’s grading permits would finally become valid on April 14th, 2011, Gould, LaRose, DeOcampo and other community organizers realized they’d run out of options for protecting the ancestors. After consulting with elders, a decision emerged clearly: the time had come to make a stand. On the morning of April 14th, over a hundred people gathered at Sogorea Te’— an elder lit a sacred fire, an altar was established, and the spiritual encampment to protect Sogorea Te’ began. A community of protectors stood vigil together, tending the sacred fire continuously for 109 days and nights.

“They want to desecrate the site. They say they went through the legal process and it’s been done correctly. We’re saying, no, it’s not good enough. We’re standing up for our ancestors. We’re not going to allow them to continue to do this. We’re not going to allow them to continue to unbury our ancestors and put them wherever they feel like it, in lockers, in storage places. That’s not how it’s gonna be anymore.”

Corrina Gould, Spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan

The village of Sogorea Te’ was, in a sense, reawakened. Thousands of people visited the spiritual encampment to pay their respects, to bring supplies and support, to offer songs, stories, dances and ceremonies, and lay their prayers on the fire. Many stayed for weeks or months. The amount of support the camp received from other California tribes and from Indigenous people internationally was breathtaking.

For many urban Indians from the Bay Area who took part, this was their first experience of living directly on the land—camped together within a village and community bound by a common spiritual purpose. Every person had a valuable role to play. The space that was created was deeply healing and the ancestors’ voices were listened to. “We went to save the land at Sogorea Te’, but really, the land saved us,” camp organizer Johnella LaRose reflected. “We didn’t truly understand we needed the land so much until then.”

The spiritual encampment ended after a cultural easement and memorandum was signed between federally recognized Patwin/Wintu tribes, the City of Vallejo and the Greater Vallejo Park District, which promised to ensure the protection of the site. Though Sogorea Te’ is Karkin Ohlone territory, Ohlone people are not federally recognized and could not themselves be a party to the easement. Appallingly, in 2012, promises were vacated and agreements violated, as the recreation district proceeded to build a parking lot and grade a section of the land that likely contained cremated remains. Patwin/Wintu tribal monitors were complicit in allowing this to occur. This unfortunate decay of trust however was composted into fertile ground. A large ceremonial gathering was subsequently held at the site in mourning and protest and soon new seeds were sown on that sacred land. 

Transformed by the experience of living in community on the Sogorea Te’ village site and inspired by a powerful vision of rematriation all across the Bay Area, Corrina and Johnella founded the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust in 2015. And the work continues…

ProtectSogoreaTe.org

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Sogorea Te Land Trust
“It’s going to take a lot to heal but I think “It’s going to take a lot to heal but I think we’re at the beginning. people want to do something different, were finding the power to move in different ways...”

— Sogorea Te Land Trust cofounder Corrina Gould

From @culturalconservancy’s Native Seed Pod interview with Melissa Nelson.

Art from our geomorphic visualization of rematraited land with Maise Richards. 

Both available in our resource library. link in bio. 

Images are 1. Rematriated landscape with a stream passing through  green trees, native plants, and grasses with long roots extending into a sandy base. There is a fading freeway in the background. one slide has the above quote in sandy colored letters and the second has the words Rematraite the Land. 

#rematriatetheland #resourcelibrary #listenup #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #rematraition #landback #landreturn #returntoland
❤️Himmetka ❤️ Throwback to the shipping ❤️Himmetka ❤️ 

Throwback to the shipping container for our first Himmetka arriving on a pink tractor trailer truck, January 2019, Lisjan. 

Named with the Chochenyo word for “in one place, together,” our Lisjan Himmetka includes a ceremonial space, food and medicine gardens, water catchment, filtration, and storage, first-aid supplies, tools, and a seed saving library.

Images are 1. A red shipping container being unloaded from a pink tractor trailer truck with logs in the foreground and a blue sky in the background. 2. Front view of the container covered in art with a sign that reads Himmetka, everything together in one place. 

#tbt #himmetka #sogoreatelandtrust #iniatives #urbanindivenous #womenled #lrematriation
The land formerly known as Sequoia Point has been The land formerly known as Sequoia Point has been renamed Rinihmu Pulte’irekne!

The Chochenyo name, meaning “Above the Red Ochre,” was given by @villages_of_lisjan language carrier Deja Gould. 

The name honors the location and connection to red ochre, once abundant in the East Bay hills.  Ochre holds cultural significance for Ohlone people and many Indigenous people of the world. It was among the natural materials extracted and exploited in the settling of California. 

Welcome back Rinihmu Pulte’irekne. 

Music: Landback @rebelwisemusic 
Drone video: Alfred @threesistersgardens 

Video is a peek of the view from the Oakland hills through tree branches fading into an aerial video of the land, panning out to the city and bay from an eagles eye view with text announcing the land formerly known as Sequoia Point has been renamed Rinihmu Pulte’Irekne. 

#rematraitetheland #sequoiapoint #RinihmuPulte’irekne #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #landtrust #landback #landreturn #rematriation
Welcoming youth back as we continue our Indigenous Welcoming youth back as we continue our Indigenous led youth program, Mitiini Numma wave one! We are so excited to be back with you all and hope you had an amazing winter break ❄️. On our first day back we got to learn about and from each other during a yarn toss game 🧶, highlighting who we are, how we got to the land we are on, and sharing our relations. Looking forward to a spring full of fun activities, rematriated site visits, exciting field trips, amazing wisdom keepers, creative workshops, and more! 🤎

Image: Youth and facilitators gathered in a circle in our youth program space, each holding a piece of yarn connected to all of them, during a game of yarn toss. 

#MitiiniNumma #backinprogram #growthetruth #youthleaders #youthprogram #Indigenousled #oaklandyouth #rematriatetheland
This is what Indigenous women and two spirit land This is what Indigenous women and two spirit land rematriation looks like! 

Throwback to the official signing of the cultural easement returning the land formerly known as Sequoia Point to Indigenous care, December 13, 2022. 

Image is five Indigenous women and two spirit people of various ages wearing long skirts and dresses, standing in a line, looking out past the viewer. In the background is glimpse of an image of a ceremonial structure. 

#squadgoals #thecrew #matriarchylives #indigenouswomenled #sogoreatelandtrust #culturaleasement #itsofficial  #landreturn #landback #rematriation #Oakland #indigenousland
Lisjan: Rematriated Indigenous Land Ask Permissi Lisjan: Rematriated Indigenous Land 

Ask Permission 
Walk With Honor 
Respect The Sacred 

*No Photos * No Substances*

Image is a turquoise sign at the entrance of Lisjan with the above text in red and black letters with the Sogore Te' Land Trust logo- a silhouette of the Oakland skyline above an Ohlone basket- in front of an abundance of thriving green plants. 

#Lisjan #guidelines #comecorrect #askpermission  #sogoreatelandtrust #rematriatetheland
Winter Work ⛈️ Seasonal planning with the c Winter Work ⛈️ 

Seasonal  planning with the crew. 

Custom Ohlone Territory Hoody 
hand printed at a staff meet, 
By @creative_mudafukah 

Image is a figure in an orange Ohlone territory hoody, adding a post it to a large sheet of paper full of multicolored notes. 

#projectprocess #planning #sogoreatelandtrust #urban #Indigenous #womenled #landreturn
New year, new opportunity to Rematriate the Land. New year, new opportunity to Rematriate the Land. 

Hit us up. 

Image: a stack of stickers with a turquoise to pink gradient behind a silloutte of Oakland, with birds flying and the words Rematriate the Land, Sogorea Te Land Trust.

#2023 #landback #landreturn #unsettletheland #rematriatetheland #sogoreatelandtrust
🎄Land Back 🌲 If you have more that you nee 🎄Land Back 🌲 

If you have more that you need consider redistributing to Indigenous led work wherever you are. 

#landback #thatsthespirit #rematriatetheland #urbanindigenous #seasonsgreetings #sogoreatelandtrust #spotted #oaklandgraffiti #indigenousland
✨Rest ✨Reflection ✨Renewal ✨ Returning to ✨Rest ✨Reflection ✨Renewal ✨

Returning to balance with the seasons. ⚖️ Every year on Solstice we close for our Winter hibernation. This is a time separate from vacation for our crew to rest, reflect and recharge for the new year. 

Sending solstice wishes for winter wellness to all. 

Image is an Indigenous woman standing on the edge of a piece of green grassy land  high up in the Oakland hills hills looking out at the view of  dark winter clouds and green trees opening to  vista of the distant city and Bay. 

#solstice  #winter #hibernation #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #returntobalance #rest #reflection #regeneration  #rematriaton  #territoryofhuchiun
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust Team wants to thank all o Sogorea Te’ Land Trust Team wants to thank all of our community members and allies who have volunteered & supported us throughout the past year. We are because of you all and we are immensely grateful for the continued support we have received. 

We look forward to connecting with folks in the new year! In the meantime, feel welcome to fill out our volunteer form to receive notification emails: https://tinyurl.com/STLTVolunteer. You can also find other ways to stay engaged by visiting our website: https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/other-ways-to-engage/ 

Alt Description 1:

The background is a transparent picture of some yellow and multi-colored corn. In the middle of the post, you find another yellow transparent box with a solid dark white box in front of it that says: “As Sogorea Te' Land Trust wraps up another incredible year, we want to say thank you to all our community members and volunteers who have supported us throughout these past twelve months. The work we do is possible because of the on-going support we receive from our community who believe in us and share the same goal as we do. Kiš horše ‘ek-hinnan (Thank you so much)”. At the bottom two corners of the white box, you find three vertical hearts. 

Alt Description 2:

The background is a transparent picture of some yellow and multi-colored corn. In the middle of the post, you find another yellow transparent box with a solid dark white box in front of it that says: “Our office has closed volunteer days and they will be reopening mid-January. We will be back with more volunteer opportunities in the new year so keep a lookout! In the meantime, feel welcome to fill out our volunteer form to receive notification emails: https://tinyurl.com/STLTVolunteer. You can also find other ways to stay engaged by visiting our website: https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/other-ways-to-engage/
🌿 Respect my Medicine 🌿 Block printing wit 🌿 Respect my Medicine 🌿 

Block printing with the crew for the end of the year. 
Art by vick @creative_mudafukah 

#respect #native #medicine #sogoreatelandtrust #blockprint #art
✨💛Rematriate the Land 💛✨ #customeveryth ✨💛Rematriate the Land 💛✨

#customeverything #lisjan #thepony #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #landreturn #landback #rematriation
Big Valley Dancers ✨ Closing of the Rinihmu Pul Big Valley Dancers ✨

Closing of the Rinihmu Pulte'irekne land return celebration. 
December 13th, 2022

📷 @hulleah 

#sogoreatelandtrust #sequoiapiont #landreturn #landback #rematriation #celebration
Celebrating the Return of Rinihmu Pulte'irekne✨ Celebrating the Return of Rinihmu Pulte'irekne✨

December 13th, 2022

📷 Jean Melesaine 
@bayarealife 

#sogoreatelandtrust #sequoiapiont #landreturn #landback #rematriation #celebration
Round Valley Dancers✨ Opening of the Rinihmu Pu Round Valley Dancers✨

Opening of the Rinihmu Pulte'irekne land return celebration
December 13th, 2022

📷 @ines_ixierda 

#sogoreatelandtrust #sequoiapiont #landreturn #landback #rematriation #celebration
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