The Institutional Shuumi Land Tax is a voluntary annual contribution that businesses, organizations, schools and religious groups that operate in traditional Lisjan Ohlone territory make to support the critical work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.
In addition, it’s a commitment to leverage institutional resources to support the work of the Sogorea Te’s core projects. Institutions own or rent large amounts of land and use a proportionate amount of local resources. This is an opportunity to enter into a restorative relationship with the local Indigenous community.
Does your business, organization, school or religious group operate in the East Bay? If the answer is yes, you work on traditional Lisjan Ohlone land. Paying the Shuumi Land Tax is a small way for your organization to acknowledge this history of this land and contribute to its healing, to support the Ohlone community’s current work to create a vibrant future.
Many institutions have come up with their own creative ways to participate in Shuumi. A local publishing company slips a Sogorea Te’ flyer in with every book order they mail out. A synagogue includes a Shuumi option with their annual membership dues. A percentage of a local landscaping company’s fee automatically goes to Shuumi. Many people use their employers’ matching donation programs to double their contribution. What creative ways can your organization contribute to Shuumi?
Other contributions to consider:
- Waive or reduce fees for office, event and other space rentals or professional services.
- Encourage your staff, members, and/or the public to pay Shuumi.
- Contribute staff volunteer time to participate in Sogorea Te’ projects.
- Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed.
- Commit to supporting Sogorea Te’s local efforts including Letters of Support, publicity, material resources, etc.
- Organize fundraisers or offer corporate or institutional matching programs.
- Commit to land acknowledgements before meetings and events.
- Educate your staff/members about local Indigenous history, land struggles and community efforts.
- Challenge false narratives about California history in schools, the media, public monuments, missions, and the like.
- Divest from fossil fuels and other extractive industries.
- Ensure that your institution does not perpetuate the cultural appropriation of Native/Indigenous culture (like Halloween costumes, holiday party themes).
- Support Native artists, activists and community leaders.
- Advocate for and support campaigns, bills, propositions and public policy that strengthen Native rights and sovereignty
- Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery and educating your membership about it (especially for churches and Christian denominations)
Shuumi invites you to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us all to do; think about what you can offer, find out what is useful, and make it happen… We invite you to join us.
Give Shuumi. Rematriate the land.
Learn how we came up with these numbers.
