Testimonials

Would you like to share your experience with Shuumi?

“I support the Shuumi Land Tax because I am a guest on traditional Chochenyo Ohlone land. Researching my paternal family line, I was horrified to learn that on that side of my family I am basically the poster child of a colonizer. Supporting the Shuumi Land Tax is one small way of recognizing the history of genocide and violent dislocation of Ohlone and other First People and supporting Ohlone acquisition and preservation of their land and culture.”
—Jane Perry

“I love living here and I feel held, loved and nourished by this land and its waters. As I’ve learned more about the history of genocide of Indigenous people here, and as I’ve met more survivors of that genocide, I’ve become more aware of how my life here is built on the suffering of others, on the theft of their land, and on the desecration of their ways and of the land itself. I want to be part of the healing of this place. I feel I need to do teshuvah, the Jewish practice of repair and restoration of right relationship, for the ways that I benefit from, and participate in the ongoing erasure of Indigenous history and experience here. I want to be in more honest and just relationship with this land, with the ancestors who lived here for hundreds of generations, and with the Indigenous people who live here now.”
—Rabbi Dev Noily, Kehilla Community Synagogue

If you pay Shuumi and are interested in a Give Shuumi lawn sign for a publicly visible yard or window, please contact: sogoreatelandtrust (at) gmail (dot) com.

“Thinking about the Shuumi Land Tax and the rematriation of the land has profoundly altered my view of Huichin (Oakland) by helping me to imagine what life was like before colonization and to reimagine what could be, going forward, when we follow the wisdom, guidance and leadership of Indigenous women.”
—Amy Hutto

“As a descendant of both Jewish refugees and enslaved African people, I am still trying to learn what it means to live well on this land, which is not the land of my own ancestors. I’m so grateful to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust for showing the way. I love that Shuumi Land Tax protects not only wildlife, but also the culture and sovereignty of Ohlone people. I truly believe that when Ohlone people are well and sovereign, rematriating the land, then life improves overall in this region, because they have the longest relationship with this place. When Native people lead, we who are not Native to this place can follow in flourishing support, and relationships of care and respect can be restored.”
— Katie Loncke, Buddhist Peace Fellowship & Eastlake United for Justice