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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
  • Programs
    • Cultural Revitalization
    • Himmetka: In One Place, Together
    • Mitiini Numma Youth Program
  • Rematriation
    • Land Sites
      • Lisjan, East Oakland
      • ‘Ookwe, Richmond
      • Rammay, West Oakland
      • Rinihmu Pulte’irekne, Oakland Hills
      • ‘Ištune, Oakland
      • Mugworts Cabin
    • Return Land / Land Return
    • Rematriate the Land Fund
  • Media
    • Updates
    • Resources
    • Creative Collaborations
      • Hella Feminist Exhibition
      • On Indigenous Land Field
      • Rematriate Billboard
      • RETURNS
      • Jackie Fawn Poster
      • Tule in the Sky Mural
  • Engage
    • $ Donate!
    • Make a Request
    • Get E-mail Updates
    • Land Acknowledgements
    • Other Ways to Engage
  • Pay Shuumi
    • Shuumi Land Tax
    • Institutional Shuumi Land Tax
    • Shuumi Land Tax FAQs
    • Testimonials

Shuumi Land Tax

The Shuumi Land Tax is a voluntary annual contribution that non-Indigenous people living on the Confederated Villages of Lisjan’s territory can make to support the critical work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.

The Shuumi Land Tax directly supports Sogorea Te’s work of rematriation, returning Indigenous land to Indigenous people, establishing a cemetery to reinter stolen Ohlone ancestral remains and building urban gardens, community centers, and ceremonial spaces so current and future generations of Indigenous people can thrive in the Bay Area. Shuumi means gift in the Ohlone language Chochenyo.

Calculate your Shuumi

A Legacy of Survival

In the face of generations of brutal violence and systematic subjugation, the Ohlone people have survived three waves of genocide brought by the Spanish soldiers, the Mexican rancheros and the American 49ers. Through it all, Ohlone people held on to their language, stories and songs, raised their children and kept their traditions alive. Over the years, other tribes were pushed off their traditional lands, both forced to relocate or moved by choice to the Bay Area and joined the Ohlone’s inter-tribal community.

Today, the Ohlone community in the East Bay has no land base. They are not federally recognized and have been politically and economically marginalized. Their traditional territory is now one of the most inflated real estate markets on Turtle Island. Thousands of their ancestors’ bones are locked away in museum basement boxes at U.C. Berkeley and San Francisco State University.

The Land You Live On

Do you live in the East Bay? Do you live in Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, San Leandro, Alameda, Piedmont, Hayward, Union City, Fremont, Pleasanton, Castro Valley, Pinole, Livermore, Moraga, Orinda, El Sobrante, Kensington, Danville, Walnut Creek, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Benicia or Vallejo?

If the answer is yes, you live on traditional Ohlone land. This land has a deep history and a community of people who have lived here for thousands of years. Living here, you are inadvertently benefitting from the genocide waged against the Ohlone people and the theft of their land. Whether you know it or not, however you feel about it, this is an inescapable fact. The civic infrastructure, the economic system, the private development and the consumption of natural resources in our society are all connected to and in different ways built upon the colonial occupation of this land and the violent displacement of the Ohlone. Paying the Shuumi Land Tax is a small way to acknowledge this history and contribute to its healing, to support the Ohlone community’s current work to create a vibrant future.

Calculate your Shuumi

Are you part of an organization that operates on Lisjan Ohlone Land? Click here to learn how your organization participate in the Institutional Shuumi Land Tax.

Shuumi is also an invitation to consider how you can support Sogorea Te’ in general:

  • Come volunteer at one of our gardens.
  • Encourage your friends, families and neighbors to give Shuumi.
  • Organize your business, organization, school or religious group to give Shuumi.
  • Educate yourself and your community about the Indigenous history of the East Bay.
  • Go to our Engage section to learn more ways to get involved.

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…

A Home in The Bay Area

The Ohlone have always known what many of us have more recently come to understand: the Bay is a special place. The moderate climate, the natural beauty, the ecological and cultural diversity are just a few of the many qualities of life here that we love. The Shuumi Land Tax is about repairing our broken relationships with each other and the land we live on.

No amount of money will undo the damage that’s been done, will bring back the lost lives or erase the suffering of the people. But this is a step in a long-term process of healing, a small way you can, right now, participate in a movement to support the self determination and sovereignty of the local Indigenous community.

For more information about the Shuumi Land Tax, check out the Shuumi FAQs.

Give Shuumi. Rematriate the land.

Calculate your annual Shuumi Land Tax

Learn how we came up with these numbers.

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Our work of rematriation, returning Indigenous land to Indigenous people, is only possible with your support.

Donate Now

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The Shuumi Land Tax is a voluntary annual contribution that non-Indigenous people living on traditional Lisjan Ohlone territory make to support the critical work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.

Pay Shuumi

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Laughter is Healing at Good Medicine! We had a b Laughter is Healing at Good Medicine! 

We had a blast at @goodmedicinecomedy, supporting Indigenous comedians throughout Turtle Island and dining with @wahpepahskitchen 

[ID: Image 1: Crowd at Oakland Museum of California on the lawn, Image 2: Native Comedians from left to right - Siena East, Marc Yaffee, Tatanka Means and Jackie Keliiaa, Image 3: Tatanka Means with fan and STLT LandBack Coordinator, Image 4: Native comedians Jackie Keliiaa and Tatanka Means] 

Photos 1, 2 and 4 by @malcolmwallaceimages 

#LaughterIsMedicine #GoodMedicine #NativeComedy #OMCA
Snag the Swag! Sharon modeling our new limited Snag the Swag! 
 
Sharon modeling our new limited edition turquoise totes! 

 Rumor has it we will have some of these at the Indigenous Peoples Day Powwow this weekend. Come through! 

#IPD #swag #rematriatetheland #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #landtrust #landreturn #rematriation
.:. Seed saving season .:. [ID: two pink bowls .:. Seed saving season .:. 

[ID:  two pink bowls with different seeds, a small pile of dark blue and pink beans, and a hand sorting them against a brown paper background.]

#seedsaving #projectprocess #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #landreturn #returntoland #rematriation
Throwback to the start of our summer program when Throwback to the start of our summer program when youth got to learn how to do blockprinting at Pinnantak! Thank you to our workshop leader Sen for spending the day with us and dropping knowledge on us! Our connection to the land guided our art 🌱

ID: (1) Youth sitting on three seperate tables drawing their art. Surrounded by paper and other materials. They are in a garden with greenery in the background. (2) A photo of a youths finished work. (3) Youth doing the final step and printing their work onto paper with green and brown paint. 

#mitiininumma #youthprogram #sogoreatelandtrust #growthetruth #blockprinting #rematriate
Our crew harvesting seeds in the wild with @urbant Our crew harvesting seeds in the wild with @urbantilth and Margot from @cityofalbany
Pawnee eagle corn harvest at Heron Shadows with @c Pawnee eagle corn harvest at Heron Shadows with @culturalconservancy 🌽. 

📷Bernadette 

[a glorious spread of purple to white colored Indigenous corn harvest] 

#pawneeeaglecorn #ancestralfoods #maiz #projectprocess #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #Rematriation
Rinihmu Pulte'irekne 🌳 "The long term vision f Rinihmu Pulte'irekne 🌳

"The long term vision for Rinihmu is to restore the land and recreate a thriving, beautiful, ceremonial gathering place where Indigenous people and their guests can come together, and share cultural information, celebrations, and ceremony.” 

[ID: a group of Indigenous women and two spirit people working under a huge old Oak tree]

#Indigenousvisions #Rinihmu #sequoiapoint #oaklandhills #landback #landreturn #rematriation #regeneration
Summers End! Seasons change is a great time to re Summers End!

Seasons change is a great time to reflect on all the amazing things that took place. 

Thank you to our land team for keeping up with the hot summer days, to all the artists and creators we have been working with, everyone who has contributed to the efforts off screen, and the Indigenous women who are holding this community down! Summer would not have been as fun as it has without them. 

As Fall approaches we are planning our next wave of the Mitiini Numma youth program, the land is getting ready to rest, and we are getting ready for exciting projects to come. Stay tuned!

Reel by Namixtulu.

Video Id:

[ Clip 1- Blue and purple intro image with the Sogorea Te’ logo, top center reads “Sogorea Te’ Summer recap.” Clip 2- Mitiini Numma Youth Program with images of the youth in the land and at Run 4 Salmon and a video of the youth planting seeds. Clip 3- Seed Rematriation with Bernadette- the seed queen, with a video of tobacco seeds being harvested and a picture of seed balls being made. Clip 4- Run 4 Salmon video and picture of folks out on the water, and a picture of the youth holding up flags at the closing ceremony. Clip 5- Tabling events, Images of our stand set up at Red Market and a video clip of printmaking. Clip 6 (last clip) -  a video of the garden growth in Lisjan and another video of the Pinnantak Site, and a picture of a turkey perched up on a metal fence.] 

#summersend #equinox #Fall #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled  #landback #landreturn #rematriation
Over 250 Years of Resistance and Still Here Calif Over 250 Years of Resistance and Still Here

California Native Day is a day of recognition of over 250 years of ongoing colonialism, remembrance of those passed, and celebration of our communities today.

In Lisjan territory and much of the Bay Area and California, the colonization of this land began with the reign of terror inflicted by Spanish soldiers and missionaries in the late 17th century, who sought to convert all Indigenous people into Catholic subjects of Spain and steal their land. The Missions were plantations, built by slave labor and sustained through brutal physical violence and extractive land practices. The Spanish brought deadly diseases, invasive species and Christian ideology based on human dominion of the natural world with devastating consequences for the Lisjan people and all living beings they shared the land with.

Today, we continue to inhabit our ancestral homelands, fight for our sacred sites and revitalize our cultural practices.

Graphic by @tamitnicill 

[ID: Images of California Native dancer among the stars, with words “Over 250 Years of Resistance And Still Here”] 

#californiaindianday #californianativeamericanday #honoringourancestors
The sounds of a Tobacco seed harvest along with th The sounds of a Tobacco seed harvest along with the 880 freeway. Hopi Tobacco was one of the first plants we tended to in 2018. The upcoming year we grew a few hundred and shared with our Native community.  Folks came to Deep East Oakland to swoop up a few for their gardens all over the Bay Area. 
Tobacco is a cultural significant plant for many tribes all over Turtle Island and it continues to be aside from it being one of the first capitalized plant by settlers. 
#SeedRematriation #UrbanRez #UrbanNatives #throwback
Digital camera flicks from our youth in Mitiini Nu Digital camera flicks from our youth in Mitiini Numma ☀️

Youth learned photography skills this past summer and got to use cameras to document our time together and progress of the land. These are from a day at Pinnantak 🐝

ID: (1) Close up shot in the greenery, behind some plants is a youths hands holding a black digital camera. (2) Picture of ladybug poppies in the garden, flowers are red with black dots. (3) Close up photo of yellow flowers in the garden, there are garden beds in the background. 

📸: Mitiini Numma youth 

#mitiininumma #youthprogram #sogoreatelandtrust #picturesontheland #joinus #applicationsopen
Every Seed is the Past. Every Seed is the Future Every Seed is the Past. 

Every Seed is the Future.

Saving seeds connects us  to everything that came before and everything yet to come. 

[ID: a woman in shades of purple is reaching up to collect seeds from a tall sunflower, all around her is California Chia in bloom, there are some green plants, blue butterflies and a pink to purple gradient in the sky.  the text reads Every Seed is the Past.  Every Seed is the Future.]

#ancestralpractice #seedsaving #Nativeseeds #summersend #projectprocess #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #landtrust #landback #landreturn #rematriation
Youth on the land 🌱 Photos from our Summer Mit Youth on the land 🌱 
Photos from our Summer Mitiini Numma program at Pinnantak. ☀️ 

Come grow the truth with us this fall in our wave 3 cohort starting this October! Fill out our interest form, link in bio ✨

ID: (1) Three youth participants planting in a native plant garden. Surrounded by green and kneeling on the soil. (2) Youth participant watering the native plants. (3) Two participants walking around garden, one next to a garden bed, and one next to a plum tree. 

#MitiiniNumma #growthetruth #sogoreatelandtrust #youthleaders #afterschoolprogram
🪶Women Warriors 🪶 Chief Caleen Sisk, (Winne 🪶Women Warriors 🪶

Chief Caleen Sisk, (Winnemem Wintu), Tribal Spokesperson Corrina Gould, (Lisjan Ohlone) and Kumu  Pua Case (Kanaka Maoli)  at the closing ceremony for Run for Salmon this summer. 

Through their respective and collective work, they protect their ancestral Sacred sites: the McCloud River in Northern California,  the West Berkeley Shellmound located in the Bay Area, California and  Hawaiʻi’s Mauna Kea. These Indigenous women leaders are culture bearers in Indigenous-led movements that center Indigenous knowledge and protocols, land rematriation, and Indigenous cultural practices. Through their work they build and inspire intergenerational, multi-racial, local, and global movements to protect the Sacred in their various homelands. 

Thank you for your work.

#tbt #womenwarriors #Indigenouswomenrising #run4salmon #sogoreatelandtrust #protectthesacred
“As we reclaim our land in this urban area, it’s important to understand that we are doing that work as Indigenous people from many tribes, working together to create healing on this land.”

-Corrina Gould, Lisjan tribal chairperson, Co-Founder/Director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust

[ID: a deep blue background sprinkled with stars, a  silhouette of a cityscape, and the above text in white.]

#manytribes #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled  #landback #landreturn #rematriation #BayArea #indigenousland
Amaranth, Huaútli, Quihuicha 💜 Indigenous gra Amaranth, Huaútli, Quihuicha 💜

Indigenous grains once outlawed by colonizers, now growing on rematriated land in East Oakland. 

ID: a slow motion reel of two brown hands processing deep burgundy colored amaranth with seeds cascading an abundance. 

#ancestralfoods #outlawgrain #process #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #landtrust #rematriatetheland
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