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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 in Rematriation
      • Lisjan (East Oakland)
      • ‘Ookwe (Richmond)
      • Rammay (West Oakland)
      • Rinihmu Pulte’irekne (Sequoia Point / Oakland Hills)
      • ‘Ištune
    • Return Land / Land Return
    • Rematriate the Land Fund
  • Media
    • Updates
    • Resource Library
    • Creative Collaborations
      • Hella Feminist Exhibition: STLT x OMCA
      • On Indigenous Land Field: STLT x Roots Soccer Team
      • Rematriate Billboard: STLT x NDN Collective
      • RETURNS: Participatory Rematriation
      • Rematriate the Land Poster: STLT x Jackie Fawn
      • Tule in the Sky Mural: STLT x Cece Carpio x Berkeley Rep
  • 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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Sogorea Te Land Trust
Stolen Land Unceded Land Indigenous Land These Stolen Land 
Unceded Land 
Indigenous Land 

These aren’t just words to say before a meeting or event. 

You are on Indigenous Land and Indigenous people are still here. 

How can you contribute to healing the legacy of land theft? 

What can you do to contribute to justice for Indigenous people where you are? 

ID: in the foreground is a post with covered in stickers,  with one that  reads Stolen Land, Unceded Land, Indigenous Land. In the background is an out of focus stretch of land reaching into the  water of the SF Bay with gentle hills in the distance against a blue sky. 

#DoYourPart #StolenLand #UncededLand #IndigenousLand  #TheBayArea #TheTown #StillHere #SogoreaTeLandTrust #UrbanIndigenous #WomenLed #LandeReturn #LandBack #Rematriation
🦋 Húúyikne Tiwši Warep 🌸 Happy Spring Eq 🦋 Húúyikne Tiwši Warep 🌸

Happy Spring Equinox! Today, and everyday, is a good day to practice being a good guest to the land you’re on! Honor it’s histories that are interwoven with the physical and cultural landscapes, and do your part to caretake for this land. 

Graphic by @tamitnicill 

#Rematriation #LandBack #IndigenousWomenLed #SpringEquinox 

[ID: Video of pink yarrow on rematriated land with text “Húúyikne tiwši warep,” in the Chochenyo language]
Mitiini Numma at Indigenous Red Market! Enjoyed al Mitiini Numma at Indigenous Red Market! Enjoyed all artists, dancers, singers, performers, food makers and local vendors! Loved being in community thank you @indigenousredmarket ! 🤎

#mitiininumma #sogoreatelandtrust #indigenousredmarket #community #oakland #youthprogram
🌿 Dreaming of LandBack at Rinihmu Pulte’irekn 🌿 Dreaming of LandBack at Rinihmu Pulte’irekne 🌟

#rematriation #landback #indigenouswomenled 

[ID: oak tree covered in moss at the rematriated land of rinihmu pulte’irekne]
Tending & Cultivating Indigenous Land 🌿 #remat Tending & Cultivating Indigenous Land 🌿

#rematriatetheland #landback #indigenousstewardship #ittakesavillage
How to Come Correct 2.0 is Live! 🌼 The work of How to Come Correct 2.0 is Live! 🌼

The work of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is made possible by the strength, resilience, leadership, and labor of Indigenous women and culture keepers. We are also supported by many allies and accomplices of all different backgrounds engaging with the vision of Rematriation.

As we move towards transforming our relationships to our history and the land we are on, we’ve collaboratively put together tips for how to engage with our work.

Check out the full How to Come Correct on our website now in the link in our bio, or the resource library, featuring a downloadable file to share with your communities! 

Graphics & Resource Designed and Edited by Viola LeBeau @tamitnicill 

Photos by Ines Ixierda, Eliana Hernandez and Niko Niumeitolu

[ID: Flora from land sites with text from STLT’s How to Come Correct resource]

#howtocomecorrect #rematriation #landback #indigenousled #reciprocity
Make media with us! Our creative crew is accepti Make media with us! 

Our creative crew is accepting applications for a Spring Social Media Fellow. 

We are looking for a creative person interested in getting hands on experience in media making, photography, graphic  design, video or other form of visual expression. Send a resume, art sample, and note about why you are interested to ines@rematriatetheland.org by April 1, 2023. 

Image is glitchy blue  and pink background with the  above text in pink and white letters. 

#creativecrew #mediateam #iso #fellow #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous  #womenled #culturalwork
One way we practice reconnecting to the land in Hu One way we practice reconnecting to the land in Huchiun is working to learn and revitalize the Chochenyo language by introducing youth in Mitiini Numma to the language. ✨ We are thankful to language keeper and land team staff member Deja Gould for introducing us to the names of California native plants in our pilot wave and introductory words and numbers this wave. By speaking Chochenyo, we are able to call upon ancestors and revalitize the connection between language and land 🗣🌱🤎

🎥: Eliana 

ID: Video of Chochenyo language lesson featuring a slide of 2 hands, with numbers 1-10 in Chochenyo on each finger. 

#mitiininumma #sogoreatelandtrust #revitalization #Chochenyo #language #1-10 #youthprogram
Irhiti Ujima Beautiful day on the land before th Irhiti Ujima 

Beautiful day on the land before the rain. 🌱 

📷 @tamitnicill 

ID: a Longview of gentle green hills peppered with trees and yellow flowers. There is an expansive bright blue sky with fluffy clouds in the distance. 

#sogoreatelandtrust #landday #indigenousland #rematriatetheland #landreturn #returntoland
Our Struggles are braided together beyond borders. Our Struggles are braided together beyond borders. 

Happy International Women's Day!  Great time to learn about and support women led projects across the world.  Tag your favorites below. 

Art by @ines_ixierda 

Image is an image of a hand drawn sweetgrass braid tied in a circle. In the middle there is simple line drawings of generations of Indigenous women with long braids looking into the future. In the background there is a turquoise gradient  with teal line work of deconstructed world maps. 

#womensday #celebratewomen #acrossborders #arestugglesareunited #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigneous #womenled #rematriation
Meet the Matriarch! Julie Hernandez (Lumbee/French Meet the Matriarch! Julie Hernandez (Lumbee/French Canadian)

Julie was a founding member of the Sogorea Te Land Trust Board of Directors and  long-time activist and organizer working in social justice, environmental justice, defending the rights of our youth, and honoring and preserving our Native cultures.  She walked hundreds of miles in prayer to protect Sacred Sites and has been involved in Shellmound defense, American Indian Movement, Indian People Organizing for Change,  NMSF, Silver Buffalo Consortium, as well as working with significant others of Combat veterans with PTSD over many years. 

Julie continued her journey in 2020. We are forever grateful for her contribution to this world and celebrate her legacy, continuing this work in our communities.  Rest in power Julie Hernandez. 

ID: Julie, an Indigenous elder with grey short hair and glasses is wearing a black shirt embroidered with bright  flowers in red, orange, turquoise and greens.  She is holding a screen-fprinted sign on a stick that has an image of a baby in a cradle board,  graphic lines, and the words" Protect Water, Climate and Communities." She is smiling.

#MeetTheMatriarch #MatriarchyMondays #JulieHernandez #shero #womenshistorymonth #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled
✨🧡✨ #poppies #poppin ✨🧡✨

#poppies #poppin
Indigenous Matriarchy! RETURN IT ALL! Special lim Indigenous Matriarchy! RETURN IT ALL!

Special limited edition release for Matriarchy March!  All proceeds benefit the Rematriate the Land Fund, returning land to Indigenous hands in one of the most expensive “real estate markets” in the country, aka  Lisjan Ohlone Territory.  Git it, 🤘🏽in the  Links^ 

 Design by @Inés Ixierda 

Video is a dark screen with  turquoise words spinning in that read Indigenous Matriarchy in the style of the Metallica logo. The words RETURN IT ALL  appear and dissolve into a turquoise Sogorea Te Land Trust logo. 

#returnitall #matriarchy #indigenousmatriarchy #matriarchymarch #womenshistorymonth #sogoreatelandtrust #fundraiser #rematriatetheland #landback #backtoland
Rammay Garden. 🌸 ID: close up photos of apple Rammay Garden. 🌸

ID: close up photos of apple tree flowers, and rosemary in bloom, white sage, and a fluffy blossoming plum with a bright blue sky at Rammay Garden. 

📷 @hairthatmoves_ 

#Rammay #WestOakland #IndigenousLand
Many Hands 🙌🏾 Throwback to weaving our firs Many Hands 🙌🏾

Throwback to weaving our first Tule Boat from harvest to inaugural journey in the waters at the sacred site Sogorea Te. 

ID:  An image of two brown hands tying the final knot of a traditional Tule boat against a deep blue background with faint constellations followed by 5 close up photos of brown hands working together to bunde and weave a bright green tule reeds, with glimpses of a turquoise background.

#tbt  #tule #californianative #plantally #tuleboat #manyhands #sogoreate #sogoreatelandtrust #urbanindigenous #womenled #culturalregeneration #rematriation #landback #backtoland
Making women's history every day! Celebrating th Making women's history every day! 

Celebrating the first day of Matriarchy March with a shout out to Sogorea Te Land Trust co-founders Corrina Gould and Johnella LaRose for starting the first urban Indigenous women led land trust in the country! 

 Guided by ancestors and rooted in decades of grassroots sacred site and cultural activism, meetings in cars, and their wild dreams, Sogorea Te now stewards more than five sites, hosting gardens, housing, emergency preparedness, cultural regeneration, language and youth programs, with more in the works. 

ID: A black and white photo of  Corrina and Johnella, two Indigenous matriarchs, standing next to each other  in a field with long dark braids down their back. They are looking into the distance, where there are people gathered listening. 

Photo from the Lisjan blessing of the land by Holly Sheehan. 

  #MatriarchyMarch #matriarchylives #womenshistorymonth #indigenouswomen #womenleaders #urbanindigneous #womenled #historyinthemaking #landtrust #landreturn #rematriation #sogoreatelandtrust
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