Our community gardens, office, and preserves throughout Sonoma County are located on the ancestral homelands of the Southern Pomo, Coast Miwok, Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, and Mishewal people, past, present, and future. We recognize them as the first people and the first stewards of this land. We are on occupied territory and acknowledge the ongoing devastation of colonization.
This land acknowledgement is the first step in LandPaths’ long journey to repairing our relationship with the original people of this land, and to respect, make space, and honor the knowledge, culture, and deep connection to the natural world of indigenous people.
Join us in this process by connecting and uplifting the organizations and resources listed below, which is a way for us all to start on a course of reparative study and action:
California Indian Museum and Cultural Center
Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
Sonoma County Indian Health Project
Please read on to learn about other steps we are taking to uplift and make space for Native voices at LandPaths.
- Increase Native representation across LandPaths, including within Board leadership.
- Mindful acknowledgement and inclusion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in environmental education curriculum and stewardship of preserves and partner properties.
- Including in our Equity Strategic Plan goals for building reciprocal relationships with local indigenous people.
- Researching how Preserves stewarded by LandPaths may be assets for local indigenous people.
- Including native language(s) in our Language Justice project which will culminate in signage at preserves and community gardens stewarded by LandPaths.
To learn more about the native people where you live go to native-land.ca.