Join us in a conversation with artists, cultural leaders, and elders from the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, and Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. Together we will explore real-world examples of Landback or Rematriation, where title and access is returned to Indigenous communities in California.  

Participate in cultural demos and activities led by Gregg Castro, culture director of the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, Patti Dunton, Tribal Administrator, Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, and Ruth Orta, Elder, Confederated Villages of Lisjan. 

Schedule

• 11 am – 12:30 pm, cultural crafting demonstrations, Wilsey Court
• 11am – Noon, film screenings, Koret Auditorium
• 1 – 2:15 pm, a discussion on real-world examples of Landback, Koret Auditorium

This program is organized in consultation with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, and in collaboration with the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Tamien Nation, Indian Canyon Chualar Tribe of the Costanoan-Ohlone People, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Rumsen Ohlone Tribal Community, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, the Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, and the Salinan T'rowt'raahl tribal community.

Speakers

• Shaunie Briggs, Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties
• Corrina Gould, Traditional Tribal Leader/Tribal Chair of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan
• Tom Little Bear Nason, Chair and President, Esselen Tribe of Monterey County
• Moderator: Gregg Castro, Culture Director, the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone

Gregg Castro [t'rowt'raahl Salinan/rumsien-ramaytush Ohlone] has worked to preserve his Ohlone and Salinan heritage for over three decades. Gregg is the Society for California Archaeology’s Native American Programs Committee Chairperson. Gregg is a facilitator for the annual California Indian Conference, a 30+ year annual gathering about California Indigenous culture. He is a founder/advisor to the California Indian History Curriculum Coalition, based at CSU-Sacramento, promoting accurate school curriculum. He is Culture Director of the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, advising within their San Francisco Peninsula homelands. Gregg is a writer-activist within the California Indigenous community.

Shaunie Briggs, of the Salinan Tribe of Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, takes great pride in her Salinan Indian heritage. She and her husband, Mike, bought back land with great purpose, recognizing the connection between the environment, water, and well-being. This land serves as a cultural haven, promoting cultural pride and environmental stewardship. Their philosophy harmonizes land, resources, and people with the environment. They are rejuvenating the land, known to the Salinan people as Quinau, for both people and wildlife. Their vision extends beyond its borders, nurturing cultural revitalization and nature. They intend for this land to be protected from development and live on for future generations.  

Corrina Gould (Tribal Chair for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation), was born and raised in the village of Huichin, now known as Oakland, California. She is the Co-Founder and Lead Organizer for Indian People Organizing for Change, a small Native-run organization and the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, an urban Indigenous women-led organization within her ancestral territory. Through the practices of rematriation, cultural revitalization, and land restoration, the Land Trust calls on Native and non-Native peoples to heal and transform legacies of colonization, genocide, and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do.

Tom Little Bear Nason is the Tribal Chairman of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County. He is a longtime steward of the land. He has worked on and facilitated many projects to help protect his native homelands. Tom is very active in working with fire agencies to protect sacred sites and wilderness areas. Tom is a lifelong resident of Carmel Valley, where he has resided on his ancestral homelands for the duration of his life.

Films

• Tom Little Bear Nason, A Call for Environmental Consciousness with Chairman Tom Little Bear Nason
  Chairman Tom Little Bear Nason of the Esselen Tribe in Carmel Valley, CA, details the revitalization efforts his tribe has been involved in and how the world is transforming through climate change.
• Kanyon Sayers-Roods, Unearthing Truths with Chairwoman Kanyon Sayers-Roods
  Chairwoman of the Indian Canyon Nation Kanyon Sayers-Roods posits that climate change began at ‘Contact,’ the world’s differences in values post industrialization, and laments at the quality of the food we grow and eat today.
• Valentin Lopez, Stewardship of the Land with Chairman Valentin Lopez of the Amah Mutsun Tribe
  Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Valentin Lopez clarifies to the audience that his people have been present on these lands for millennia. He details the efforts of his tribe in the Coastal Marine Tribal Network and speaks specifically on the importance of salmon to his people. He warns against the dangers of climate change and its effect on cultural rehabilitation.
• Gregg Castro, Forging Forward: Cultural Consultant Gregg Castro Details the History of the Indigenous Peoples in the South Coast Range
  Cultural Consultant Gregg Castro describes the effects on the Indigenous peoples from the Portola Expedition that came to California in 1769, the power structures in place that act as barriers to his people’s access to their lands, and a hope that the future he is working towards is brighter for his descendants.
• Linda Yamane, Connections to the Land: Linda Yamane and the Resilience of Rumsen Ohlone Culture
  Master Ohlone basket weaver, tribal historian, and member of the Rumsen Ohlone Tribal Community Linda Yamane describes the usage of certain plants in her culture and the barriers that she faces in procuring these materials for basketry, medicine, and cordage.
• Short films directed by Kirti Bassendine.
  

Ticket info

Free. Seating is limited and unassigned. Tickets for the discussion are distributed on a first-come first-served basis in front of the Koret Auditorium an hour before the program begins. This does not include admission to the museum. For more information about free and reduced admission, please see our Free Saturdays program.

Contact info

Public Programs
publicprograms@famsf.org
415.750.7694