At East Bay Housing Organizations, we live and work on unceded Lisjan Ohlone territory.
We believe the fight for housing justice requires both acknowledging the history of the land we live on and working to return Indigenous land to Indigenous people. In other words, we must strive to support Indigenous-led efforts to repair the ongoing harms of colonialism here in the East Bay.
If you have attended an EBHO event, you may be familiar with the land acknowledgment we present at the beginning of each program. In this acknowledgment, we invite our members to join us in paying Shuumi, a voluntary annual gift to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, which works to return Ohlone land to Ohlone people.
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, during this season of gratitude and giving, we invite you to learn more about the land we live on and Sogorea Te’ Land Trust in hopes that you might join us in giving as well.
In solidarity,
— Team EBHO
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and Shuumi
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an intertribal organization founded and led by Indigenous women working to return Indigenous land to Indigenous people.
To support this important work, Sogorea Te’ invites non-Native people who live on unceded Lisjan Ohlone land to pay Shuumi. Shuumi, which means “gift” in the Ohlone language of Chochenyo, is a financial contribution that recognizes and respects the sovereignty of Native Nations and acknowledges the historic relationship the Ohlone have with their traditional territories.
Your Shuumi dollars directly aid Sogorea Te’ Land Trust’s work of rematriation and support the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. This includes cultivating urban gardens, building community centers and sacred arbors, purchasing and managing land, engaging in public education and advocacy, and developing community resilience.
One example of Sogorea Te’s work funded through Shuumi is the Lisjan traditional village site located deep in East Oakland. The Lisjan village is home to the first arbor, a Californian Native ceremonial space, in Lisjan Ohlone territory in over 250 years. The site is now home to a medicine garden as well as the land trust’s first Himmetka emergency response hub.
We encourage you to join us during this time in giving Shuumi. To learn more, please visit Sogorea Te’ Land Trust online and read their FAQ.
Eden Housing Returns Three Acres of Lisjan Creek Land
Just yesterday, on November 25th, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and Eden Housing announced the return of three acres of land along the San Lorenzo Creek in Castro Valley to its ancestral caretakers. Also known as Lisjan Creek, the site is culturally significant for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation tribe and is the first waterway to be returned to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.
“My people are named for this waterway, my ancestors would gather here. This place is important for our cultural and environmental restoration work. We are honored to be able to be in relationship with these land and waters again and contribute to their healing.” said Lisjan Nation Tribal Chairwoman and Land Trust co-founder Corrina Gould.
“Donating the creek land to the Indigenous Land Trust is a significant step in honoring the natural heritage and cultural roots of this area,” said Andrea Osgood, Eden Housing’s Chief of Real Estate Development and Executive Vice President. “This partnership not only enhances the preservation and beautification of the creek and riparian zone but also fosters meaningful collaboration with surrounding communities and groups.”
EBHO is proud of our Organizational Member Eden Housing for the return of this land. We celebrate the work of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust to rematriate, restore, and protect Indigenous lands, and to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy.