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Introduction

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For thousands of years, the Lisjan (Ohlone) people have lived in the territory of Huchiun, in what is now referred to as California’s East Bay.  consist of seven Nations, including the Bay Miwok, Plains Miwok, Delta Yokut, the Patwin Nation of Napian, and the Chochenyo and Karkin-speaking Ohlone people. As a result of European colonization, these Tribes faced enslavement, violence, and a severed connection to their ancestral lands. Today, the Lisjan and other Tribes known as Ohlone have no federal recognition, so they do not receive the protections, housing and other social service benefits, or land reservations given to federally recognized Tribes. Without access to ancestral lands, the Lisjan people have limited opportunities to engage in cultural land practices or protect their ancestral burial sites. 

 non-profit was established in 2015 after efforts to protect an important  revealed the need for a formal legal entity to ensure land protection. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýappÏÂÔØ mainly in urban areas, the Land Trust returns Indigenous land to Indigenous people through . This process honors traditional matrilineal societies and supports the reclamation of Indigenous knowledge, land, and traditions lost or displaced due to colonization. However, without federal recognition, there are few legal mechanisms available to return land to the Tribes. 

To raise awareness for Tribal land struggles, the Land Trust’s leaders created a short documentary film in 2014 called , highlighting how the loss of Indigenous culture is closely tied to issues of human rights, women’s rights, and environmental protection. The mayor of Oakland, California saw the film and reached out to the Land Trust about returning city land to Indigenous care. 

In December 2022, the Sogorea Teâ€� Land Trust regained responsibility for , a 3.8-acre site in Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park, marking the first time a U.S. city has returned land to a federally unrecognized Tribe. This creates a new legal outline for Tribes to reclaim land through city easements and provides the Lisjan people with opportunities for preservation and traditional ecological restoration of ancestral lands as well as Tribal events and ceremonies.

Key Issues Addressed

Over fifty Tribes in California lack federal recognition, limiting their decision-making power, land protection abilities, and access to federal funds (). The Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation do not have federal recognition, making it difficult for them to practice traditional methods of land stewardship or to protect their ancestral burial sites, known as . 

In the U.S., land can be owned by individuals or a legal entity, which excludes Tribes without recognition. Oakland city officials wanted to grant land to the Tribes, but they could not directly transfer the ownership deed for city land. Any changes in land use must be made through city council resolutions and other lengthy bureaucratic processes.

After identifying areas where city lands overlapped with Indigenous sites, officials focused on the historic Ohlone site known as Rinihmu Pulte’irekne, located in Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park. Traditionally, this site supplied red ochre mineral pigments used in ceremonies, though without land rights, present-day Tribal members have limited abilities to hold such community gatherings. Though Rinihmu Pulte’irekne is an example of an ancestral site within city limits, many Lisjan people have lived in Oakland their whole lives without opportunities to engage with these lands through practices such as traditional food and medicine harvests. Furthermore, without proper stewardship, Rinihmu Pulte’irekne became a site of degradation and safety threats rather than a place for people to live in harmony with the land.

Roughly 80% of the species at Rinihmu Pulte’irekne are invasive, including grasses like panic veldt grass (Erharta erecta) and an array of non-native trees planted by Joaquin Miller, the park’s namesake (Hunter, 2023). These species create dangerous fire conditions and falling hazards from dead trees. Limited water access and trash dumping at the site present further risks. Years of neglect amplify the need for traditional ecological practices to restore beneficial relationships of care between the people and the land. 

Project Goals

• Identify creative legal solutions to reinstate ancestral lands to Indigenous stewardship.
• Restore traditional Lisjan (Ohlone) cultural practices at Rinihmu Pulte’irekne and raise cultural awareness in the surrounding communities.
• Share traditional ecological knowledge to reestablish sustainable relationships with the environment, remove invasives, and care for native species.

Project Highlights

Reclaimed in Translation: Rinihmu Pulte’irekne means “above the red ochreâ€� and is so called because Lisjan ancestors visited the area to gather the red ochre mineral pigment for ceremonial use. 

• Oakland’s Cultural Conservation Easement Creates a Legal Outline for City Land Returns: Oakland established a Reserved Interest Conservation Easement at Rinihmu Pulte’irekne, maintaining city ownership and transferring all other rights to the Lisjan people, such as monitoring, enforcement, and the protection of the conservation area conservation area
  A conservation area or wildlife management area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife. There are 15 conservation areas and nine wildlife management areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
  
  Learn more about conservation area (). The Land Trust serves as the legal entity holding these rights in the Tribes� name. To successfully complete this project, the city assigned two staff members to obtain necessary permits, and the Land Trust worked with its legal team to ensure agreements and decisions were left up to the Lisjan Tribe. After five years of collaboration and bi-weekly meetings, the City Council approved the easement, making Oakland the first city in the San Francisco Bay Area to return public land to an unrecognized Tribe ().
• Community Engagement Spreads Awareness of Indigenous Culture: Rinihmu Pulte’irekne gives the Lisjan (Ohlone) and Intertribal people a place to gather for cultural events, and plans are underway to create a community gathering and ceremonial space. When Tribal activities are not taking place, Rinihmu Pulte’irekne remains open to the public, creating opportunities for the Lisjan people to share restoration goals with the community. The Land Trust also works with city entities like the fire department to ensure safety when Rinihmu Pulte’irekne hosts Tribal events. These collaborations with local officials build stronger relationships with urban Tribes, and successful projects have encouraged nearby cities to incorporate rematriation goals into city departments and general plans.
• Habitat Restoration Achieved Through Knowledge Sharing: Traditional knowledge holders lead walks through Rinihmu Pulte’irekne, teaching new generations of urban Indigenous people how to recognize, tend, and gather native plants. Other restoration efforts include seeking out technical assistance for hydrology studies, soil testing, biological resource assessments, and fuel reduction work to decrease fire risks from non-native plants. Volunteers removed hazardous dead trees and constructed a gate at the site’s entrance to deter trash dumping. The Land Trust organized a community trash pick-up and biking event to teach local mountain bikers how to traverse Indigenous lands without disrupting native species and restoration efforts. 

Lessons Learned

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Through every land return project, the leaders and legal team for the Sogorea Teâ€� Land Trust take time to ask if each strategy upholds the spirit of Land Back. Land reclamation focuses on restorative justice, allowing Indigenous people to hold decision-making power, care for the environment, and live in harmony with the land through cultural practices. This can be achieved through many legal actions, such as land returns, expanded self-determination, and the redistribution of wealth (). As the Land Trust explores creative solutions for land reclamation, it ensures that each effort fulfills its vision of restoring Ohlone culture. 

The Sogorea Te� Land Trust established Rinihmu Pulte’irekne based on an inquiry from the Oakland mayor, and other land return opportunities have arisen from relationships with unexpected allies. Not everyone has the capacity to grant land access, but even small-scale projects have a large impact. Examples include private landowners providing Tribal meeting spaces or cities opening harvesting rights for Tribes to collect traditional food and medicinal plants. The Land Trust facilitates all types of collaboration to restore land and repair relationships.

As more opportunities for land returns arise, the Sogorea Teâ€� Land Trust must also find resources to care for returned land. Throughout the establishment of Rinihmu Pulte’irekne, the Land Trust and the City of Oakland carefully considered factors such as cultural significance, housing priorities, public access, and land use zoning. However, many ongoing stewardship needs remain. For example, while Rinihmu Pulte’irekne has historical significance and a beautiful vista, it lacks accessible water, posing challenges for future care and construction. City partners in future land return projects should consider creating endowments to offer continuous funding for staff and technical support.

Next Steps

• Expand fuel reduction work to increase fire safety, including removal of non-native acacias like the silver wattle (Acacia dealbata) (Hunter, 2023).
• Continue native plant restoration and increase educational signage to enhance protection efforts for native species.
• Work with architects and Tribal artists to advance community center design plans, addressing challenges such as access to utilities and building materials.
• Increase public awareness of the rematriation movement. The work at Rinihmu Pulte’irekne provides opportunities to engage more philanthropic organizations in wealth distribution and political education, building support for Indigenous rights.
• Raise money for ongoing projects through the , a voluntary annual contribution that funds the majority of the Sogorea Teâ€� Land Trust’s work. 

Funding Partner

Resources

• Belfi, E. & Sandiford, N. (2021). â€�â€�. The Community-based Global Learning Collaborative.
• Cortright, G. (2022, December 13). â€�â€�.&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Bay Nature.
• Fred, E. A. (2021, July 16). â€�â€�. Conservation Partners LLP.
• Hunter, R. (2023, March 1). â€�Joaquin Miller Park Biological Resource Assessment, Project No. 1000010â€�.&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Horizon Water and Environment, LLC.
• UCLA. (n.d.). â€�â€�.&²Ô²ú²õ±è;UCLA American Indian Studies Center. 

Contact

Inés Ixierda, Sogorea Teâ€� Land Trust: [email protected]

CART Lead Author

Jessica Zimmerman, Case Study Author, CART

Suggested Citation

Zimmerman, J., N. (2024). “Rematriating Rinihmu Pulte’irekne: The Return of Indigenous Lands to Indigenous Hands.â€� CART. Retrieved from /project/rematriation-rinihmu-pulteirekne.