November 28, 2023
City Council
DATE: November 28, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Councilmember Bana
Subject:
Annual Payment of the Shuumi Land Tax
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The financial impact has not been determined at this stage. The item directs staff to return to the City Council with a recommended annual allocation.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
N/A
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City Council of Richmond, California, should allocate funds for the annual payment of the Shuumi Land Tax, as a symbolic acknowledgment of the Ohlone people and in
support of their ongoing cultural and community
endeavors.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: ADOPT a resolution to make an annual contribution to Shuumi Land Tax to support the work of
the Sogorea Te' Land Trust; and DIRECT the city
manager and director of Finance to include this annual
contribution in the City's budget for the upcoming fiscal year and to continue this commitment as a line item in all future budgets – Councilmember Soheila Bana (510-620-
6743).
DISCUSSION:
AGENDA
REPORT
November 28, 2023
The City of Richmond acknowledges the native people of the City of Richmond, the Ohlone people. Given the atrocities that the Ohlone faced for centuries, unrecognition from the federal government, and the forceful and deadly removal of their ancestors from their land, it is recommended that the City of Richmond make an annual payment to the Shuumi Land Tax. The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women- led land trust in the San Francisco Bay area. Their trust helps bring indigenous land back to Indigenous people.
BACKGROUND:
The Sogorea Te’ organization envisions a Bay Area in which Ohlone language and ceremony are an active, thriving part of the cultural landscape, where Ohlone names and history is known and recognized, and where intertribal Indigenous communities have affordable housing, social services, cultural centers, and land to live, work, and pray on.
This item directs the City Manager and Director of Finance to return to the City Council with a recommended amount for the proposed annual contribution.
For thousands of years, the Lisjan (Ohlone) people have lived in what is now known as the East Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Ohlone people didn’t believe in owning land, but believed they belonged to it. They had reciprocal relationships with plants and animals. Their territory includes five Bay area counties, with Contra Costa being one amongst them. This region was colonized by the Spanish soldiers and missionaries who sought to convert all Indigenous people to the Catholic subject of Spain and steal their land. The Ohlone was forced into slave labor and built the missions (plantations), they had to endure brutal physical violence and the missionaries used extractive land practices.
The Ohlone people survived over two centuries of genocide and colonization during the Spanish, Mexican and American eras. They continue to inhabit their ancestral homeland, fight for their sacred sites, and revitalize their cultural practices.
After the Mexican Rancho period, the Ohlone faced extermination policies from the United States that aimed to eliminate California Indians entirely. During this time, the Ohlone people dealt with racial discrimination and were more susceptible to be killed.
The Ohlone survived by concealing their identities and isolating themselves. The Ohlone couldn’t openly practice their spiritual traditions; unfortunately, their traditions began to be lost with each generation. While Mexico won its independence from Spain and gave out land to soldiers in the army, the Ohlone became slaves at different ranchos. After America won the war against Mexico, the Ohlone was even more likely to be killed. The State of California gave soldiers, ranchers, and miners a financial incentive to kill native people: $5 for a head and $0.25 for an ear.
The Ohlone people had to hide, and many of them relocated to a small area known as “Indian Town” in Pleasanton, Ca, where native people of the Mission San Jose
November 28, 2023
relocated to. The Ohlone people went to work on ranches and newly created townships.
Despite the converted efforts to erase the Ohlone’s people history and identity, the Ohlone community consists of diverse nations and families. The Ohlone people continue to practice their cultural and spiritual traditions and are vital to protecting and caring for their ancestral homeland.
The Ohlone are not recognized by the government as a Native American tribe, so they do not receive any benefits regarding federal scholarships, housing grants, or other protections afforded to Indian tribes in the US. Most importantly, their cultural, burial, and sacred sites are not protected by the government. The City of Richmond would like to allocate funds to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust to bring visibility to native.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution to Pay Annual Shuumi Land Taxes