We are currently occupying Ohlone Land
“Two hundred fifty years ago, in the mid-1700s, there were at least 10,000 indigenous people coexisting in about 40 distinct tribelets on the land between Big Sur and the San Francisco Bay Area. They lived, as they had for thousands of years, amid a now-extinct reality of dizzying abundance: vast marshes and lush meadows, wild salmon in the rivers, breaching whales in the bay and even grizzly bears in the endless oak forests. The San Francisco peninsula was a barren sweep of coastal grass and sand dunes, and only a handful of European sailors had ever made anchor on the shore. The local tribelets went by various names and spoke dozens of unique languages, but today we group them together as “Ohlone” because this name rings most true for many of the surviving descendants.” Tommy Alexander
We are The Cultural Conservancy, a Native-led organization founded in 1985. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, our headquarters is on unceded Ohlone land and our land base in the sovereign territories of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo peoples.
We work with Indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island and Abya Yala (the Americas) and Moananuiākea (the Pacific).
Our Mission is to protect and restore Indigenous cultures, empowering them in the direct application of traditional knowledge and practices on their ancestral lands.
News from Native California is a quarterly magazine devoted to the vibrant cultures, arts, languages, histories, social justice movements, and stories of California’s diverse Indian peoples. We strive to preserve the cherished knowledge of an older generation, provide opportunities for a younger generation making a place for Indian ways in the modern world, and illuminate the beauty of Native cultures to all of California.
We are the oldest social service organization in the United States run by and for American Indians. Over the last 50 years, we have helped more than 4,800 residential clients overcome substance abuse, empowered hundreds of youth, and provided community events for countless individuals and families. Incorporated in 1963 as a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt agency, we serve American Indians throughout the United States.
Fostering American Indian Culture, Community, & Values
Our vision is to create and provide a dynamic place of learning, cultural preservation, and community for the citizens of the Bay Area to learn about American Indian heritage and culture, and to generate a sense of understanding about American Indians in the urban environment.
We are currently working to create a community center that will provide culturally relevant education, art, and information-sharing wellness programs in an inclusive and safe community space. This space will be open for American Indian youth, elders, families, and everyone in the Bay Area to participate, connect, and grow.
We believe in a future when our natural world is no longer under attack. However, there is a long-standing problem of many incentives and few disincentives to sprawl and to make land use decisions that harm the natural environment. Green Foothills advocacy, education, and grassroots action help offset this inequity.
Green Foothills is the champion for the open space, farmland, and natural resources of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Through our advocacy, we protect threatened wildlife habitat and avoid connectivity loss; increase the use of nature-based solutions to mitigate for sea level rise and flooding; plan for coastal erosion; safeguard environmental policies; and protect natural and working landscapes that provide valuable ecosystem services as part of climate defense. We are growing a larger, more diverse base of civic leaders who are working across sectors for the natural environment through our Community Advocates Leadership Academy.
People are connected to nature. It is the air people breathe, the water people drink, and protection from flooding and erosion. It is a source of our physical and mental well being. It is adaptation to climate change. If we protect the planet’s land, biodiversity, and ecosystem health, it will lay the path for climate resilience. Through our work, this region will serve as a model for how a community and an economy can thrive as a result of land use decisions made in balance with and respect for nature.