id: ohlone-bay-area-land-back
title: Land Back Rematriation Gathering
description: >-
  A practice of the Sogorea Te' Land Trust and East Bay Ohlone communities
  in which land is returned to Indigenous stewardship through a
  community-led process of rematriation, gathering, and ceremony. Sogorea
  Te' is a women-led urban Indigenous land trust in the San Francisco Bay
  Area.
source: Sogorea Te' Land Trust / Corinna Gould and Johnella LaRose
source_url: https://www.sogoreate.org/
tags: [ohlone, land-back, rematriation, indigenous, bay-area]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Receive the land
    description: >-
      A piece of land is returned to the land trust by a current owner,
      through gift, purchase, or cultural easement. The return is marked
      as rematriation, not real estate.
  - headline: Gather the community
    description: >-
      Ohlone community members and allies gather on the land. An elder
      opens with prayer and acknowledges the ancestors and the land's
      history.
  - headline: Ceremony of return
    description: >-
      A ceremony marks the land's return to Indigenous stewardship. Song,
      prayer, and the presence of the community affirm the return.
  - headline: Name the stewardship
    description: >-
      The trust names how the land will be stewarded — for ceremony, for
      food, for housing, for restoration — with the community's input.
  - headline: Commit to ongoing care
    description: >-
      The community commits to ongoing care of the land, with work days and
      gatherings scheduled. The return is the beginning, not the end.
outcome: >-
  Land is returned to Indigenous stewardship, marked with ceremony, and
  committed to ongoing care by the community.
practice: >-
  Rematriation is not a transfer of title — it is a return of
  relationship. If you are not Ohlone, follow Ohlone lead. The ceremony
  is not symbolic; it is the making of the return.