This blog was written in partnership with TOGETHER Bay Area and Redbud Resource Group staff.
You can see it posted on the TOGETHER Bay Area blog here.
Caption: Right Relations Phase One & Two participants at the closing session in October, 2024.
Last month, individuals from the 20 organizations participating in the 2024 Right Relations program gathered for the culminating event of the year: It was time to share their action plans to support alliances with local Native American communities.
The organizations participating in Right Relations are members of TOGETHER Bay Area. They
are nonprofits, public agencies, Native tribes and groups, state & federal agencies, and mission-aligned businesses who come together to work for a just and equitable society where we live in relationship with the land that sustains us now and will sustain future generations. They are on-the-ground implementers with programs and projects that make a tangible impact on the land and in their communities.
The Right Relations program consisted of:
Workshops on topics like understanding the history of colonization and its role in ecocide in California, the strengths and limitations of land acknowledgements, and how to create successful strategies for building connections with Native communities and organizations.
Field trips hosted by Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, the American Indian Cultural District, the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone to understand their work and perspectives and learn how participants can be effective partners to local Native Tribes and organizations.
Phase Two participants also were hosted by fellow phase two participants from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission at their site in Sunol to learn about their partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone.
Roundtables with Chairman Reno Franklin from the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians to talk about how their tribe was able to get land back, and how their tribe is exercising their sovereignty to engage in other projects important to their tribe; and with the Oakland Museum of California to learn about ways to be a thoughtful ally and build relationships through the personal and formal aspects of the NAGPRA and rematriation processes.
Online resources and tools from Redbud Resource Group like:
Opportunities to connect with fellow participants to promote peer-to-peer learning
“This program opened my eyes to Right Relations with Native Peoples in a myriad of ways. From historical education on their practices and the effects of colonialism, the load local Native folks are carrying to implement change and support allies, to the idea of tribal sovereignty and autonomy in contemporary decision making process, in conjunction with neighboring tribes' approach to upholding this. This program is essential to any and everyone working with land and the public.”
The program is geared for action. After learning about why strengthening Tribal sovereignty is essential for addressing the climate crisis, how colonialism continues to impact our communities and ecosystems, and how to leverage resources to support Native communities and ecosystems for the benefit of all, they designed plans to take educated and impactful actions.
Examples of the action steps from Phase One participants include:
Attend local Tribal-led events
Prioritize projects like co-ownership, co-stewardship, designated permanent access, and land back/rematriation based on the needs of the local Tribes.
Center Indigenous voices in the interpretive and educational materials we create for the public.
Collaborate with other non-Native led organizations to be better allies to Indigenous communities.
Create an Indigenous Relations Committee to help advise, steer, implement and update our action plan to respond to local Indigenous needs and/or requests.
Offer land access opportunities to Indigenous communities.
Invite THIPO from at least two local Tribes to walk the land with us and share their perspectives and needs.
Caption: Redbud Resource Group Executive Director Taylor Pennewell opens the action plan presentations.
The range of actions has the potential to be transformational for local Tribes communities as well as for climate resilience and social equity broadly. We’ve already seen the powerful effects from some of their plans in action. Participants in Phase Two of the Right Relations program shared updates and lessons learned on the action plans they proposed last year, as part of the Right Relations pilot program in 2022–2023. Since June 2023, when they first presented their action plans, they’ve made significant progress, including:
Conducted outreach and conversations with local Tribal organizations
Offered to lead tours of watershed creek restoration projects
Submitted proposals for land back & transfers of land back
Collaborated with local Tribes on on the reinterment of human remains and cultural objects
Worked with fellow Together Bay Area members to better understand and address barriers to land transfers.
Awarded grants that assisted in building Tribal capacity, expanding partnerships with Tribes, and reengaging Traditional Ecological Knowledge on lands
Designed internal education programs and continuing to participate in the Right Relations program
“We are truly creating a new system of change by taking all of our positive intentions and turning them into real action. Today, we are going to share our plans for the future and bask in the immense progress we are going to make in creating a healthier, safer, environment for all our relations,” said Redbud Resource Group Executive Director, Taylor Pennewell.
Caption: Right Relations participants presenting their organizational action plans.
Building Towards Action, Through Learning and Community
“The Right Relations program is a transformative journey that deepens our connection to the land and our communities. Through thoughtful education, dialogue, and action, it opens our hearts and minds to a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of regional history, while connecting regional leaders through meaningful relationships. I concluded the program feeling inspired, empowered, and motivated, yet humbled and honored for the opportunity to make an impact. I am looking forward to continuing to be a part of the Right Relations program in any capacity possible, and continuing to build relationships across the incredible partners at Together Bay Area.”
Caption: Highlights from our 2024 Right Relations Program!
“Through our program of knowledge sharing and bringing insight in from other Tribal people and communities, we’ve had the space to build these relationships where participants in our program have been able to get insight into Native view points, what it means to have a healthy community. Through the time it takes to build these relationships, as a Native person, I’ve come to realize that there are a lot of genuine people within these big organizations who care about our wellbeing as Tribal people. With focus on relationship building as the center of this work––everything goes back to relationships, and participants learn and embody what this means. These relationships are set up to last much longer than the nine-month program; these cohorts will support each other and the relationships should last generationally, beyond just our time at our organizations...Through the Phase One and Two cohorts, we at Redbud Resource Group came to realize that we’ve been putting so much effort towards helping educate participants in this program that we needed to step back and bring our Tribal people up to speed. A direct action was to create the Restoring Right Relations program, which we ran for the first time this year, training 18 upcoming Native leaders, who will be taking all kinds of new skills, resources, and relationships back to their own tribal communities. We’ll continue with another, new cohort next year.“ said Right Relations Program Facilitator, Rose Hammock, from Redbud Resource Group
What comes next for Right Relations?
This year, in parallel with the Right Relations program, Redbud Resource Group led a Restoring Right Relations cohort, a Native leadership program for California Native community members to build leadership skills, grow positive relationships within Indian country, and develop skills for implementing projects in their communities. One of the ways we’re making connections between our Right Relations and Restoring Right Relations programs is through understanding the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and how non-Native partners can engage in Intertribal Knowledge Sharing.
Intertribal Knowledge Sharing creates an opportunity for Tribes and non-Native partners to help one another restore the health of our shared ecosystems. It is not enough for Tribes to simply restore “ownership” of our ancestral lands. Land Back is not complete without the restoration of Indigenous values and stewardship to the land and water. Restoring Native ways of life is incredibly difficult considering the barriers we face in Western culture, therefore it is essential for Tribes and non-Native people to come together to form the
solutions together.
In order to build the region’s capacity, the future of the Right Relations program is to continue to work with the individuals and organizations who have begun this work to deepen their knowledge and relationships; and to find ways to have conversation and community building between Right Relations and Restoring Right Relations program. We imagine this could take the form of collaborating on future projects, sharing grant opportunities, and more.
Thank you to our funders, whose support makes the Right Relations program possible.
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District generously support the 2024 Right Relations program. The pilot program was generously supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Sobrato Philanthropies. Additional funding is needed to continue and expand the Right Relations program. Please contact Annie Burke at annie@togetherbayarea.org if you’re interested in supporting this work.
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