A Land Acknowledgment is a formal statement that recognizes the history and legacy of colonialism that impacted Indigenous Peoples, their traditional territories, and practices.
Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth.
The ability to gather, worship, learn, and establish our presence as a church came at a great expense of the original inhabitants of this land, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe (mah-wek-mah ah-lone-ee).
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We would like to acknowledge that All Saints Episcopal Church sits on the traditional lands of the Muwekma Ohlone people, and pay respect to elders both past and present.
Long before All Saints Episcopal Church was established, and even before the Episcopal Church had a presence in California, this area was home to the Ohlone. The Ohlone still have a presence today, in San Leandro and throughout the Bay Area.
The present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is comprised of all of the known surviving American Indian lineages aboriginal to the San Francisco Bay region who trace their ancestry through the Missions Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Jose; and who were also members of the historic Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County. The aboriginal homeland of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe includes the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, most of Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and portions of Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, and San Joaquin.
Let us acknowledge with respect and reverence the Muwekma Ohlone People, who have stewarded this land throughout the generations, while not forgetting the sin of colonization of this land.
(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Land Acknowledgement derived from research by Casey LaBarbera originally posted at Holy Names University. Used with permission).