Millbrae institutes land acknowledgement of Ramaytush Ohlone people

Councilmembers chose between three land acknowledgement options, selecting one that emphasized the ecological harmony indigenous land stewardship promotes.

“The Millbrae council acknowledges that we occupy the unceded ancestral, traditional and contemporary homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula,” the land acknowledgement reads. “We recognize that the Ramaytush Ohlone have lived in harmony with nature for millennia, and that to achieve a truly ecologically sustainable future for Millbrae, we must embrace indigenous traditional ecological knowledge in how we care for the city’s lands, waters, and all its people.”

At the suggestion of Vice Mayor Maurice Goodman, who said it was important the city promote actionable items, a sentence was added to the end of the acknowledgement encouraging residents to educate themselves on the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples.

“We will continue to uplift and foster a meaningful relationship with the Ramaytush Ohlone community and we encourage all to visit ramaytush.org to learn more about the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples,” the land acknowledgement says.

The land acknowledgement — which was written in accordance with directions given by the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone website — will be placed on all future agendas, read before City Council meetings and the council may direct commissions and committees to read it before meetings as well.

During discussion, councilmembers pointed to the land acknowledgement as a valuable first step, but said further action was required. Mayor Ann Schneider said that after conversations with local indigenous leaders, she was also interested in creating a Native American medicinal garden, redoing parks with native plants, or potentially even creating a Ramaytush Ohlone interactive center.

“Land acknowledgement is one thing,” she said. “But actually putting into the programs we do, whether they’re from our staff our or committees and commissions, is a way I think to be true to all of us on that.”

Councilmember Anders Fung suggested the council also pursue a more tangible course of action to honor the sacrifice and heritage of the indigenous people.

“Perhaps instead of simply a document such as this but rather for example a park, a trail, a community garden is something we dedicate so that there can be a place for gathering,” he said.

Michael Kelly, co-founder of the Millbrae Antiracist Coalition, said he was a strong proponent of land acknowledgements as a mechanism to bring awareness to the historical struggles of indigenous and First Nations peoples.

“The Native American indigenous population is likely the largest genocide ever in the history of humans, 50 to 100 million indigenous people have been murdered in the colonization and the taking of the land of indigenous people,” he said. “If people didn’t know that, they need to know.”

After hearing other land acknowledgements read out, Councilmember Angelina Cahalan said they set a meaningful tone that the Millbrae City Council would benefit from replicating.

“I understand the meaning of it and have felt what it brings to the group,” she said. “I think in making that land acknowledgement, we are acknowledging our original people, acknowledging the roots of the land we are on.”

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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