Dear Community Members,

We had a wonderful turnout for our January meeting at Horticulture! Based on your feedback, the leadership team has decided to make every other meeting accessible via Zoom. This means we’ll continue to meet in person every other month, ensuring that we keep the essential in-person connection and vibrant discussions that make our gatherings so meaningful.

In our next meeting, we’ll continue our conversations around Land Acknowledgement, while also expanding our focus to explore Indigenous worldviews and how they inform our current culture. This month, we’ll be highlighting the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, specifically her book The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.

Please check the meeting page for this month’s reading and discussion questions as we deeply value your voice and perspective in these conversations.

In the News: The Cabrillo College Scuttle discusses Cabrillo Land Acknowledgement

Our group is always honored to have students participate in our group, as they are the voice that will lead us. We are trying to do work that not only honors our ancestors, but that helps educate and support our children. In our January meeting, we were thrilled that we were joined by Isabella Blevins, journalist and editor of our Cabrillo based online journal “The Cabrillo College Scuttle”. She wrote up a great article regarding our Land Acknowledgement which you can find here in their most recent February issue.

Land Acknowledgement & Local Tribal History

PLEASE NOTE: Our current Land Acknowledgement is being thoughtfully reworked to ensure we properly honor the ancestors and stewards of these lands. In the meantime, we pause to reflect on the land itself: its peoples, animals, waters, and native plants that have been here since time immemorial. We consider the knowledge and care carried by the first peoples, passed down through generations, and we commit ourselves to learning, evolving, and changing our ways to honor those who came before us and continue to guide us today. 

Pronunciations of the local tribes are: Amah (Aaa-Ma), Mutsun (Moot-sun), Uypi (You-P), Awaswas (Aaa-Was-Was).  

Local Tribal History

Original Inhabitants: The Awaswas

• Tribe/Group: Awaswas

• Linguistic Family: Ohlone (also known as Costanoan)

• Territory: Coastal Santa Cruz Mountains, including present-day Santa Cruz County.

• Villages: Many small villages throughout the region, often located near creeks and coastal areas. Some notable ones were around the San Lorenzo River and Soquel Creek.

• Lifeways: The Awaswas people lived in seasonal villages and relied on fishing, shellfish gathering, acorn harvesting, and trading with neighboring groups.

Today:

The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band includes descendants of the Awaswas and other Mutsun-speaking Ohlone peoples. They are actively working to revitalize culture, language, and reclaim stewardship of ancestral lands. Although not federally recognized, they are deeply engaged in environmental and cultural restoration efforts in the Santa Cruz region.