TCBP Grantee Profile: Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation
Overview
Award Amount: $245,595
Region: Bay Area
Focus Areas:
- Affordable housing
- Cultural-ecological resource management
- Cultural mapping
- Habitat restoration (creek and oyster bed)
- Land rematriation and stewardship
About the Tribe
The Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation is a confederation of Tribal people from seven Tribes: Lisjan (Ohlone), Karkin (Ohlone), Bay Miwok, Plains Miwok, Wappo, Delta Yokut, and Napian (Patwin). The Tribe’s vision centers on rematriation: restoring Tribal people to their rightful place in sacred relationship with their ancestral lands. Their vision of climate-sensitive land stewardship includes integrated ecological restoration and cultural revitalization rooted in the places where the Tribe’s ancestors memorialized their millennia of relating to the land, as well as adequate funding and capacity building for managing natural and cultural resources data across the Tribe’s entire territory.
Project Plans
Through the Tribal Capacity Building Program, the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation aims to fund the following: 1) integrated cultural-ecological resources management trainings for Tribe members, incorporating Tribal knowledge and relevant legislation, and increasing Tribal capacity to advance climate-related land stewardship; 2) a pilot cultural-mapping program for sacred sites on Tribally-managed lands and to assess efficacy of existing easement agreements for climate-related land planning and negotiate new easements; 3) infrastructure to manage a Tribal resource database for climate-related threats, including all sacred sites in the Tribe’s territory and associated culturally-significant plants, animals, and other relatives; and 4) infrastructure for grant management to sustain these projects. The Tribe is interested in the Program because trainings will enable Tribal members to become part-time employees on a project-by-project basis and eventually full-time staff, which is the Tribe’s primary goal. In addition, the technical assistance provided by the Program offers a unique opportunity for the Tribe to focus on climate-related land use planning and continue to develop and assess the efficacy of stewardship protocols on their returned lands.
Site Visit
The Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation hosted a site visit throughout Huchiun (now known as Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland, CA) that included stops at their Tribally-tended medicinal plant garden, in partnership with the City of Richmond, and the West Berkeley Shellmound. In 2024, the Tribe celebrated the return of the West Berkeley Shellmound—one of their oldest sacred places—through ceremony, which was made possible through a decade of community organizing, prayer, and legal interventions that halted its destruction. The Tribe and their affiliated land trust, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, are working to raise funds towards removing the concrete and daylighting Strawberry Creek to continue the journey of bringing this sacred place back into balance.
This grant enabled me to expand my role from part-time to full time and allowed us to hire a full-time administrator, which will be a huge help and improvement in our capacity. This was also the first grant that we obtained directly, instead of as a sub-recipient to another entity. As a result of this grant, we are now able to apply for major funding opportunities, so we hope this grant has opened the door to ongoing future direct grant funding.
Contact Information
Lucy Beyhan, Cultural Resource Manager II, Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation
Learn more about Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation.
Instagram: @lisjan_nation
Facebook: Lisjan Nation