Native Accountability Statement and Land Acknowledgment

The Oakland Museum of California occupies the unceded, ancestral land of the Lisjan people who, for hundreds of generations, have belonged to the land that is now known as the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Confederated Villages of Lisjan are one of many Ohlone nations, each with its own geography and history and all of which are in reciprocal relationship with the land itself, as well as the plants and animals that share the earth and water. The places we know as Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Piedmont, Emeryville and Albany, California are situated on the stolen territory of Huchiun, the land of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people. 

These lands are the traditional birthright of Indigenous people who were forcibly removed and have faced centuries of struggle for survival and identity in the wake of dispossession, displacement, and genocide. These peoples continue to inhabit their ancestral homeland and work to preserve its cultural and natural history, and fight for its sacred sites and cultural resources. The Ohlone people, the people of all Native tribes in California, and Indigenous people who are part of the Native American diaspora in California, live and flourish in our communities today. ¹

This acknowledgment of the history of this land and the displacement of Native people is one element of OMCA’s accountability to address and make amends for the harms perpetrated against Indigenous people through colonialism, including through the history, structures, and practices of museums themselves. 

Our land acknowledgment also strives to reflect OMCA’s broader accountability to Indigenous peoples by grounding the history of this place, its people, and this institution in truth; by directly involving Native people in the work of sharing Native histories, stories, and cultural resources with the public; by prioritizing Indigenous perspectives and voices; and by supporting repatriation of cultural belongings. We are grateful for the learnings and resources of the Ohlone people and particularly the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, with whom we have consulted on this land acknowledgment.  We are grateful as well to the Museum’s Native Advisory Council and other organizations and partners in the Native community who join in holding us accountable for continuing to support Indigenous people, causes, and concerns. Our accountability is centered in the Museum’s mission to “inspire understanding and empathy with stories and experiences of California’s art, history, and natural environment to build more equitable and connected communities.”

OMCA commits to:

• Making public this accountability statement and land acknowledgment and pursuing ways to make it visible through our website, public programming, events, and on-site through physical display;
• Increasing internal understanding and education with staff, trustees, and volunteers on the history of Native communities in our region and in California, including the impacts of colonial history and the historic misrepresentation of Native peoples, including in museums;
• Actively and authentically collaborating with Native communities on all exhibitions and programs related to Native stories, experiences, and voices through our Native Advisory Council and in partnership with local, regional and statewide Native communities;
• Offering public programming that highlights Native histories, stories, and cultural traditions that are created with Native communities as developers, presenters, and participants;
• Highlighting Native histories, perspectives, and cultural expression in education programming for students and teachers;
• Ensuring responsible and shared stewardship of the Museum’s Native cultural resources, through proactive and committed participation with Native tribes in compliance with the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act; 
• Engaging Indigenous practitioners prior to handling, displaying, and interpreting Native cultural belongings;
• Paying the Shuumi Land Tax on an annual basis.

OMCA will be guided by the recently released “Standards for Museums with Native American Collections,” a document of the American Alliance of Museums that provides a Native-designed framework for museums in all areas of operations.

This land acknowledgment and accountability statement is a living document and will evolve and be updated in consultation with OMCA’s Native Advisory Council, other Native partners, and with local Ohlone leaders. We will continue to align our efforts with decolonizing initiatives at the national level within the museum field and with Native, tribal organizations and representatives.

1.  Information on the Lisjan (Ohlone) History and Territory is excerpted from the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust website, with permission. The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an Indigenous women-led land trust that calls on Native and non-native peoples to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do. For more information on the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, including how you can support the activities of the Trust through the Shuumi Land Tax, please see: sogoreate-landtrust.org/purpose-and-vision. ↩︎