ANNOUNCING UUCB’S HONORING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES GROUP BLOG!

https://honoringindigenouspeoples.group

The Honoring Indigenous Peoples Group (HIP) is pleased to announce the launch of its Blog, curated by Carol Carlisle and Ann Harlow.  Please click on the link above to check it out.  You’ll find recommended readings and videos to learn more about the Ohlone, about Native American life in general, and how to be an ally and accomplice in the justice-seeking activities of Indigenous groups.

Want information about Indigenous land reclamation in the Bay Area?  Or about the hundreds of shellmounds that were once part of the landscape?  Did you know that wild strawberries and soaproot—plants important to the culture of the Ohlone—grow on a UUCB hillside?  Are you interested in knowing more about “Actions You Can Take?”  You’ll find out all that and more in the Blog.

When you visit the site, please make sure to sign up for “Follow Us via Email,” to assure that you’ll get timely updates.

The HIP Blog, as well as UUCB’s support of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, is part of our ongoing commitment to align with and support Indigenous peoples.  HIP has additional projects in planning stages as well.

UUCB’s Land Acknowledgments

As we begin, we take this moment to acknowledge that this church occupies land in what was known as Huchiun, the unceded territory of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people. As community and church members, we continue to benefit from the seizure and occupation of this land. We also want to affirm that this is not simply performative, but is deeply felt and is a commitment toward action.

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As we begin, we want to acknowledge that this church occupies land in Huchiun, the unceded territory of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people.  We understand that we continue to benefit from the seizure and occupation of this land.  We acknowledge and embrace our responsibility to take restorative action.  We affirm that this is deeply felt and commit our congregation to be in right relationship with Indigenous communities, aligning in solidarity, supporting Indigenous projects, and caring properly for the land.

Over the past several months, Honoring Indigenous Peoples (HIP) has been meeting to learn more about Indigenous peoples’ histories and to plan and take actions which acknowledge and support Indigenous peoples, particularly the Ohlone community who historically held stewardship of the land on which UUCB sits. The creation of this Land Acknowledgment is one of those actions.

The reading of Land Acknowledgments at events is now standard for many organizations across the U.S.

We suggest and hope that you will read this Acknowledgment at all UUCB services, meetings and gatherings. It is part of UUCB’s continuing commitment to act on the side of justice for Indigenous peoples.

The Acknowledgement may sound familiar to you, but please check it out carefully, as we have made some changes based on recent research that we’ve done. You may view the PDF version here.

We welcome your comments.

With love and appreciation for our Beloved Community,

The Honoring Indigenous Peoples Group,
Mimi Bull, Carol Carlisle, Ann Harlow, Lynne Henderson, Don Klose, Wyndy Knox Carr, Helen Tinsley-Jones, Ann Wardell, Julie Winkelstein, Rev. Michele Collins.

For thousands of years prior to colonization by white settlers, Indigenous people held stewardship of the land on which UUCB sits, along with a large part of the Bay Area and south to the Monterey Bay. To be specific, the church is situated on a portion of what was known as Huchiun, the unceded territory of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, some of whose descendants are members of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan and/or the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.

UUCB’s Honoring Indigenous Peoples Group, under the auspices of the Social Justice Council’s Anti-Racism Task Force, was formed to engage our congregation in

• education and deep learning of Indigenous peoples’ history, acknowledging the harms, including genocide and land theft, done by settler colonialism
• connecting and actively partnering with Ohlone people in the community
• assuming accountability as we engage in ongoing and enduring acts of respect, including, but not limited to, acknowledgements of land at church services and meetings, dedication of a plaque, and making regular financial contributions to Indigenous peoples’ organizations.

The Honoring Indigenous Peoples Group members are Mimi Bull, Carol Carlisle, Rev. Michelle Collins, Ann Harlow, Don Klose, Wyndy Knox Carr, Helen Tinsley-Jones, Anne Wardell, and Julie Winkelstein.  Questions?  Interested in joining the Group?  Please contact Helen Tinsley-Jones at honoringindigenous@uucb.org.