The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO) represents the interests of the original peoples of the San Francisco Peninsula. The purposes of the ARO align with our ancestral responsibilities to care for the earth and to care for the people who reside in our ancestral homeland. The ARO partners with other organizations and agencies to pursue its objectives:
the rematriation of our ancestral homeland
the cultural revitalization of our culture and language
research, consultation, and education to ensure accuracy in public culture and history
ecological restoration
community service
Objectives and Project Areas
1. Land Rematriation
Rematriation, as opposed to repatriation, refers to the giving back of the earth to our Earth Mother, or, more specifically, to the original stewards who embrace the traditional practice of listening to our Earth Mother for instruction. From our Earth Mother we receive two basic responsibilities: the care for the earth and to care for people (i.e., the residents who live in our traditional territory) in the same way that Mother Earth has for millenia.
Projects: Golden Gate Park, 953 Treat Ave, Filoli,
Partners: Peninsula Open Space Trust, UC San Francisco, American Indian Cultural District, Filoli,
Highlight: The ARO is working with the Golden Gate Parks to acquire land for an American Indian garden at the west end of Golden Gate Park.
2. Cultural Revitalization
The near total genocide of our ancestors was accompanied by a cultural genocide as well—to date we have very little left our culture and language, and so one of our primary goals is to reanimate our traditions and to establish new traditions in our homeland.
Projects: Ohlone Culture and Language in J. P. Harrington’s Field Notes, Protection and Restoration of Sacred Sites (confidential), Mapping the Ancestral Homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone, Storytelling,
Partners: The Confederated Villages of Lisjan, the Tamien Nation, Indian Kanyon, The Cultural Conservancy, American Indian Cultural District, American Indian Cultural Center, Deep Medicine Circle,
Highlight: The ARO has begun mapping Ramaytush Ohlone trails and villages along the San Francisco Peninsula using ArcGIS to show the social and political relationships among villages and tribes within and beyond the San Francisco Peninsula.
3. Research, Consultation, and Education
The ARO has and will continue to produce publicly available research on California Indian history and culture, including scholarship on Ramaytush and Ohlone peoples. The ARO continues to consult with other entities on interpretive projects involving Native peoples. In addition, the ARO participates in public education at a number of levels, from the development of curriculum to the offering public presentations. In our ecological work, we will partner with practitioners from area universities such as UCSF, to advance the understanding of climate health and resiliency.
Projects: Dancing on the Edge of the World (research), The Human Sources of San Francisco Bay Costanoan (research), San Francisco’s Buried History (consultation), NPS Public History Project: Retelling of the Anza Expedition (consultation). The ARO has ongoing projects on an as needed basis involving land acknowledgement, curriculum development, classroom visits, public presentations, etc.
Partners: Exploratorium, National Park Service, San Francisco State University, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco Human Rights Commission, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Presidio Trust, Menlo Park City School District, San Mateo County Historical Association, etc.
Highlight: In consultation with the ARO, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission approved a Land Acknowledgement statement for use in its meetings. The statement was soon thereafter adopted for use by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
4. Ecological Restoration
Our responsibility to care for Mother Earth can be captured in the contemporary language of ecological restoration, which includes protection and preservation. Because the ARO lacks the resources and human power to accomplish its ecological restoration goals, we partner with other organizations on restoration projects. We seek to reforest our homelands and reintroduce fire-resistant native grasses, blending the best of traditional ecological knowledge with what our settler partners have to offer from ecological sciences. Moving away from cow-centered carbon cycling models to ones that privilege the more complex web of life in forest ecologies and biodiverse soil, we seek to show how Indigenous practices of land management are critical in addressing climate collapse. Given the recent explosion of wildfires, this timing of this work is urgent.
Projects: Rising Acres, Colma Creek, California State Park Redwood Masterplan,
Partners: San Mateo County Resource District, San Francisco Estuary Institute, San Mateo County Office of Sustainability, California State Parks, Save the Redwoods League, San Francisco Estuary Partnership,
Highlight: The ARO partnered with the San Mateo Resource Conservation District (RCD) in the release of salmon in Pescadero Creek in Ramaytush Ohlone territory. The habitat restoration project was managed by the RCD who "partnered with NOAA Fisheries, the Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout Project, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to release ten thousand juveniles of critically endangered Central Coast Coho salmon throughout the watershed, rewarding many years of habitat restoration to help ensure their survival."
5. Community Service
Our responsibility to care for the people who reside in our ancestral homeland manifests in a variety of ways, from providing services for Indigenous and other marginalized communities to advocacy at the highest levels of government.
Projects: Public Policy, Community Murals, Community Farms and Gardens,
Partners: California State Department of Transportation, San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, Scape Martinez Project Team, Four Directions Mural Project, Exploratorium,
Highlight: The ARO participated in a workshop for k-12 teachers sponsored by the Exploratorium.