A Year of Being Seen
In twelve months, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe raised its flag at San José City Hall, lit its first cultural burn in nearly 150 years, won state funding to buy about 154 acres of its homeland, and testified at the Capitol. Here is the year, month by month.
One Hundred Fifty Acres
For generations, the first people of the Bay Area held no land of their own in their homeland. In August 2026, that changed. The Tribe announced that about 150 acres of grassland in the hills above East San José had come home.
Opening the Circle
In one week last May, Muwekma Ohlone leaders took the stage at Stanford’s business school to talk about land return, and Muwekma dancers opened the ceremony space at the 55th Stanford Powwow. The two events shared a theme: the hosts were home.