Our People have been blessed by brilliant and committed allies.
Alan Leventhal is a trained archaeologist, anthropologist, and ethnohistorian serving as the Tribal Ethnohistorian and Archaeologist for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. For over 45 years, he has collaborated with the tribe on heritage preservation, archaeological investigations, DNA studies, and efforts to correct historical misclassifications of extinction while advocating for federal recognition. An Emeritus Faculty member at San Jose State University, he has co-authored numerous publications on Ohlone prehistory, ethnohistory, and revitalization.
Meet Laura Jones
Dr. Laura Jones is Stanford University's Director of Heritage Services and University Archaeologist, overseeing stewardship of nearly 100 archaeological sites and 200 historic buildings. Holding a PhD in anthropology from Stanford (1990), she directs major excavations in the San Francisco Bay Area. She maintains a decades-long partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, facilitating repatriation of ancestral remains, community-led archaeology, and collaborative historic interpretation on their ancestral lands.
Meet Lee Panich
Dr. Lee Panich is Professor of Anthropology at Santa Clara University, specializing in archaeology and historical anthropology of colonial California. He collaborates extensively with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe on heritage projects, including excavations at Mission Santa Clara, digital memorials for ancestral remains, interpretive exhibits, and publications countering narratives of Indigenous erasure while supporting tribal sovereignty and persistence in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Meet Michael Wilcox
Dr. Michael Wilcox is a Senior Lecturer in Native American Studies at Stanford University's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, an Indigenous scholar of Yuman descent teaching there since 2001. He serves as Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, a founding board member of their Cultural Preservation Land Trust, and leads collaborative projects on landscape stewardship, repatriation, archaeology, and countering narratives of Indigenous erasure through education and advocacy.
Meet Tadashi Fukami
Dr. Tadashi Fukami is Professor of Biology and Earth System Science at Stanford University, specializing in community ecology and historical contingency in species assembly. As Faculty Director of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma), he fosters long-standing partnerships with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. He serves as a Board Member of the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation, supporting cultural revitalization, youth programs, controlled burns for native plant restoration, and collaborative stewardship of ancestral lands.
Meet Les Field
Dr. Les W. Field is Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, specializing in sociocultural and linguistic anthropology, indigenous identities, and collaborative research. For decades, he has worked closely with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe as tribal ethnologist and consultant, co-authoring publications on their revitalization, countering narratives of extinction, federal acknowledgment efforts, and heritage preservation in the San Francisco Bay Area.