Good evening I’m Evelyn Arce Erickson, and I am a descendant of the Muisca People from Colombia. I moved here just 4 years ago from HMB, CA.

Before I start, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the ancestors of the Pomo and Yuki tribes and other tribes that have been on this sacred land for time immemorial. I ask them for their blessings and guidance as we start this important dialogue. I would also like to acknowledge the tribes that are still here and recognize that injustices continue to this day.

For two decades my work has been about bridging the worlds of Indigenous communities with the philanthropic community. This work helped to channel millions of new funding and recognition of the communities that protect the last remnants of biodiversity on our planet. It resulted in a shift in philanthropy that has dramatically increased funding to them today from when I first started in 2002.

Today I want to talk about change that is happening in 3 sectors, Philanthropy, Land Back and Name changes. I do want to make it clear that my views do not represent any tribes but are my personal views and my talk is from my personal experiences and research.

I want to give a quick overview on Indigenous values and stats.

Indigenous peoples have a different worldview that is wholistic and focuses on a big picture understanding that has emerged from their experiences and cultural practices developed over thousands of years. We see the stars and trees as our ancestors. Everything is in Sacred Balance and humans are part of the circle of life not above it all but in relation to all the beings – every part of the ecosystems.

There are approximately 476 million Indigenous peoples spread across the world in 90 countries. The majority are in Asia. There are over 5 thousand different tribes and 4 thousand different languages. There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the US, with 229 in Alaska alone. Hundreds of tribes have petitioned and are waiting to be recognized by the federal government. California has the second-highest number of federally recognized tribes, with 109, as well as the largest Native American population of any state.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)is the original form of systems thinking, focusing on sustainability and living rightly on Mother Earth.

One good example of traditional ecological knowledge is cultural burning practices that occurred here in California. Indigenous peoples see fire as a spirit and a tool not as the enemy. An estimated 5 million acres were burnt every year by Indigenous peoples  to manage the forests before white settlers came. This stopped abruptly because white settlers thought they were arsonists and did not understand they were managing the land. Indigenous peoples were threatened with prison or death, so they had no choice but to stop.  I recently spoke to a CALFIRE representative, and they are currently burning 770K acres a year in California. When I asked him what his goal was, he said 5 Mil acres a year. When I asked him what the biggest challenge was, he said it was not money but was the lack of capacity of training people to do prescribed burning. Most of the knowledge has been lost, but there is a new 110 mil fund from the Moore Foundation that is supporting cultural and innovations around fire in California. Several tribes are starting Indigenous youth camps to revitalize this knowledge so there is hope.

This Name Change topic is important to me because 4 years ago at the age of 50, I had a newborn miracle baby and my husband and I decided to move here, a place filled with beauty and magic. My daughter’s name came to us while walking in the forest, without knowing anyone named Kalea which means Full of Joy in the Hawaiian language. It was a shock when I learnt what it meant, and she has been true to her name! We have made many new friends; some are right here in this room, and we are building a community here.

I started to learn more about the history of this place, the good, bad and ugly.

I asked my good friend Buffey Wright Bourassa, the secretary of The Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California  to share her thoughts and this is what she sent me.

"The violent history of Mendocino County Indigenous Peoples is a dark, little-known tale of the extreme cruelty inflicted upon them by the Federal Government, gold miners, ranchers, and settlers. California stands out as a region where the Native American population experienced rapid and widespread decline. Nineteenth-century literature often depicted the California Indian as a distinct and inferior type, referred to as "Digger." The federal policy towards the California Indian, which led to the establishment of extensive reservation systems, was far from the protective rhetoric of the time. Instead, the reservations became sites of cruelty, disease, starvation, and exploitation, serving as instruments for the extermination of the native population. Moreover, the negotiations with the Indian population were marked by ignorance and misunderstanding, leading to further exploitation and misuse of reservation resources. The mismanagement and fraudulent practices at the Mendocino Reservation further exacerbated the suffering of the Indigenous people, resulting in a daily life riddled with fraud, cruelty, disease, starvation, exploitation, and murder.

It's with honor and pride that I acknowledge that the Mendocino Reservation was situated on the unceded ancestral homelands and held captive of various Indigenous Peoples, including the Northern, Central, Southern, and Coastal Pomo, Cahto, Sinkyone, Huchnom, Nomlaki, Coastal Yuki, Wailacki, Concow, Little Lake Pomo, Pit River, and Yuki peoples. These Indigenous Peoples have cared for these lands since time immemorial. Reconciling with the history of these lands and peoples involves decolonization, starting with the renaming of Fort Bragg, to honor the original inhabitants and shed important light on the true spirit and facts of this land. The goal is to acknowledge the past and give it meaningful recognition."

Historians say a total of 90 percent or 55 million Indigenous Peoples were killed in the Americas due to slavery, smallpox, war, starvation etc.

But there has been a movement in all sectors to right the wrongs. Rectifying and reparations are all healing work. I will share some highlights from the philanthropic, landback and finally name changes movements.

In the world of philanthropy, there are 128 thousand foundations in this country that give a total of  90 billion every year. Historically Indigenous peoples get one quarter of one percent but the funding trend is growing every year.

Globally at the COP 26 Climate talks, there was a 1.7 billion commitment for local and Indigenous communities for climate change . Why this new support? Because research has shown that 80 percent of biodiversity is in Indigenous territories. And countries are realizing that we have a fighting chance on the climate crisis only if we start to truly support Indigenous and local communities - communities that have contributed the least to the crisis.

There are several new funds nationally like the NDN collective which has an all Indigenous staff and received a one-time amount of 50 mil from Bush Foundation two years ago to redistribute to Indigenous tribes.

In California, in 2020 the governor started a Truth and Healing Council that was led by several key Indigenous leaders to start the dialogue of the history of trauma that occurred and the journey to healing. To support this endeavor, several foundations started a fund and are giving money for healing circles and addressing intergenerational trauma so our young people can be healed and educated in our Indigenous ways.

As for Landback, in the past two decades there have been at least 100 tribal land recoveries for a total of  420,000 acres for Native peoples.

And just two years ago, the Kashia Band of Pomo tribe received 700 acres back from a rancher for 6 million.

This spring for the first time, California started a LandBack Fund of 100 million to purchase and reacquire those lands to ensure that tribes are back in the stewardship role. I am honored to be working with one of the Pomo tribes and a local landowner to apply for some of these funds. If we get the grant, it would be the first farmland in this area on the coast held by a tribe who was here to begin with.

Changing names has become a strong movement too. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary, ordered 660 name changes that had the word “Squaw” associated with it because she said '' words do matter” and it was a derogatory reference to Native women.

In California, earlier this year the name Squaw Valley was changed to Yokuts Valley to honor the local Indigenous tribe. The name changes represent an important cultural shift that exposes and corrects the racist history behind the original names. The momentum is growing with every change to a more respectful relationship between settler and Native cultures.

I want to end by saying that I know they say Change is hard, but is it?

Change happens every day- In my opinion changing the name of this town to reflect the beautiful magical place it is, would be a first step towards the long journey of healing and rectifying historical intergenerational trauma. This trauma affects everyone, even the oppressors. This would be a step towards healing and helping everyone’s heart and mental health.

I invite you and hope to inspire you to rise up and honor what is sacred for this land and all the beings here.