Please support Muwekma before Dec 31, 2023
Horše Túuxi ~Good day, hello friend of the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation!
As the year draws to a close, we are filled with gratitude for strides we've made toward preserving our rich cultural heritage and ancestral lands. This has been a year of meaningful progress and we invite you to be a crucial part of our ongoing story.
Please make a gift that is meaningful to you to the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation before December 31. Your gift will help us in overcoming generations of injustices and working toward the continued ’iškaanesin mak Muwékma ~resilience of our People.
Established in 2020 through a unanimous vote of our Tribal Council, the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation connects our Tribe with allies in the Bay Area and beyond. Our mission is clear — to provide fundraising, fiscal, and administrative support to advance the Muwekma Tribe's goals of cultural revitalization, community education, as well as access, ownership, and stewardship of our ancestral lands.
Your donation before December 31 will make a big difference. Your support will help us start 2024 off right so that we can make progress toward our organizational priorities in the coming year:
Establishing a Tribal Village as the center of life for our people, providing housing, cultural space, health care, education, and stewardship programs for tribal members and their families.
Gaining Land Access to ancestral lands for gatherings, cultural events, and stewardship, deepening tribal ties to heritage.
Revitalizing our Culture through language, dance, and history strengthens tribal members' connection to tribe and one another.
Educating the Community to enhance public understanding of Muwekma history, current priorities, and ways to offer support.
Looking back
2023 was an important year for our organization, let’s celebrate! Thank you to the individuals and foundations who have made this work possible including the Packard Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and people like you.
1. Revitalization of our Traditional Dances and Regalia Making
We employed a Muwekma tribal member and hired several consultants to teach our members how to make our regalia and do our traditional dances. Funds were also spent on supplies to make our regalia and jewelry for the female and male dancers. We have successfully accomplished the dream of re-establishing and revitalizing our ceremonial and spiritual traditions through dance and performance, engaging leadership, elders, children, and grandchildren enrolled in our tribe.
2. Approving a strategic plan
Our board of directors completed a 10-month process to create and adopt a strategic plan which articulates strategic priorities and milestones of the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation. This process included conducting a tribal member needs assessment to ensure our organization is grounded in meeting the expressed present day needs of tribal members. Our strategic priorities in the coming years focus on organization effectiveness, they are:
Priority #1: Develop Organization: Design programs aligned with tribal priorities with an associated fundraising plan for immediate and long term expenses. Further refine strategic guides including our mission, vision, tribal needs assessment, values statement, theory of change.
Priority #2: Increase Capacity: Recruit an Executive Director, additional staff, contractors, board members, and volunteers with an emphasis on the recruitment of tribal members. Strengthen governance systems. Deepen connection between the Tribe and MOPF
Priority #3: Strengthen Partnerships: Form relationships and seek partnerships with funders and conservation organizations. Effectively engage with allies who wish to support MOPF.
3. Board Recruitment
We've initiated a recruiting process, prioritizing members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe to join our Board of Directors. In 2024, we plan to extend recruitment to non-tribal members. If you have an interest in serving on our board of directors, let us know by sending us an email.
4. Increased Staff and Volunteer Capacity
Megan Fluke has been appointed as our part-time Interim Executive Director, bringing a wealth of experience in land conservation and advocacy. Julie Dominguez, a member of the Tribe, has stepped up to provide administrative and communications support for the Preservation Foundation.
5. Secured an Executive Search Firm to hire our first executive director.
Partnering with Pearl Hernandez Consulting, we aim to attract, interview, and hire our permanent Executive Director, marking a pivotal step in our organizational journey.
Looking forward: Support our work now to propel us into 2024
As a landless tribe that was slated to obtain land based under the Congressional Acts of 1906, 1908 and later years, no land was ever purchased for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. We created the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation to realize the vision of connecting with our ancestral territory.
Your support is vital to achieving our vision. Please donate today to directly support the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation in hiring staff, implementing our strategic plan, revitalizing our culture, advancing community education, facilitating community partnerships for land access, identifying sites for our tribal village, and ensuring tribal member engagement and leadership in all that we do.
The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation thank you for standing with us on this journey of resilience and cultural revitalization.
Makkiš horše mak-hinnan ~We thank you.
Charlene Nijmeh, Tribal Chair and Board President, Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation
Monica V. Arellano, Tribal Vice Chair and Board Vice President, Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation
P.S.: Please make a tax deductible donation that is meaningful to you to the Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation before December 31. To make your gift, visit our donate page or mail your contribution to 20885 Redwood Rd. #402 Castro Valley, CA, 94546.
