Land Acknowledgment

The Sonoma County Office of Education acknowledges that Sonoma County’s schools sit on the unceded traditional, ancestral, and contemporary homelands of the federally recognized Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Kashia Band of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, Lytton Band of Pomo Indians, and Dry Creek Rancheria of Pomo Indians, as well as Miwok, Pomo, and Wapo tribes that are not currently federally recognized. Often, these lands were taken via genocide and forced removal. We recognize the repeated violations of sovereignty, territory, and water perpetuated by colonizers who uprooted the original inhabitants of this land. As a part of SCOE’s mission of preparing students for a diverse, dynamic, and interdependent future, we acknowledge this history while recognizing this acknowledgment does not undo harms that continue to be done against Indigenous people and their homelands. SCOE commits to pursuing and improving our relationships with Indigenous communities as we work to address this legacy of violations.