Tag: amah mutsun

For our tribe, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, Betabel is much, much more than a vacant lot conveniently located by a Highway 101 offramp. Positioned at the confluence of the San Benito and Pajaro Rivers, where earthquake faults also meet, the Betabel area is a place of power where, for countless generations, our people came together for healing and renewal.

Following a demonstration outside City Hall led by area Amah Mutsun tribal members and their supporters, the Morgan Hill City Council on Jan. 15 unanimously approved a resolution urging county officials to deny a permit for a mine proposed on one of the tribe’s most significant cultural and spiritual sites.

Sargent Ranch, a pristine and undeveloped 6,500 acres of land south of Gilroy, is up for public auction this month. 

Dear Editor,

More than a decade after Irenne Zwierlein – a Native American tribal member who previously inked plans with a major developer to build on roughly 6,000 acres of pristine property just south of Gilroy known as Sargent Ranch – forged documents in an attempt to prove herself the rightful leader of the local Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Ohlone/Costanoan Indians, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs made a move last week that left her rivals “absolutely blindsided.”

The Amah Mutsun tribal band signed a memorandum of agreement with Pinnacles National Park staff members last week to formalize an ongoing partnership between the agenices.

The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has received national recognition for its work at Pinnacles National Park in collaborating with the Universities of California, Santa Cruz and Berkeley to conduct two research projects that took an innovative approach to habitat restoration. The projects integrated traditional Native American land management practices with contemporary techniques to restore and protect the natural and cultural processes in the unique California grassland system.

The day of Dec. 22, 2012 will go down in the millennia-long history of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Ohlone/Costanoan Indians as a day of healing.

A landmark event for a local Native American tribe with roots tracing back to this area nearly 3,000 years is approaching Saturday, when Bishop Richard Garcia of the Monterey Diocese will offer a mass of reconciliation at the San Juan Bautista Mission and “apologize for the tragic events which occurred during mission times.”

The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, which has deep historical ties to Gilroy and San Benito County, has forged an agreement with the Sempervirens Fund to work together to protect the natural and cultural resources of the Santa Cruz Mountains.