Indigenous Studies Resources

Since 1968, the purpose of the American Indian Center has been to create a community space based on Native American values, culture, programming, traditional foods, and community support.

Founded on March 31st, 2020, the American Indian Cultural District (AICD) is the first established Cultural District of its size in the United States dedicated to recognizing, honoring, and celebrating the American Indian legacy, culture, people, and contributions. Logo created by Jackie Fawn (Yurok/Washoe).

Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS) exists to restore and recover the role of Two-Spirit people within the American Indian/First Nations community by creating a forum for the spiritual, cultural and artistic expression of Two-Spirit people.

Intertribal Friendship House (IFH) located in Oakland, CA was established in 1955 as one of the first urban American Indian community centers in the nation. It was founded by the American Friends Service Committee to serve the needs of American Indian people relocated from reservations to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Native American Health Center (NAHC) is a nonprofit, Federally Qualified Health Center proudly serving California’s Bay Area Native Population and other underserved communities. Caring for the Bay Area since 1972, NAHC has worked at local, state, and federal levels to deliver resources and services for the urban Native community.

Save West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site is a coalition of Ohlone tribes, indigenous organizations, and individuals who advocate for historic preservation, indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice.

Sogorea Te' Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led land trust that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people.

The Native American Cultural Center's mission is to champion Indigenous excellence, foster leadership development and promote wellness. The NACC anchors events, programs, lectures, performances, meetings and conversations around Native issues. It is a place to learn, to grow, to relax, to celebrate, to meet friends, to find support, to get advice, and to nurture community. It is home to Stanford’s 400 Indigenous-identifying students representing 50 nations and islands, and a welcoming place to others on campus and beyond.

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2019, canoes representing tribes, communities and families from as far North as Canada and as far West as Hawaii converged on San Francisco Bay to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz and stand in solidarity for peace, prayer, the water, the land, the air, future generations, Indigenous values, inclusion and a diverse humanity.

The Indigenous Red Market began on the streets of Oakland, CA. The Red Market features indigenous vendors and artists from around the country.

Kanyon Konsulting’s mission is to bridge the gap between indigenous and contemporary value systems. Located in Ohlone (Commonly known as the SF Bay Area) Territory, Kanyon Konsulting offers its expertise in working with indigenous peoples to provide a platform to inject an indigenous perspective into our western midsets.

Kanyon Sayers-Roods is Costanoan Ohlone-Mutsun and Chumash; she also goes by her given Native name, “Coyote Woman”. She is proud of her heritage and her native name (though it comes with its own back story), and is very active in the Native Community. She is an Artist, Poet, Published Author, Activist, Student and Teacher. The daughter of Ann-Marie Sayers, she was raised in Indian Canyon, trust land of her family, which currently is one of the few spaces in Central California available for the Indigenous community for ceremony. Kanyon’s art has been featured at the De Young Museum, The Somarts Gallery, Gathering Tribes, Snag Magazine, and numerous Powwows and Indigenous Gatherings. She is a recent graduate of the Art Institute of California, Sunnyvale, obtaining her Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees in Web Design and Interactive Media. She is motivated to learn, teach, start conversations around decolonization and reinidgenization, permaculture and to continue doing what she loves, Art.

mak-'amham (mahk-am-haam) means our food in the Chochenyo Ohlone language. Chochenyo is the Native language to the Eastern shores of San Francisco Bay, the area collectively known as "the East Bay."

We are an Ohlone cultural institution empowering our community with tradition—and we teach the public, through taste, of our unbroken roots.

Vincent Medina (Chochenyo Ohlone) is Capitán, cultural leader, of ‘Itmay Cultural Association—a group of dedicated Verona Band culture bearers working to keep our identity strong.

Louis Trevino is a member of the Rumsen Ohlone community and a leader in the revival of the Rumsen language.

Crystal Wahpepah is an enrolled member of the Kickapoo nation of Oklahoma. She was born and raised in Oakland, California, on Ohlone land, surrounded by a multi-tribal, tight-knit, urban Native community. Crystal’s objectives for Wahpepah’s Kitchen are threefold: (1) to acknowledge that we live on stolen land; and (2) how that acknowledgement connects to the reclamation of Native food ways (food sovereignty); as well as (3) to educate communities and organizations on the health benefits of Native food ways using the knowledge passed onto her.