
Life Begins in Water
When: Saturday, November 15, 9:30am: Registration and Coffee, Fruit and Pastries 10am-1pm: Workshop + Storytelling for all Ages Where: Capay Open Space Regional Park (15603
Please take a moment to acknowledge the land on which we are gathered. For thousands of years, this land has been the home of Patwin people. Today, there are three federally recognized Patwin tribes: Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Additionally, we understand that there are unrecognized native peoples (i.e., not politically affiliated to any tribe) who live in our cities and neighborhoods as well.
The Patwin people have remained committed to the stewardship of this land over many centuries. It has been cherished and protected, as elders have instructed the young through generations. We are honored and grateful to be here today on their traditional lands.
We understand that land acknowledgements are just the beginning, and encourage community members to go beyond this symbolic gesture. Here are some ways to move your solidarity into action: https://nativegov.org/news/beyond-land-acknowledgment-guide/
Please take a moment to acknowledge the land on which we are gathered. For thousands of years, this land has been the home of Patwin people. Today, there are three federally recognized Patwin tribes: Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Additionally, we understand that there are unrecognized native peoples (i.e., not politically affiliated to any tribe) who live in our cities and neighborhoods as well.
The Patwin people have remained committed to the stewardship of this land over many centuries. It has been cherished and protected, as elders have instructed the young through generations. We are honored and grateful to be here today on their traditional lands.
We understand that land acknowledgements are just the beginning, and encourage community members to go beyond this symbolic gesture. Here are some ways to move your solidarity into action: https://nativegov.org/news/beyond-land-acknowledgment-guide/
We invite you to listen to stories of the pasts, presents, and latent futures of the Yolo bioregion, as you walk the landscape at Capay Open Space.
This storywalk is an audio tour of the Capay Open Space Park at the southern entrance of the Capay Valley, which introduces us to the site from a Wintun restoration ecology perspective. Participants are invited to walk the trails while listening to stories from Diana Almendariz (Wintun/Maidu culture-bearer) and Dillon McKay (educator, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation).
They introduce us to the creek, its importance for the Wintun people, and the destructive legacies of colonialism and industrialization that have undone this important natural-cultural relationship.
The storywalk also shines a light on the vital work of Wintun elder Bertha Mitchell, and on the importance of oaks, grey pines, elderberry, and black walnut, for both the human and animal inhabitants of the Yolo bioregion.

When: Saturday, November 15, 9:30am: Registration and Coffee, Fruit and Pastries 10am-1pm: Workshop + Storytelling for all Ages Where: Capay Open Space Regional Park (15603

Explore California Native Culture and Community Traditions Celebrate Acorn Day at the State Indian Museum in Sacramento on Saturday, October 18, 2025, from 10:00 AM

Using Ooti Maxine’s evocative painting as a spring board, this blog post (written by azade minasian and other collective members) examines the concept of disabled ecologies against the gendered medical history of lobotomies, to understand how extraction and mega-development are being used to lobotomize the land in the Yolo bioregion.
Visions of a restored creek ecosystem, paintings on homepage by Diana Almendariz
Two Earths, painting by Ooti Maxine
Event photos by Anuj Vaidya (Tule and Cattail) and Mootens Productions (Acorn Traditions)
Website design and development by David Abramson.