By Jana Kadah. San José Spotlight.
The San Jose leaders want to delve deeper into the history of the local Indigenous community in an effort to understand the past and recommit to greater inclusion in the future.
San Jose Councilmembers Peter Ortiz, Dev Davis, David Cohen, Domingo Candelas and Bien Doan are proposing a study session to learn more about the relationship of the Muwekma Ohlone people, an indigenous tribe in Santa Clara County, with the rest of San Jose. The study session is planned for early next year, Ortiz said.
Ortiz hopes that by fully understanding the tribe's background, city officials will be more mindful about engaging the Muwekma Ohlone in discussions about developments that could affect their lands.
“We hope that local experts from San Jose State, Santa Clara University, anthropologists and stakeholders will be part of these conversations,” Ortiz told San Jose Spotlight.
The idea for a study session came about when Charlene Nijmeh, chairwoman of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, asked the city earlier this month to support the tribe's resolution calling for federal recognition. Recognition would allow the Muwekma Ohlone people to establish their own tribal government as well as receive some federal benefits such as health care, housing services and protections.
“Federal recognition recognizes the sovereignty of my people, and what sovereignty means is being able to govern ourselves and remain on our 10,000-year-old lands.”