Cultural Programs and Workshops
In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors: Renewing Támal-ko Cultural Pathways for Future Generations
Our Vision
Renewing Indigenous cultural knowledge is a vital step in decolonizing ourselves, our communities, and homelands. Learning the ways of our ancestors strengthens the momentum of reawakening and renewing our ancestral relationships. As we embrace ourselves as Indigenous people and greet each other as relatives, we break free from the colonial systems designed to erase our existence – The Alliance works to honor and share Támal-ko history and culture–so that future generations may walk in the footsteps of their ancestors and steward the land and water that sustained us for time immemorial.
The Attempted Erasure of Támal-ko History
For thousands of years into present day generations of Támal-ko people made their homes on the shores of Tamal-liwa, continuing the intimate relationship of the ecosystems of the Pacific coast and bays. The ancestral homelands of Támal-ko people are now part of Point Reyes National Seashore, which receives millions of visitors from around the world each year. Yet Támal-ko history, culture, and language remains largely invisible, across the park and beyond.
While the Park honors the 170-year history of settler cattle-ranching with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, nearly 15,000 years of Támal-ko history, culture, and land stewardship is buried–and the voices of Támal-ko ancestors silenced. Today the house at Felix Cove remains empty and vandalized, with no signage indicating its significance as the home of the last Támal-ko family, Felix Family, to live on their ancestral lands on the western shores of Tamal-liwa.
future generations can walk in the footsteps of our Támal-ko ancestors.”
Theresa Harlan, Founder & Director
“We’re fighting to save our home and ancestral land so that
Re-Indigenizing Our Home through Cultural Pathways
We must bring back the vitality of Indigenous pathways, the spirit of living with Mother Earth, as practiced by our ancestors.
Through developing a range of powerful cultural programs and workshops, the Alliance is creating opportunities for community members–and particularly for children and youth–to engage closely with Támal-ko history and culture.
Welcoming Our Ancestors Home: Building Community Knowledge of Tule Canoes: In 2022, we launched our first culturally-grounded program focused on the traditional use of tule canoes used by Támal-ko people for thousands of years. We commissioned Indigenous artist Redbird Willie to teach a series of workshops leading to the building of a traditional tule canoe/sáka. The process brought community members together in extraordinary ways, culminating in a celebration launch of our tule canoe–the first Felix family-community-built tule canoe to touch the shores of Felix Cove in likely over 300 years. This powerful experience demonstrated we are creating the path forward for future generations to know the ways of the ancestors.
“We could have defined our work purely as advocacy and organizing but, as we listened to the land and the water, the message was clear. The land and the water needed us to do the things our ancestors did for millennia. The land wanted to hear the old songs but most importantly the land wanted us to remember how to be in relationship with each other and with all beings.”
- Ámate Perez, Strawberry Sisters Leadership Circle
Indigenous Youth Kayaking Program: In 2023, we expanded our cultural programming to focus on connecting Indigenous youth (ages 12-24) to Támal-ko ancestral practices. We were honored to partner with Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS), LGBTQ Connection Napa-Sonoma and Blue Waters Kayaking to offer a summer of kayak trips and tule canoe workshops. With our tule canoe team of Redbird Willie, Victoria Canby and Greg Reza we harvested tule and built a tule canoe to re-establish the sacred connection to Tamal-liwa . Songs of blessings were offered by Indigenous relatives as bundles of tule began to transform into a canoe. Excitement and delight were in the air as the youth took turns paddling the tule canoe made by their hands on Tamal-liwa.
We offered activities at the Point Reyes Harvest Festival with curriculum designed by Victoria Canby, an educator and member of our Strawberry Sisters Leadership Circle. Parents and children sorted, counted and tied tule bundles into toy canoes–learning about the use of tule and Támal-ko people. Victoria designed a Felix Cove zine with lessons about rematriation, ecological habitats, and tule canoes for coloring and construction into a small booklet.
Our Vision for Rematriation: Creating the Felix Family Living History Center and Ecological Garden at Felix Cove
Our ultimate goal is to return Felix Cove to Indigenous care, creating a transformational space where all are welcome to deepen their relationship to Mother Earth, build community, advocate for justice, and honor Indigenous resilience.
As part of that work, we are working with Támal-ko/Coast Miwok descendants and Indigenous partners to envision a future for Felix Cove that will be a space for opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members to learn about Támal-ko history, culture, language, food, and the ecosystem of plant and animal beings who know the cove as home and a source of nourishment. It is time for us to return home to our ancestors and relearn Indigenous ecological practices and heal the wounds of injustice to illuminate a path for future generations.
Join us in bringing justice to a stolen land.
Now is the time to advocate for change! The National Park Service is listening.
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“They [Coast Miwok/Támal-ko people] have been connected with this land far longer than the National Park Service, the ranchers and other people who got here due to colonialism.”
- Craig Kenkel, Superintendent, Point Reyes National Seashore
The Mercury News, Monday, Sept 25, 2023