Storytelling
From Our Mothers’ Kitchen Tables: Our Ancestral Stories of Tamal-liwa (Tomales Bay)
Our Vision
As California continues its reckoning to address the injustices committed against Indigenous peoples of the state, sharing the stories of our Támal-ko ancestors of Tamal-liwa (Tomales Bay) is a strategy both to affirm our Indigenous existence and diminish the impact of settler colonialism. We make visible the lives of Támal-ko (Coast MIwok) people who lived and thrived in the Point Reyes Peninsula from 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 and culture remains largely invisible, across the park and beyond.
Nearly 28,000 acres of the Seashore are reserved for ranching, while only 1.5 acres are dedicated to undestanding Támal-ko history and telling Támal-ko stories at Kule Loklo. Yet this site sits in ruins, waiting to be refreshed. While the 170-year history of settler cattle-ranching is honored 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.
Amplifying Indigenous Narratives
At the Alliance for Felix Cove, we believe the true story of Támal-ko people must be told–and the narrative guided by descendants themselves.
Through launching an Indigenous-led public education campaign, the Alliance has been successful with increasing the public’s awareness of the cultural survivance of Támal-ko people into modernity, adding skills and technology to their ancestral knowledge and practices. By increasing media coverage, publishing editorials, and speaking at events across the region, we are amplifying Támal-ko perspectives on the vital need to protect delicate ecosystems now threatened by climate change and exacerbated by the impact of cattle ranching. By bringing Indigenous stories into narratives around California’s history and contemporary realities, we are ensuring the voices of our ancestors can no longer be ignored or forgotten.
Voices of Tamal liwa
Stories of family and resilience
Launched in early 2023, our digital storytelling project honors the stories of the Támal-ko families of Tamal-liwa through the voices of their descendants–daughters, sons, and grandchildren.
Our groundbreaking Támal-ko Digital Storytelling project - Voices of Tamal liwa - unearths and makes visible the lives of Támal-ko people who lived and thrived in the Point Reyes Peninsula. This initiative represents the first ever digital storytelling effort led by descendants and allies to support Coast Miwok/Támal-ko people in sharing their own stories and the stories of their ancestors.
Our vision for this project is to significantly increase community awareness of Támal-ko history, the impact of colonialism on Támal-ko people and ancestral homelands, and the importance of rematriating Támal-ko homelands to protect them for future generations. Join us in creating a platform for Támal-ko ancestors to be heard.
This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org
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, Former Superintendent,
Point Reyes National Seashore
The Mercury News, Monday, Sept 25, 2023