Indian Canyon (formerly known as Indian Gulch) is the only federally recognized

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Country from Sonoma to the coast of Santa Barbara in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. As the only such place within the original

Costanoan The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...

Ohlone The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...

territory, anyone of Native American heritage can come to Indian Canyon to hold ceremonies on this sacred and traditional land. Until 1978, when the

American Indian Religious Freedom Act The American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Public Law No. 95–341, 92 Stat. 469 (Aug. 11, 1978) (commonly abbreviated to AIRFA), codified at , is a United States federal law, enacted by joint resolution of the Congress in 1978. Prior to the ac ...

was passed, Native Americans were prohibited from practicing traditional forms of spirituality. The canyon is a mile long, and contains canopies of trees, streams, and a cascading waterfall. The parcel contains more than 30 gathering areas and nine sweat lodges are available for ceremonies. The canyon's arbor is used for cultural storytelling, chanting, and dancing that bring together

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

from around the world, from the Maori of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

to the Gwich’in of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Ann-Marie Sayers and the reclamation of Indian Canyon

Anne Marie Sayers is a

Mutsun Mutsun (also known as San Juan Bautista Costanoan) is a Utian language spoken in Northern California. It was the primary language of a division of the Ohlone people living in the Mission San Juan Bautista area. The Tamien Nation and band is cu ...

Ohlone leader and the former tribal chair of the Indian Canyon Nation. She was born and raised in Indian Canyon, on her great grandfather’s trust allotment – a piece of land granted to an individual Native American – which had been established in 1911. In a landmark 8-year case ending in 1998, Sayers used the Dawes Act (also known as the Allotment Act of 1887) to reclaim land in the Indian Canyon, that had belonged to her family for centuries. Sayers is also the Director of the Costanoan Indian Research, Inc., an organization based in the Indian Canyon, dedicated to the preservation and return of native artifacts to their tribal groups. In 2015, during Pope Francis' visit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Sayers joined religious leaders across the country to protest fracking. Sayers' story is the subject a short documentary, ''In the Land of My Ancestors,'' produced by photojournalist Rucha Chitnis.

References

{{authority control Native American history of California Native American leaders Native American tribes in California Ohlone Costanoan populated places Native American activists Native American culture