Location

7465 Steve Olson Ln, Forestville, CA 95436

Land Acknowledgement

Sonoma Earth School is honored to operate at Ya-Ka-Ama. As an outdoor school, our curriculum and the learning experience of our students is intimately intertwined with the history and character of the land. We acknowledge that the Southern Pomo People, one of the seven Pomo tribes of the region, were forcibly removed from this land through processes of colonization and genocide. We respect the work of Joe Holguin, Donald Stra, Frank Pinola, Reginald Pinola, Dave Smith, Delbert Pinola, Robert Lawson, John Trippo, Sydney Parrish and the others who fought in the 1970s to reclaim this Native land through occupation and legal proceedings in order to establish Ya-Ka-Ama as an inter-tribal nonprofit organization. Today this land rightfully stands as a site for dance, gardening, ceremony and education for all Native Peoples, including the local Southern Pomo tribes, Mishewal Wappo, the Koi Nation and Coast Miwok.

Rightfully named, Ya-Ka-Ama means “our land” in the Kashaya Pomo language. As outside guests, we at Sonoma Earth School are humbled to call this land our classroom and our teacher. We are committed to honoring both the history of this land and its current place in today’s Native community through our curriculum and organizational practices.

Thank you to Rose Hammock for her guidance and consultation in writing our land acknowledgement.

Ya-Ka-Ama is 127 acres. Mixed forests, open meadows, spring-fed creeks, hiking trails and access to the Russian River make this location ideal for our outdoor program.