The proposal was first started in 2018, and that’s when Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf partnered with Corrina Gould, co-director of Sogorea Te’ and spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan. At a press conference held on Joaquin Miller Road last Thursday, Schaaf noted the importance of giving reparations and said the plan would allow Indigenous communities to begin to heal from colonization.
Under the proposed plan, Oakland would keep ownership of the region, but the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust would maintain control over the area for cultural and educational purposes.
City Councilmember Sheng Thao, who represents District 4, which includes Joaquin Miller Park, will host a Zoom meeting tomorrow with the tribe’s land trust to discuss the proposal. The plan still needs to go through City Council for final approval.
Joaquin Miller is a 500-acre park, larger than almost all of the city’s parks combined. The proposed agreement would give just one percent of the area to the tribe.
