Building regional capacity for Native American Tribal alliances
Our goal is to build the region’s capacity for the exchange of resources (e.g. land, power, knowledge, skills) between local Tribes and Tribal organizations and non-Native organizations.
As a coalition, we are collaborating to support tribal sovereignty, right historical wrongs, and create a just and healthy region. This is one way we address the climate and biodiversity crises, colonization, structural racism, and injustices being perpetuated today.
Redbud Resource Group has been an essential partner in this work since 2021. Consider supporting their work with a donation.
Right Relations
Our flagship program to build capacity for Tribal alliances is Right Relations. Right Relations, a program co-designed and co-led with Redbud Resource Group, is a 9-month, cohort-based program that supports alliances with local Native American communities through learning, action, and community. We are catalyzing collective action for healthy lands, people, and communities and building the region’s capacity to strengthen Tribal sovereignty.
Since launching a pilot program in 2022, over 100 people representing these 25 organizations have participated in the program:
- Brown Girl Surf
- California Academy of Sciences
- Coastside Land Trust
- East Bay Municipal Utility District
- Golden Gate Bird Alliance
- Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
- Grassroots Ecology
- Green Foothills
- John Muir Land Trust
- Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
- Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation
- LandPaths
- Lawrence Hall of Science
- Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
- National Park Service – 4Parks of the East Bay
- Peninsula Open Space Trust
- Presidio Trust
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
- Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship
- Save the Redwoods League
- Sempervirens Fund
- Sonoma County Ag + Open Space
- Sonoma Land Trust
- TOGETHER Bay Area
- YES Nature to Neighborhoods
The Right Relations program consists of:
Phase One
Phase One is for professionals and practitioners who feel motivated to foster relationships between Native American Tribes, Tribal communities and non-Native led organizations. This one-of-its-kind program is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity to learn and grow individually, organizationally, and collectively through meaningful experiences curated and led by local Native American leaders. Participating organizations make a commitment to taking action based on what they learn in the program.
Announcing plans for a Phase One cohort in 2026! The program, which will begin in January and conclude in October, will provide opportunities for learning, community, and collective action. Space is limited to 15 TOGETHER Bay Area member organizations with 3 participants from each organization. Applications are due on November 7, 2025.
Phase Two
Phase Two is for people who have participated in Phase One and want to continue the learning and connections that they experienced in Phase One. They will deepen their understanding of Tribal relations while building a sense of community with peers from around the region. Phase Two focuses on the organizations’ action plans through learning new material not covered in Phase One and with additional resources and support.
The 2025-2026 Phase Two cohort are meeting online, in person, and in the field between September 2025 – March 2026. The participating organizations are:
- East Bay Municipal Utility District
- Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
- Grassroots Ecology
- John Muir Land Trust
- Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
- LandPaths
- Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
- Presidio Trust
- San Francisco Public Utitlies Commission
- Sempervirens Fund
- Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
- Sonoma Land Trust
Restoring Right Relations
Restoring Right Relations is a leadership program for California Native community members who want to build leadership skills, grow positive relationships within Indian country, and develop skills for implementing projects in their communities. It is designed and led by Redbud Resource Group, in partnership with diverse tribes and Native community leaders from across the state. Learn more >
Ongoing Opportunities
In addition to the Right Relations program, TOGETHER Bay Area and Redbud Resource Group host opportunities to learn and take action for building Tribal alliances throughout the year.
Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements
Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements is an interactive, online 2.5 hour workshop for individuals seeking to grow their allyship with Native peoples. Participants learn about the strengths and limitations of land acknowledgements and explore concrete, action-oriented strategies for building connections with Native communities and organizations.
TOGETHER Bay Area has reserved 10 spots in workshops throughout the year for people who work for our member organizations. Anyone who works at our member organizations can apply: all departments, at any level. Check the calendar to find an upcoming GBLA and register for space by emailing [email protected] with the date you would like to attend. First come, first served!
Together Conference
Our annual Together Conference features opportunities to build alliances with Native American tribes and communities for healthy lands, people, and communities. Past conferences have included Native speakers, Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements introductory trainings, workshops on building Tribal alliances, field trips featuring Tribal partnerships, film screenings, the Round Valley Feather Dancers, and more. Learn more >
Redbud Resource Group’s Resources
Redbud Resource Group offers an abundance of educational resources on how to take action beyond land acknowledgements, from videos to blog posts to databases and more. Learn more >
Inspirations and Acknowledgements
The Right Relations program is grounded in needs expressed by TOGETHER Bay Area members. In 2020-2021, a collection of TOGETHER Bay Area members expressed the need to build their capacity to build Tribal sovereignty and transfer resources (financial, staff and consultants, land, power) to Native American tribes and organizations without those resources. Specifically, we heard:
From TOGETHER Bay Area’s Native-led member organizations:
- We can’t afford to live in our ancestral territory.
- We want to own, manage, and/or steward land in our ancestral territory.
- We don’t have the funding or staff capacity to own, manage, or steward lands.
- The criteria and process for getting a collecting / gathering permit for cultural or medicinal plants from public land management agencies are inconsistent, confusing, and insulting.
- Our land trust is growing and we want to learn from other land trusts about how to do this work.
From TOGETHER Bay Area’s non-Native-led organizations members – which include Indigenous, Black, People of Color, and white led organizations:
- We want to return land to the original stewards of these lands.
- I don’t know what Tribe I should talk to because there isn’t a federally recognized Tribe where I am.
- I contacted a Tribe or group but I haven’t heard back.
- Am I doing harm if I work with two different Indigenous groups?
- We are confident that there is a shellmound under a parking lot on public land we manage, we want to remove the parking lot, and return the land to the local Tribe.
- Our staff want to create a land acknowledgement that we use organization-wide, and our Board is resisting it.
To respond to these needs, we designed and convened a pilot program in 2022-2023 in partnership with Redbud Resource Group. The Redbud team drew from their personal and professional experiences, especially their Going Beyond Land Acknowledgement workshops. Learn more about the pilot program here.
Right Relations stands on the shoulders of people who came before us and leaders in the field, including but not limited to:
- First Light Learning Journey
- The UNTraining
- Decolonizing transformations through ‘right relations’ by Irmelin Gram-Hanssen, Nicole Schafenacker & Julia Bentz
- 2012-2014 Capacity Building Cohort, SD Bechtel Jr Foundation
- Margaret Wheatley’s book, Turning To One Another
- Dr. Manuel Pastor’s writing about transformation, transactions, and translations
We thank David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Sobrato Philanthropies for providing financial support for the pilot program.
We thank the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for their continued support of Phase One and Two in 2024 and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District for their support of the 2024 Right Relations program.
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation continues to support this program in 2025-2026, and for that we continue to be grateful.
News
Remembering, Weaving, and Diving into Right Relations
The grounding and launching of Phase Two
Circus performers, porcupines, and 30×30 in San Diego
Last week I traveled to San Diego to participate in California’s 30×30 Partnership Summit. And what I saw blew my mind.
Right Relations: A Year of Impact
In October, individuals from the 20 organizations participating in the 2024 Right Relations program gathered for the culminating event of the year: It was time to share their action plans to support alliances with local Native American communities.
Upcoming Events
We partner with Redbud Resource Group to promote their Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements workshop. Upcoming workshops are:
- Tuesday, November 6, 2025, 10:00 am–12:30 pm
Learn more and register here.
Contact
Annie Burke, Executive Director