The Muchia Te’ Indigenous Land Trust (MTILT) is an Indigenous women-led organization committed to advancing Indigenous stewardship, sovereignty and restoration of natural and cultural resources in the unceded Ramaytush homeland and neighboring Indigenous territories. We work to educate the public about our Ramaytush stories and accounts of dispossession and attempted genocide.
Catalina Gomes
Growing up in San José, Cata witnessed the transitions of the “Valley of the Heart’s Delight” into today’s “Silicon Valley”. She found refuge in the redwood forests living off the grid, establishing a closer relationship to the earth and the ocean.
As a young adult, Cata learned she was descended from the Salinan Tribe. It recently came to light that her family also has lineage to Ramaytush and Bay Miwok ancestry. The Mission Dolores records revealed Muchia Te’ as the family matriarch who links Cata’s lineage to the Ramaytush Tribe. She is dedicated to the rematriation of her ancestral homeland, and has named the land trust in her honor.
Ancestral Village
Timigtac, in the Aramai tribelet territory, is the home village of Cata’s family. This village is a half mile from the ocean, on the bank of Calera Creek, in present-day Pacifica. The name Timigtac means “the place of the whales.”
Cultural Revitalization
Our primary focus is recognizing and honoring our ancestors through cultural practices. We restore the connection to the ancestors by speaking our language, gathering traditional indigenous plants, and practicing traditional crafts.
Current programs include a weekly language study group, and a bi-monthly basket circle.
“We’re here to heal the land, and the land is here to heal us. So it’s a reciprocal relationship that we have with the land and the creatures here, the creek, the plants. We’re all here working together, struggling to bring forward a better future than what we’ve been exposed to.” — Cata Gomes