Basket Circle

The bi-monthly basket circle offers a way to connect with practices of our ancestors, and to create with natural materials in community. Our focus for Spring 2023 is on coil basketry. We are learning about the gathering and processing of materials such as pine needles and kelp, as well as a variety of stitches used to construct the baskets. In the fall, we plan to create a traditional canoe, constructed from local tule and cattail.

Language Class

We are working to revitalize the Ramaytush language through a partnership with linguists from the University of California, Berkeley. Our study group meets weekly to learn about the language and reconstruct conversation from the available records of our language, and what is known of neighboring languages.

Renaming ‘Burnham’ Park

For thousands of years, ‘Chiguan’ (pronounced CHEE-Guan) was the Indigenous name for the area encompassing El Granada when the Indigenous Ramaytush people thrived here. The Ramaytush did not stay in one spot on this land as we tend to today. They lived transitory lives – moving in harmony with the seasons, land, creeks, sky and sea. 

Renaming the park is not only beneficial to the children and future generations, but is also a way of acknowledging and honoring the living descendants of the Ramaytush people who lived in reciprocity with the land called El Granada.  We believe that re-establishing environmentally responsible principles today starts with the naming of this park and the programs it could offer.  The Chiguan name offers an enriched perspective and the hope of a wider appreciation of the land, its care, and history.