Our culture is beautiful. 

Our people are strong.

We’ve been in our homeland all along, like before.

We’re in our homeland today—and we’ll be here tomorrow, too.

'ottoy (Repair)

Everything we do is oriented toward mending: the land, the culture, the relationships between Ohlone people and our home. We do not accept unjust conditions imposed on us; we act from a place of hope.

Ohlone Leadership

Our work is led by Ohlone people, guided by our elders, and accountable to our community. Partnerships are welcome and important; Ohlone vision and authority are not negotiable.

Place-Specificity

Our knowledge, our food, our land management practices, and our culture are hyper-local — rooted in the specific microclimates, plants, and histories of the San Francisco Bay Area. This specificity is a source of strength, not a limitation.

Beauty and Dignity

We represent our culture with care and intention. The aesthetics of our work — at Cafe Ohlone, in our gardens, in our communications — reflect the vibrancy, beauty, and permanent relationship of Ohlone life.

Reciprocity

We believe that the health of the land and the health of our community are inseparable and that relationships — with partners, with the public, with the land itself — must be genuinely mutual.