How a Coast Miwok Group Is Buying Back a Piece of Their Ancestral Land in Marin

Matt Dolkas - MALT

By Matt Dolkas, Senior Manager, Marketing

September 25, 2023

When Joe Sanchez was 8 years old, his grandmother asked him to make a promise to never forget his California Indian heritage. She was determined to see the culture live on, after watching her brothers deny their Coast Miwok ancestry, a matter of economic survival in early 20th century California.

More stories like this:

An Anna's hummingbird hovers among willow branches

The Skydiving Love Language of Anna’s Hummingbirds

March 12, 2025

Anna’s hummingbirds perform a dramatic mating ritual this time of year, revealing their oversized role in our ecosystems.

Read More

A farmer on a blue tractor plowing a vegetable field against a backdrop of green hills

Preserving Agriculture in the Face of Current Federal Challenges

March 11, 2025

We believe in local farmers and ranchers. We believe in the lands they steward and the regional economy they support. We believe in our community. Successful agriculture requires consistent inputs – of labor, of time, and of capital. Over the past several weeks, an unprecedented number of federal executive orders and other administrative actions have…

Read More

Cultivating Change: Women Farmers and Ranchers of Marin County

March 3, 2025

In 1980, while many were focused on Silicon Valley’s emerging tech boom, two remarkable women in Marin County were quietly launching an agricultural revolution that would reshape land conservation across America. Ellen Straus, a Point Reyes dairy farmer, and Phyllis Faber, a wetlands biologist, founded the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) with a revolutionary vision:…

Read More