7 Books on the Indigenous History and Culture of Marin County
By Matt Dolkas,
Senior Manager, Marketing
November 1, 2024
Modern land conservation is undergoing a profound transformation as organizations like MALT grapple with difficult truths: many of our protected lands were first stolen from Native peoples, and traditional ecological knowledge often far surpasses conventional Western land management practices.
The land back movement challenges us to move beyond symbolic land acknowledgments toward meaningful action – returning land to Indigenous stewardship and sovereignty while amplifying Indigenous voices in conservation decisions.
Here in Marin County, where Coast Miwok peoples managed these landscapes for millennia through careful tending and prescribed burns, we’re beginning to see what this new paradigm might look like. As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month this November, it’s crucial to not only educate ourselves about the history of these lands but to actively support Indigenous-led conservation efforts and sovereignty.
The following reading list offers a pathway to deeper understanding of Marin County’s Indigenous history, traditional ecological knowledge, and the ongoing presence of Native peoples who continue to fight for their rights to ancestral territories. These books help illuminate both historical injustices and Indigenous resilience while pointing toward a future where conservation and Native sovereignty work hand in hand.
Enjoy!
Benjamin Madley
As the first historian to uncover the full extent of California’s genocide, Madley offers a thoroughly researched, intricate, and chilling account of this largely overlooked American tragedy.
Tsim D. Schneider
As a citizen of the federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Schneider provides an Indigenous perspective into the resistance of the mission systems, Western settlement and enduring colonialism.
Greg Sarris
As a Coast Miwok tribal leader writing deeply about his own life, Sarris weaves an intimate, revelatory narrative examining his journey as both a tribal leader and a seeker of ancestral connection.
William J. Bauer Jr.
Using oral histories of Concow, Pomo, and Paiute workers, Bauer reveals how Native peoples have experienced and interpreted the history of California. By blending these oral histories with creation myths, he underscores the significance of sacred landscapes, animals, and other nonhuman elements in shaping both place and identity.
Betty Goerke
Anthropologist and archaeologist Betty Goerke has meticulously reconstructed the life of this Native American leader, drawing from mission records, ethnographies, explorers’, and missionaries’ diaries, as well as their correspondence and other source materials.
Bett Goerke
Another must read Betty Goerke, who offers a detailed summary of the rich cultures of Point Reyes’ Indigenous history and rich culture. It provides a great introduction to both the landscape and the people who have tended this landscape for millennia.
Brendan C. Lindsay
Lindsay offers a thorough exploration of the state’s widespread genocide, giving us insight into one of the most distressing chapters in our collective past.
M. Kat Anderson
This exceptional analysis of the land management practices of Native Californians has played a pivotal role in redefining our collective comprehension of the state’s Indigenous cultures and their profound impact on the landscape.