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Miwok Group Buys Back Ancestral Land in Marin County

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A person holds up their hand to shield their eyes from the sun while looking out over a grassy hillside.
Coast Miwok Tribal Council member Dean Hoaglin looks out on ancestral land near Nicasio, Marin County, on July 21, 2023, which the tribe purchased with the help of a fundraising campaign earlier in the year. It's the first 'rematriation' of land in Marin and the latest in an international push to return land to indigenous stewardship. The tribal council plans to build a roundhouse for ceremonies on the property. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Marin County Site Of Land Buyback For Coastal Miwok Group

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. Today, at 75, Sanchez is making good on that promise in a more ambitious way than he ever imagined: He’s bought back a piece of his ancestral homeland.
Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño 

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