NISENAN MIWOK COLLECTIVE
Nisenan Miwok Collective Mission Statement:
Through Ancestral Guidance, we work to support Land and Water Restoration, Food Sovereignty, Cultural Practices and ceremonies, and the inherent Right to Self-determination and Economic Resiliency for our People,
The Southern Hill Nisenan of the Sierra Nevada.
Guiding Principles:
Centered on the Land, Our Culture and Our People
Our Traditions, Cultural Values, and People are at the center of all that we do.
Building Community
We have a responsibility to honor each other with Trust, Respect, and Generosity and will work together to build a community based on these values.
Stewardship
Native Peoples are essential in returning Mother Earth to her inherent healthy ecosystems - Healthy Soil, Water, and Air. The goal for the Collective is to regain lands within our Ancestral Territories, to Steward the land through regenerative practices utilizing the Traditional Ecological Knowledge practiced by our people since the beginning of time, and finally through partnerships that have been forged, to eventually build an Outdoor Field Lab that will be used to help train other tribal communities, so that we build capacity in land management together, using the ways practiced by Indigenous people for thousands of years.
Who We Are
The Nisenan Miwok Collective 501c3 is the nonprofit arm of the Southern Hill Nisenan Tribal community. While the Southern Hill Nisenan Band represents the people, families, and cultural leadership of our Nation, Nisenan Miwok Collective operates as the 501(c)(3) organization that carries out programs, partnerships, and fundraising to support our people and our work.
Through the Collective, we advance land and water restoration, food sovereignty, cultural revitalization, and community business endevors—ensuring that the traditions, stewardship, and voice of the Southern Hill Nisenan continue to guide the future of our ancestral lands.
Tom Lewis Jr. Grandson of Headsman Hol-Lah - 1874
Chief Hunchup, his wife Suzie Sally Mountain Hunchup, and his sister at the Nisenan Village Site of Koot-Bah. Photo by C. Hart Merriam Dec 2, 1904.
Statement of Need
The Southern Hill Nisenan remain largely landless within our Ancestral Territories in El Dorado County and the Plymouth region due to historic dispossession following first discovery of Gold in our village site of Coloma, and the unratified 1851 Treaty J singed by our Headsman. Today, this lack of land access continues to limit our ability to practice Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Land and River way Restoration, and regenerative farming systems that sustain healthy soil, water, biodiversity, and food networks in this region for thousands of years.
El Dorado County includes more than 1.1 million acres of diverse ecosystems, yet increasing wildfire intensity, watershed degradation, and soil erosion threaten both environmental and agricultural sustainability. At the same time, food insecurity impacts an estimated 12.8% of residents in the region, and rural access barriers limit equitable participation in local food systems.
By restoring access to land within our Ancestral Territory, the Nisenan Miwok Collective seeks to integrate TEK with regenerative farming practices to rebuild soil health, protect the Cosumnes River watershed, expand native seed propagation, and strengthen pollinator habitats.
This work advances Food Sovereignty — the right of our People to grow, harvest, and distribute culturally relevant foods through ecologically sustainable systems — while strengthening climate resilience, economic opportunity, and Self-Determination for the Southern Hill Nisenan and our broader community.
Treaty J was signed by Nisenan Huk (Headsman) ‘Inkoi, Mo-tos, Hol-Lah, and Boyer at the Nisenan Village Site located near the central hub of the Southern Hill Nisenan Nation.
We honor our people's legacy through engagement with our community, State Parks, El Dorado County, local schools, and businesses throughout both El Dorado County and Plymouth, California.
Seen above is Headsman Hol-Lah, signatory of the 1851 Treaty J, signed at Southern Hill Nisenan central Hub
Ancestral Lands
The boundaries of the Southern Hill Nisenan encompass an area “West to the lower edge of the timber where the digger pine and blue oak are, to Latrobe then to Salmon Falls on the South Fork American River down to Michigan Bar named for the water oak on the Cosumnes River”.
Treaty J occurred in the settlement central to the Southern Hill Nisenan Territory, at the confluence of two streams at the northernmost area of the Treaty Lands designated to be the reservation. Covering an area of 6-miles by 11-miles the settlement consisted of the contact period Anglo places of Nashville, Bay State, Enterprise, Shannondoah, Plymouth, Shingle Spings, Placerville, and habitation areas along the North and Middle Forks of the Cosumnes River. The Southern edge of the Hill Nisenan Territory reaches south past Plymouth and into the fluid boundry between the Hill Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok. The treaty encampment of the military was located on the northern point of the reservation land designated for occupancy.
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Meet the Team
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Laura Galvan
Hill Nisenan Tribal Member
Chairwoman
Nisenan Miwok Collective
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Regina Martinez
Hill Nisenan Tribal Member
Board Member
Culture Keeper
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David Galvan
Hill Nisenan Tribal Member
Board Member
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Kimberly Tripp
Board Member
Hill Nisenan Tribal Member
Treasurer
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Jr. Valdez
Board Member
Hill Nisenan Tribal Member
Historian and Inter Tribal Outreach