The mission of Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples is to build the capacity of Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples to protect sacred lands, waters, and cultures. Geŋa is a 10,000+-year-old village site in shared Acjachemen and Tongva homelands and one of the few remaining coastal open spaces in Orange County, California.
Geŋa had been desecrated through the operation of oil fields since the 1940s. This sacred 401-acre coastal site of wetlands and coastal buffs where the Santa Ana River meets the Pacific Ocean has recently been transferred to the conservation-oriented public agency, the Mountain Recreation Conservation Authority, through a process negotiated by the Trust for Public Land utilizing funds provided by the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the California Coastal Conservancy, additional federal and state agencies, and individual donors.
MRCA has secured funding from the State Coastal Conservancy to support the development of a Tribal Access and Engagement Plan, Natural Resource Management Plan, and Public Access and Engagement Plan. MRCA adopted a unanimous resolution in 2022 designating SPI as the organization to support the development of the Tribal Access & Engagement Plan. Over the next two years SPI will work with MRCA and other project partners to develop an Inter-Stakeholder Community Advisory Board to inform each of the plans, and support the development of a long-term stewardship plan that includes Tribal voices and priorities.
