Albany council pauses proposed land‑acknowledgement rewrite after tribal objections and public outcry

Albany—ity Councilmembers on July 21 declined to act on a proposed rewrite of the city—arth/land acknowledgement after numerous members of the Confederated Villages of the Lishan Nation and community allies urged the council to consult the nation first.

The item had been introduced by Mayor Robin Lopez and Vice Mayor Peggy McQuade as a refresh of the city cknowledgement language. Council members said the item was intended to be inclusive of multiple regional Ohlone groups and to update phrasing, but public speakers representing or allied with the Confederated Villages of the Lishan Nation said the proposed change risked erasing an existing, working relationship between the city and that tribe.

Tribal and community objections Tribal Chair Karina Gold (identified in public comment) read a prepared statement urging the council not to proceed without direct consultation: “We strongly encourage the city of Albany not to vote on the changes to the land acknowledgement tonight, but to set up a meeting with our tribe before any changes are made.” The Confederated Villages of the Lishan Nation elegation described years of formal and informal collaboration with city staff, past mayors and local educators, and said the proposed process disregarded that relationship.

Multiple Albany residents, teachers and community leaders supported the Lishan Nation—all to delay. Laura Callan, a parent and a member of a curriculum collective working with the tribe, told council she and local teachers had cooperated for years to integrate Ohlone history into K‑12 classrooms and said a unilateral change would undermine that work. Reverend Deborah Lee, who described interfaith partnerships with the nation, said changing the text without consultation would be “a symbol of us being a bad partner.”

Council response and outcome After more than an hour of public comment, Mayor Robin Lopez apologized for shortcomings in the process and acknowledged the council had not sufficiently consulted the tribe. He said the council would not move forward on the proposed language at this meeting and signaled a willingness to pursue a more deliberate process: “As your mayor, for item 11‑2, we will be taking no action on this item.”

Councilmembers discussed approaches including creating an ad‑hoc committee to facilitate respectful consultation; city legal staff warned that forming an ad‑hoc without prior public notice could raise Brown Act concerns and advised against ad‑hoc discussion not agendized. The meeting record shows the council opted to take no action and to consider future steps through an appropriately agendized process.

Why it matters Land acknowledgements are symbolic statements that many local governments use to recognize indigenous peoples who historically stewarded a place. For Albany, members of the Lishan Nation and allied educators argued the phrasing matters because it represents long‑standing, active partnerships — including curriculum work, ceremonial events and land stewardship — and that changing the wording without consultation would further marginalize those tribal partners.

Quote “We are appalled that the city of Albany is advocating for this erasure of our — the changes to the land acknowledgement flagrantly disregards years of service,” Tribal Chair Karina Gold said in public comment.

Next steps Councilmembers said they will not pursue the proposal in its current form and suggested returning with an agendized item after consultation; specific next steps, timelines and participants were not set at the July 21 meeting.

Ending The item was left without action and may return to the council after an agendized, consultative process; several speakers stressed that any revision should begin with direct conversations with the Lishan Nation and other Ohlone communities rather than being decided unilaterally by the city.