The land trust said the acquisition is a “powerful step” in the organization’s 10-year history. After building our organizational capacity, we are positioned to move into the next phase of AMLT—acquiring lands for long-term Tribal stewardship.”The land, renamed tooromakma hinse nii, is part of the greater Juristac landscape, a critical cultural and sacred space for the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, says the press release. “Our ancestors lived on these lands for thousands of years and hundreds of generations,” Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman Valentin Lopez said. “The Amah Mutsun people believe that it is our responsibility to care for our plant, two-legged and four-legged relatives until the last sunrise,” Lopez added. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band does not believe they own the land in their ancestral territory, but that the land is their creator’s and that tribe members have a sacred responsibility to steward it.