COMMUNITY NEWS
Amah Mutsun Has A New Leader
Raymond Hitchcock Aims to Protect Sacred Sites, Mentor Youth
T
he new executive director of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust is Raymond Hitchcock, who came from Wilton Rancheria, where he was tribal chairman and CEO. Hitchcock is the first Native in this post, succeeding EkOngKar Singh Khalsa. “He understands firsthand the challenges Native people face every day,” Valentine Lopez, president and chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, said of Hitchcock. Lopez said Hitchcock led Wilton Rancheria through the federal process to put land into Trust for the Tribe after being landless for almost 60 years, enhanced internal tribal capacity, and led the effort to permit, fund, and start construction of a $600 million gaming facility in Elk Grove while successfully running a local countertop business. “His strength has been his ability to build and maintain effective relationships within his community, and we know he
removal from their lands by the will do this here, while carSpanish. The goal is to redisrying out our many programs cover Mutsun history, culture and projects,” Lopez said. and identity and to share this Amah Mutsun Land Trust, information with the Tribe and established in 2014, holds a the general public. 96-acre conservation easement In Wilton, Hitchcock was near Año Nuevo State Park, the leader and spokesman for a cultural easement at Midthe Tribe and dealt with everyPeninsula Regional Open Raymond Hitchcock thing from expanding tribal Space District’s Mt. Umunhum and works closely with California’s resources and managing nine departments Department of Parks and Recreation at and a staff of 27 to lobbying the State LegQuiroste Valley, a designated California islature and Congress to award the Tribe 36 acres in 2017, its first property since 1958. State Cultural Preserve. The Amah Mutsun Land Trust also He served on the executive board of the manages native plant gardens at San Juan California Nations Indian Gaming AssoBautista State Park, Castle Rock State Park, ciation, was appointed by Gov. Newsom to UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, and at Pie the Tribal Nations Grant Fund, and served on the California Department of Social Ranch on the Santa Cruz coast. The Land Trust is committed to Service’s Tribal Advisory Committee on working with university scholars and Indian child welfare issues. Groundbreaking on the casino and others to better understand Mutsun history, culture, traditions, and ceremonies 300+room hotel complex with a ballroom, spa that were lost starting with the brutal and meeting facilities, was March 9, with the
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project estimated to create 1,600 jobs during construction and 1,750 full-time job when it opens, according to Casino News Daily. Hitchcock, who began his new job April 19, is passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of Indian people and believes this can be accomplished through hard work, determination, and persistence. He said he is “humbled and honored to be offered this opportunity” to work for Amah Mutsun Land Trust and “to create opportunities for tribal youth to protect and restore the places most sacred to the Mutsun people. I will do everything in my power to ensure that these places are protected and accessible to the Mutsun Tribe, and other Tribes, while working hard to expand and enhance AMLT’s flagship program, the Native Stewardship Corps, which employs Native youth.” He added, “I am also very excited to mentor our Native youth so they become the next generation of land trust leaders.” n
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