We are raising the funds to acquire roughly 40 acres of California land for permanent Indigenous stewardship — a place for ceremony, expanded Indigifarms operations, and the lifelong care of our mustang herd.
Sacred Tree of Life is an Indigenous-led 501(c)(3) working to revitalize precolonial culture, community, and connection. This campaign is about getting land back — specifically, acquiring acreage in the Tehachapi / Twin Oaks region of California where our work can take root for generations.
Land Back isn't a metaphor for us. It's an actual transfer of stewardship: returning land to Indigenous hands and using it to rebuild what colonization tried to erase.
On this land, we'll expand Indigifarms — cultivating sacred medicines and practicing traditional land stewardship the way it's been done since time immemorial. We'll create permanent, protected space for ceremony. We'll teach Indigenous languages, because language carries worldview, and reviving the language is reviving the way of seeing. We'll continue our wild mustang rescue and Indigenous-led equine therapy program — bringing horses home and putting their healing presence in service of our communities. And we'll deepen our work in restorative justice and holistic community health, grounded in wisdom that's been carried by these lands and these peoples for thousands of years.
Every dollar moves us closer to the deed. Every donor becomes part of an arc that doesn't end with this acquisition, or with this generation.
If you've been looking for somewhere meaningful to put your giving, this is it. We'd be honored to have you with us.
The Tehachapi / Twin Oaks region sits where the southern Sierra Nevada meets the high desert, with the Mojave climbing into oak savanna and pine. It's the kind of landscape our traditional medicines require — specific elevation, specific soil, seasonal water, and rangeland for the herd.
Indigenous peoples used this corridor for trade, ceremony, and seasonal migration long before California's borders were drawn. Returning land here continues a long-standing relationship between people and place.
The campaign is underway. Parcels have been scouted and a target closing date is set. Once the acquisition is complete, the land will hold ceremony, expanded Indigifarms cultivation, the mustang herd, and language teaching — protected by a conservation easement that prevents future resale or development.
A permanent site for sweat lodge, sun dance ground, prayer arbor, and the seasonal ceremonial cycle that organizes our year.
Expanded acreage for traditional medicines — tobacco, sage, sweetgrass, cedar — and traditional foods like choke cherry, sweet corn, and the crops this corridor's elevation, soil, and water make possible. All non-GMO, all from traditional strains.
Permanent rangeland for our rescued mustangs and new arrivals from BLM roundups, plus expanded space for our Indigenous-led equine therapy programming with Native youth, elders, and California community partners.
A site for Indigenous language teaching, intergenerational knowledge transfer, and apprenticeship in traditional cultivation and animal husbandry.
Our IRS determination letter came through, the fiscal sponsorship structure for restricted Land Back giving was put in place, and the Indigenous-majority board roster was seated.
Twenty acres of land acquired and brought into Indigenous stewardship — the first parcel in the campaign and the foundation for everything that follows.
Three candidate parcels in the corridor were identified and walked. We tested the soil, reviewed the water rights, and confirmed cultural significance with regional knowledge keepers.
Concurrent campaigns: community giving (you) and foundation grant applications for the acquisition itself.
A final parcel is selected. Title work, environmental review, water rights assignment, and access easements get completed. Escrow opens with a closing target before the end of the year.
Closing. We hold a welcome ceremony on the new land, and the first sweat happens at the new site. The herd moves over. So does the seed library. The work continues on land we now own.
The conservation easement is filed, the Indigenous governance structure is formalized, and the land is permanently protected from resale or development. Held for the next seven generations.
There are many ways to support this work. Sacred Tree of Life is a 501(c)(3); your contribution is tax-deductible.
Any amount. Every dollar lands directly on the campaign. Restricted to Land Back acquisition costs.
Give once →$25, $50, $100, or any amount each month. The most reliable foundation a campaign can have, and the most generous over time.
Become a monthly giver →$6,250 contributes a full acre of the parcel to permanent Indigenous stewardship. We keep a register of donors at this level, and you have a standing invitation to come walk the land.
Inquire →Donate appreciated securities or recommend a grant from your donor-advised fund. Often the most tax-efficient way to give large gifts.
Get instructions →If you are 70½ or older, you can give directly from your IRA — up to $105,000 per year, tax-free. Counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution.
Get instructions →Include Sacred Tree of Life in your estate. Bequests, charitable remainder trusts, and life-income gifts that protect the land for the seventh generation.
Speak with us →Yes. Sacred Tree of Life is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit. Your contribution is tax-deductible. We provide a written acknowledgment for any gift of $250 or more, and an annual giving statement to all donors.
For Sacred Tree of Life, Land Back means the return of California land to Indigenous stewardship — held by an Indigenous-led nonprofit, governed by Indigenous protocols, and kept for the use and benefit of Native communities in perpetuity. The acquisition will be permanently encumbered by a conservation easement that prevents resale or development.
Three reasons. Ecologically, the corridor's elevation, water, and rangeland are what our traditional medicines and our mustang herd require. Culturally, the region has been a meeting place of California Indigenous peoples since long before the state's borders were drawn. Practically, the parcels we have identified are the right size, the right access, and within reach of the broader Native community we serve.
Some parts. The mustang sanctuary and equine therapy program will host scheduled visits and programming. The Indigifarms cultivation areas will be open for educational tours. Ceremonial portions of the land will be reserved for ceremony and accessible only by invitation and with the appropriate protocol — which is how Indigenous communities have always held sacred space.
Gifts to the Land Back campaign are restricted — they fund acquisition costs (land price, closing, water rights, due diligence, conservation easement filing) and the foundational site infrastructure that opens immediately on closing. Operating expenses for the organization are funded separately. We publish an annual report with a full financial breakdown.
Yes to all three. Stock and DAF gifts are often the most tax-efficient way to give larger amounts. Email hello@sacredtreeoflife.org and we will send you the instructions for your situation.
You can carry the work in many ways. Sign up for our newsletter, share the campaign with people who might give, volunteer at ceremony or on the farm if you are local, or simply hold us in your prayers. None of these are smaller than a gift. Mitákuye Oyás'iŋ.
