Health Commission to consider Ramaytush Ohlone land‑acknowledgement at next meeting; community leaders outline parallel policy work

The Health Commission received an introduction to a draft land‑acknowledgement recognizing the Ramaytush Ohlone as the original stewards of land that includes the City and County of San Francisco and agreed to consider adoption at an upcoming meeting.

Patrick Chang (Office of Policy and Planning) presented the draft resolution and said it was developed with input from community partners including Dr. Anthony Cordero and representatives from the American Indian Cultural District. The draft would add a read‑aloud land‑acknowledgement to Health Commission and other DPH public meetings and includes language recognizing the Ramaytush Ohlone and the American Indian communities’ historic exclusion from some government planning fora.

Dr. Anthony Cordero, speaking for the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, thanked staff for a deliberate, community‑led process and said the acknowledgement should help focus departmental attention on indigenous health needs. Commissioners discussed whether to attach more explicit policy commitments to the acknowledgement. Several commissioners recommended keeping the acknowledgement as a distinct statement while pursuing a separate, community‑led health equity resolution that would set priorities and actions to address gaps in services and data for American Indian populations.

DPH staff and community leaders described their intention to keep the land‑acknowledgement language focused and to develop complementary, policy‑oriented work on health priorities and funding through a separate process informed by community leaders. The commission did not vote on the resolution at this meeting; staff said they will bring the item back for action on August 3.