The Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa (pronounced Tar-a-haht pah-hava) Conservancy is a Tongva-led org created to steward lands in Tovaangar, the traditional Tongva region, encompassing the greater LA basin. The Conservancy has received land back, is creating community for and housing Native people, practicing traditional ceremony, creating a Native archive, and rematriating the land.
Taraxat is the Tongva word for Indigenous people plural. It is used here in the sense that this conservancy is intended to preserve the people and the culture of the Tongva as well as the land. Paxaavxa is the Tongva word for a piece of land.
Kuuyam Nahwá’a
Kuuyam nahwá’a is a Tongva peoples concept that means guest exchange: a belief that when given a chance to affect history in a positive way that a human being would make the just move. It’s a voluntary recurring contribution people and institutions can make to support Tongva-led Land Back efforts acknowledging both relationships and reciprocity to lands and Native Peoples of Tovaangar, this place many of us now call home.
Your recurring kuuyam nahwá’a directly supports with Tongva-led land return, housing Tribal members, community-building, ceremony, archiving, and rematriating land. We invite you to reflect on what would be a meaningful exchange as a way of going beyond land acknowledgment by exchanging a monetary gift as a way to help the Native people whose land you reside on.