Ho’ōla Kapu Roots
Sheep Ranch Rancheria of Me-wuk Indians of California

Ho’ōla Kapu Roots is the name for our sponge gatherings on Sierra Me-wuk territory with Kumu Mikilani Young.

The name can translate as “healing our sacred roots" and came to Kumu Mikilani Young before an SSC field trip to the ancestral homelands of the Sierra Me-wuk to tend the land together on behalf of the Ancestors — our own and those belonging to the place. 

Our aim is in healing ourselves and the lands where we are and reconnecting the threads of our Ancestors — from our physical heritage and metaphysical roots.

Ho’ōla means to heal; kapu refers to the sacred. Ho’ōla relates to healing and reconnecting to the totality of our ancestral roots and guides us to heal the Earth and the origins of the lands, which are tethered to Mother Earth's sacred womb or biome. When we heal Mother Earth, Mother Earth heals us. This relationship exists through sacred reciprocity. 

When we gather under the auspices of Ho’ōla Kapu Roots, we are healing our tangible, earthly roots as well as our intangible human nature. Ho’Ola Kapu Roots is imbued with many layers of meaning, the intricacies of which are revealed as we tend to the land together for future generations.