Northern California park celebrating Patwin Native American culture, history opens

When Leland Kinter walks on his ancestral homeland, even parts of it that have been covered with development, he thinks about his people.

As a member of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, he thinks about his culture, his religion — about what it means to be connected to the land as a Patwin person.

A new park in Fairfield, known as Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park, is known as a cultural site by Patwin people. The park, which recently opened, spans 1,500 acres and teaches others about Patwin culture.

“Our religions are really integrated with the land. There really is no heaven without the earth,” Kinter said. “We really are connected, and we suffer when we’re separated from the land. Here, a lot of folks like to be home with the land.”

The park, located on 2061 Rockville Rd., is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday through Monday.

Across the trails are interpretive signs telling the history of Patwin people. The park features a welcome center, sensory garden and 14 miles of hiking trails that are connected to the multiuse Bay Area Ridge trail.

Upon completion, the trail’s Bay Area Region will connect local and state parks, including Tilden Regional Park, the Marin Headlands and the Presidio, according to a news release.

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation first took part in the park’s creation when they were asked to name the park and provide Patwin signage. Kinter said the tribal nation contributed to the project through a community-wide cultural committee that included Patwin speakers.

“Community voices at the Yocha Dehe got to be the driving force behind naming and identifying which things were important to put on there,” said Kinter, who serves as tribal treasurer for the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

The name Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi means the Patwin Southern Home of the Patwin People. It was chosen by members of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Kinter said.

How the park began

The 1,500 acre property was first purchased by Solano Land Trust between 2010 and 2011. They bought it from developers who had owned the land for 45 years and used it to build homes.

Solano Land Trust had a vision to use the land for recreation. When putting together plans on what to do with the land’s trails, Solano Land Trust reached out to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Throughout conversation, they began to learn how important the area was for the tribe.

“We really wanted to honor their legacy through partnering and renaming the property,” said Nicole Braddock, the executive director of Solano Land Trust.

In 2020, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation was granted more than $1.2 million through Doyuti T’uhkama to the Solano Land Trust for the project. The funds were used to “to enhance the preserve, focusing on improving public access and infrastructure, as well as creating educational experiences that highlight the natural abundance and cultural significance of the land to the Patwin people,” according to a news release.

The project was also funded by the California State Coastal Conservancy, California Wildlife Conservation Board, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Solano County Orderly Growth Committee, Solano County and the city of Fairfield.

In the creation of the park, there was an initiative to make it accessible to everyone. The park includes ADA accessible picnic tables and several rest stops.

Wanda Williams, the Solano County supervisor, started on the project as a volunteer. She was inspired to assist the project because of her two sons, Michael and David. Both had muscular dystrophy and had died in 2012.

“I know that if my children were alive, they would be right out there enjoying that open space and learning about Patwin people,” Williams said.

The Patwin language

Anthony Roberts, the tribal chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, said in a news release the park stands as a “living tribute to the Patwin people’s deep bond” with the land.

“The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation has cared for and tended to these lands, and we are now eager to share this sacred space with the public while ensuring it remains a place of cultural reverence and natural beauty,” Roberts said. “We recognize this is an opportunity to educate residents and visitors about the Patwin people and our ancestral heritage of this land.”

Decades ago, the practice of Native languages was prohibited . It was in an attempt to take away culture from Native people, Braddock said. With their language outlawed and unpracticed for generations, fluency of Native language has been on the decline for decades.

However, there are Patwin speakers who held onto the language.

“There’s a continuous line from the folks I learned from and the folks that they learned from,” Kinter said. “There’s a very rich history in handing down our stories, our culture and our language.”