Kanyon “Coyote Woman” (Hahashkani) Sayers-Roods: Mutsun-Ohlone and Chumash Two Spirit Indigenous relative
Photos by Erina Alejo
“I’m here at Lapu Lapu and Bonifacio and I just offered a land acknowledgement.
Grandma medicine has blessed me when I was a youngster. Even when I was barely able to walk, my mother says there was a ceremony of big head dancers in Santa Cruz and there was big bonfire, and my mom was like ‘oh no, there’s a big bonfire and my toddler is just barely walking.’ And she’s looking for me and she sees these dancers coming out with their grandmas, and women will stand in a line and sing. And so she saw the shadows of all the dancers then a little shadow… I guess I was right there with them, hanging out with them. And then over the years grandma energy has blessed me, and so I recognize it and I’m just trying to be like ‘fine, I’ll own it.’
I, as a California native person, prioritize recognizing pre-contact history, but I also recognize that all of us, all of our communities, are impacted by colonization, and when we recognize those layers, we can see how the impact has brought us to where we are. And so it’s very exciting to witness these historic moments, and some community members don’t even know this is happening right now. And I’m excited to be here.”
Kanyon "Coyote Woman" (Hahashkani) Sayers-Roods is a Mutsun-Ohlone and Chumash Two Spirit Indigenous relative. She is proud of her heritage and her native name and is an active leader in the Native Community.
Kanyon is the Co-founder & CEO of Kanyon Konsulting LLC, where she strives to bridge the gap between indigenous and contemporary value systems. Her goal is to make a difference in the lives of others by sharing her life experiences and knowledge about California Native Americans focusing on global education with emphasis on promoting understanding of the relationship between humanity and the natural world.
Born and raised in Indian Canyon (the only federally recognized ‘Indian Country” along Central Coastal California) by her mother Ann Marie Sayers, Kanyon continues to be an Ancestor in training by honoring the past to shape the future.
MEL VERA CRUZ
”Streets of Diwata” muralist on Kanyon Sayers-Roods’ land acknowledgement and permission:
“tatlong araw masakit likod ko. buti di bumigay. offering para sa mga nauna dito. alam nyo kasi tuwing pupunta ako ng sf, ramdam kong may mga mangkukulam na kampi sa dark side na pinagtri-tripan ako. i cant explain it with words pero ramdam ng budhi ko yan. may mga senyales akong nakikita like patterns na nung pinagdugtong dugtong ko, saka lang malalaman so napaka importante sa akin na ma bless kami ng isang ninuno ng orig dito kasi sila ang tunay na may karapatan dito kaya feeling ko, 'protection' ng spirit ang mga blessings na ito kaya yun ang bottomline sa akin ng mga pangyayari. bow at luhod lang ako. salamat. for me po, kailangan at importanteng igalang at irespeto natin ang mga nalimutang katotohanan kasi dyan tayo nakatayo. tumba tayo pag nabura yan. cheers everyone. thank you!!!”
My back hurt for three days. It’s good that it didn’t give in. An offering to those who were here first. Because, you know, every time I would go to SF, I feel that there are witches on the dark side who would pick on me. I can’t explain it with words but my intuition feels it. There are signs that I see like patterns where the meaning is revealed after I’ve put them together, so it’s so important for me that we are blessed by the ancestor of an original [inhabitant] here because they are the ones who have the true rights here, that’s why I feel that these blessings are a “protection” of spirit, that is the bottom line for me. I bow and kneel. Thank you. For me, it is needed and is important that we honor and respect the forgotten truths because that is where we are all standing. We’ll fall if it is erased. Cheers everyone. Thank you!!!