Youth Design Leadership
Land Recognition
In the creation of Tying Us Back to Our Roots, it was paramount for our team to recognize the importance of the San Jose land and its history.
In regards to the history of San Jose, it was also of vital importance to understand the significance of how the San Jose land connects to its art and culture. Upon this realization, we understood what our limits were regarding how far we could expand our design philosophies. Tie that in together with community help, and our team was able to recognize the history of San Jose to return the agency to its people.
We recognize that the City of San Jose and the land we are currently on is ancestral Tamien Ohlone Tribal territory. It is important for us to acknowledge that these lands we are on do not belong to us, and the history within the place we currently occupy. Today, some of the Tamien people along with other San Francisco Bay Area Ohlone people have joined together under the name of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and are currently petitioning for U.S. federal recognition. The Tamien community has also established the Tamien Nation non-profit organization, which is active throughout Santa Clara County today. Among their missions, they seek to reacquire unceded lands stolen from them by the Spanish and then-Americans, and to enhance the quality of life and economic sustainability for Tamien citizens. You can contact and support them through their website (tamien.org) or at info@tamien.org.
At the heart of Downtown San Jose, the SoFA District is home to numerous cultural and art institutions, many of which are inspired by the history and diversity of downtown.
Youth Design Leadership (YDL) is a 9-student cohort consisting of five Notre Dame high school seniors and four San Jose State University students. Joining together with Local Color and Studio Gang, they are working to design a project to improve the community while learning more about architecture and urban planning- all within two months. YDL will participate in community-led planning and design projects centered around promoting community wellbeing and creating safe and vibrant spaces for the public. For this project, the team aims to create an immersive and welcoming space for healing and creative ambience. We also strive to bring people together through the history of San Jose while returning agency to its inhabitants. With this project, we focus on remembering the parts of history within San Jose that have gone unacknowledged, and create an interactive outlet to amplify the voices of the community. Inspired by the Wishing Tree to honor San Jose’s rich history of Chinatowns [a] and the people who’ve been displaced due to its destruction, visitors are able to add on parts of their own stories, thoughts, and wishes to the installation. Our installation was also inspired by the past presence of fruit orchards in San Jose [b], which is depicted in the tree structure and nature elements of our project.
Through much reflection and collaboration, we have the opportunity to convey the significance of San Jose’s history and community through an environmentally conscious design. Here amidst the busy urban nature of Downtown San Jose, the public is able to creatively interact with this project while recognizing the deep and intricate history of this city.
"Downtown San Jose" by Photographing Travis is licensed under CC BY 2.0
