The Traditional Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Healing was founded by Alexas Ramírez, Joe Soto, and Maya Soto in 2019 as a way of giving back to the people, so that the next generations may thrive. As Indigenous people, who live by our culture and ceremonies, what we wanted to offer to our community is what is a way of life for us, and a daily practice. Our relationship to nature and healing is an everyday practice, innately tied to our culture. We live our life by the teachings that have brought us spiritual health and wealth.

The preservation and protection of this land has always been a priority.

Joe Soto, throughout the years, and up to his death in late 2022, had always made it clear - never sell the land, and protect it at all costs. It was a non-negotiable truth. Willed to Maya and Alexas through his last will and testament, we thought it was protected. But due to lack of legal assistance in drafting his will, the executor has authority to do as they please, and as of Friday, April 24th, 2026, I was notified that they intend to sell it. And even if there was more specific language in the will, it truly would only be protected through trust, as we are learning now. We need an estate litigation attorney NOW, and have been quoted at $15,000.00 for a retainer. And that could be just the beginning of the fight to keep this land. We hope that we can peacefully, and swiftly, come to an agreement that leaves all parties with an outcome that includes something they want.

This land has held birth, life, and death, and been the source of sustenance through ceremony, growing Indigenous heirloom seeds, wildcrafting, and everything in between. On the 32 acres in Newfield, NY surrounded by the NYS Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management, clean water flows freely, the pond is full of life - fish, turtles, and it has been home to beavers, herons, eagles, bears, big cats and then some. Rare and protected medicines grow happily, with some even returning where they hadn't been seen in a long time. This land is free of polluting infrastructure, running on solar power only. According to the Nature Conservancy, the location of this land is part of the Climate Resilient Focus area "that contribute[s] to climate resilience for the benefit of people and nature. Being a farm as well, its preservation falls in line with one of the biggest conservation priorities globally, let alone the importance of it being owned and managed by people who classify as historically "underserved".

The legacy vision for this land has been to create a physical center for retreat, where people can stay to absorb the energy of the land, have a safe and sober place to be in community, learn how to grow, forage and harvest food, and assert their autonomy. We aren't yet close to that, as the Director, Alexas Ramírez, has recently been enjoying her first year of motherhood with her daughter, whose legacy is to inherit the land as well. But the land is always open for community to come to and enjoy, as well as to assist in the stewardship in order to gain the medicine it has to offer.

Please help us save our land. Contribute to our legal costs, and be a part of this vision and legacy for the future generations.

Save The Land @ The Traditional Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Healing

Protect Whats Sacred and Help Save a Legacy for the Future!

Team Members