California promises to open up 7% of its land and water to indigenous tribes

California unveiled a plan Tuesday to bring at least 7.5 million acres of land and coastal waters under the care of indigenous tribes.

That number represents about 7% of the state’s land and water. It also matches the amount of land the federal government promised to hold as reservations for Native American tribes after California joined the union in 1850. Congress ultimately rejected the accords in secret session — after pressure from the administration — and failed to notify the nations, many of which have proposed ending the immigration deal.

The new policy, set by the California Natural Resources Agency, aims to begin to heal the damage caused by the state’s actions to block tribes from their lands and criminalize their cultural and land management practices. These actions have not only harmed Indigenous communities, cultures and ways of life that are closely linked to the flora, fauna and landscape of their lands, but have also caused documented damage to natural systems through loss of biodiversity, predation by invasive species, degradation of water quality and increased risk of wildfires.

“Tribal management is very important to all of us … the natural resources and everything we depend on to live healthy, happy lives,” said Geneva EB Thompson, deputy secretary for tribal affairs at the Environmental Agency. “Getting the Aborigines out into nature will bring this leadership to the nation. The basket weaver, he can’t help himself; he will take care of those things to weave baskets.”

Indigenous advocates applauded the policy announcement, but noted that more work needs to be done.

“The California Natural Resources Agency is taking important steps forward” to approve and address unapproved agreements, Morning Star Gali, executive director and founder of Indigenous Justice and a member of the Ajumawi band of the Pit River Tribe, said in a statement. At the same time, “until there is a true and ongoing commitment to land restoration, co-management, and meaningful investment by all California tribes, correcting this historic injustice will remain a long-term effort that will take decades to fully correct.”

The policy outlines three types of land use agreements: access agreements that allow tribal members to reintegrate it into their communities and cultures, cooperative agreements where landowners work with tribes to maintain the land, and land restitution agreements where landowners transfer ownership of land to tribes.

The Natural Resources Agency estimates more than 1.7 million acres are already under tribal management, including more than 100,000 through state land restoration programs, more than 700,000 preserved as reservations and federally recognized tribal trusts, and more than 900,000 acres in partnership with California State Parks.

The organization has not set a date when it hopes to reach its 7.5 million hectare target. Some estimates also put the acreage in unsecured contracts at around 8.5 million.

Angela Mooney D’Arcy, founder of the Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, is pictured at Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park in Los Angeles in May 2023.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

“It’s really exciting to see what has been a lifetime of work for so many Native Californians who have been my mentors … come to fruition,” said Angela Mooney D’Arcy, executive director and founder of the Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples. “As a native Californian land reform advocate for the past 30 years, what struck me from reading this document was how useful it would have been in many different contexts over the past 30 years.”

Access and cooperation agreements – and sometimes even land restitution agreements – come with requirements that specify what nations can and cannot do with the land. Many need to navigate sometimes tricky relationships with world leaders who may have important priorities. It is a way to get away from the nations that hold their countries as ruling nations, they have the freedom to take care of the world as they see fit; However, these agreements can also help support tribes that do not yet have the power to single-handedly manage hundreds or thousands of hectares.

Mooney D’Arcy, Acjachemen, hopes that when the rubber meets the road, the Natural Resources Agency will step in and support these types of management agreements where local organizations and agencies are opposed.

“We can have these good intentions, but if the state is serious about these goals and the vision, you must also ensure that you are there and … prepared to represent the nations,” he said.

California’s indigenous history following European contact is dark and violent.

Many tribal leaders were forced to sign the original treaties, without limited translation support to help them understand what they were signing. The first governor of the state declared that California must expect that the conflict between the white settlers and the Native communities will give the settlers the decision of a “war of extermination” that will last until “the Indian race is extinct.” The first state legislature outlawed the Aboriginal practice of setting fires for the purpose of managing land.

Tyler Mata, a member of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tilhini Northern Chumash Tribe, participates in a ritual cremation at the Johnson Ranch in San Luis Obispo on Dec. 11.

(Ruby Wallau / For The Times)

“We have seen very painful results. We are seeing these algal blooms now overtaking our lakes and affecting our streams and rivers,” said Gali. Meanwhile, some state parks are “just a big box because they are not properly managed under tribal leadership.”

Recent examples of tribes returning to care for their lands, sometimes for the first time in more than a century, give Thompson—the Natural Resources Agency’s first deputy secretary for tribal affairs—hope for the future.

He recalled the first land reclamation he saw in the field: 46 hectares of coastal wetlands in the Wiyot tribe. During visits to the newly returned country, cultural experts kept dropping back to tend to various indigenous plants that they realized needed some love.

Tribes participate in a friendly race after building traditional tule boats on the American River in Folsom, Calif.

(Corey Cordero)

Recently, he attended an inter-tribal canoe race with the Wilton Rancheria, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and the United Auburn Indian Community, thanks to an access agreement with California State Parks. The youth of the tribe worked with the elders to harvest tule – a hardy plant found in the swamps of California – and use it to build traditional canoes. (State Parks provided life jackets, lifeguards and food.)

The Natural Resources Agency’s new policy is an effort to treat these times not as healing issues, but as a state process moving forward, Thompson said.

“I’m very proud of this goal, but I’m very excited to see what the outcome will be,” he said. “It’s much better to see it in person than to write it on paper.”