In some uplifting news this week, hundreds of acres of California redwood forest have been returned to Native American tribes for conservation. Nonprofit Save the Redwoods League announced on Tuesday that it is transferring at least 523 acres of a property formerly known as Andersonia West on the Lost Coast, which is five hours north of San Francisco, to the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council.
According to the Associated Press, the council is made up of 10 Native tribes that work to protect culturally important lands, waters, and wildlife within the traditional Sinkyone Tribal territory.
“It’s a real blessing,” said Priscilla Hunter, chairwoman of the Sinkyone Council. “It’s like a healing for our ancestors. I know our ancestors are happy. This was given to us to protect.” Hunter noted that the tribes were forcibly removed from the land by European American settlers generations ago, after which the forest was largely stripped for timber.
In addition to vowing to protect the land, the council has also renamed the land to Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ, meaning “fish run place” in the Sinkyone language.
“Renaming the property Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ lets people know that it’s a sacred place; it’s a place for our Native people,” Crista Ray, a tribal citizen of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and board member of the Sinkyone Council, said in a statement, according to The Hill.
“It lets them know that there was a language and that there was a people who lived there long before now,” Ray said.
The land transfer is not only part of a movement to return Indigenous homelands to the ancestors of those who lived there prior to European settlements, it’s also Save the Redwoods League’s second donation to the Council. In 2012, the League transferred a 164-acre property to the group for conservation.
“For so many decades tribal voices have been marginalized in the mainstream conservation movement,” said Hawk Rosales, former executive director of the council. “It’s only until very recently that they have been invited to participate meaningfully and to take a leadership role.”
According to the Associated Press, this specific piece of land was purchased two years ago for $3.5 million, funded by Pacific Gas & Electric Company, in an effort to reduce the company’s liability and mend its reputation for damaging the environment. It’s the habitat of multiple animals listed under the Endangered Species Act, including the marbled murrelet and the northern spotted owl. The land’s former history of damage and pollution makes its return to the Indigenous community even more signifcant.
“The Sinkyone Council today represents the Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of this land. Their connection to the redwood forest is longstanding, and it is deep,” Sam Hodder, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League, said in a statement.
“We believe the best way to permanently protect and heal this land is through tribal stewardship.”
But while the news is positive and a clear step in the right direction, it has also brought attention to how Natives are spoken about and how coverage is often phrased.
While the tweet above references ABC News, the article mentioned it actually from the AP. A majority of outlets reposted the news while crediting the AP instead of creating their own coverage. A quick search finds that a majority of mainstream outlets have reported on this same report.
In doing Indigenous communities justice, we must not only return their land but respect them.
Click here to see how you can support Indigenous organizing and advocacy.
According to the Associated Press, the council is made up of 10 Native tribes that work to protect culturally important lands, waters, and wildlife within the traditional Sinkyone Tribal territory.
“It’s a real blessing,” said Priscilla Hunter, chairwoman of the Sinkyone Council. “It’s like a healing for our ancestors. I know our ancestors are happy. This was given to us to protect.” Hunter noted that the tribes were forcibly removed from the land by European American settlers generations ago, after which the forest was largely stripped for timber.
In addition to vowing to protect the land, the council has also renamed the land to Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ, meaning “fish run place” in the Sinkyone language.
“Renaming the property Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ lets people know that it’s a sacred place; it’s a place for our Native people,” Crista Ray, a tribal citizen of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and board member of the Sinkyone Council, said in a statement, according to The Hill.
“It lets them know that there was a language and that there was a people who lived there long before now,” Ray said.
The land transfer is not only part of a movement to return Indigenous homelands to the ancestors of those who lived there prior to European settlements, it’s also Save the Redwoods League’s second donation to the Council. In 2012, the League transferred a 164-acre property to the group for conservation.
“For so many decades tribal voices have been marginalized in the mainstream conservation movement,” said Hawk Rosales, former executive director of the council. “It’s only until very recently that they have been invited to participate meaningfully and to take a leadership role.”
According to the Associated Press, this specific piece of land was purchased two years ago for $3.5 million, funded by Pacific Gas & Electric Company, in an effort to reduce the company’s liability and mend its reputation for damaging the environment. It’s the habitat of multiple animals listed under the Endangered Species Act, including the marbled murrelet and the northern spotted owl. The land’s former history of damage and pollution makes its return to the Indigenous community even more signifcant.
“The Sinkyone Council today represents the Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of this land. Their connection to the redwood forest is longstanding, and it is deep,” Sam Hodder, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League, said in a statement.
“We believe the best way to permanently protect and heal this land is through tribal stewardship.”
But while the news is positive and a clear step in the right direction, it has also brought attention to how Natives are spoken about and how coverage is often phrased.
While the tweet above references ABC News, the article mentioned it actually from the AP. A majority of outlets reposted the news while crediting the AP instead of creating their own coverage. A quick search finds that a majority of mainstream outlets have reported on this same report.
In doing Indigenous communities justice, we must not only return their land but respect them.
Click here to see how you can support Indigenous organizing and advocacy.