Invest in Knowledge That's Native

California is home to more people who self-identify or are historically identified as Native American than in any other state. In California, tribes officially manage over 511,000 acres of land. While some have regained land ownership and title, many tribes must buy back their lands, and many more remain landless.

Big Valley Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians is one of those tribes. Deprived of protected legal title to their lands by treaty or formal claim, the tribe is on a mission to reclaim its ancestral lands and the burial grounds of their Xabenapo ancestors on the shores of Clear Lake.

With support from First Nations, Big Valley is developing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Clear Lake State Park to co-manage the natural resources of the land, and raise awareness of Big Valley’s history, culture, and capacity to monitor and best steward park resources. The tribe is assessing culturally significant species and planning for habitat restoration using traditional knowledge and Indigenous practices, including cultural burning. Ultimately, they hope to have the original Xabenapo village site and surrounding lands returned to the Tribe.

The Bristol Bay Watershed covers 40,000 square miles of pristine lands and waters, including three major river systems and thousands of miles of tributaries, streams, and wetlands that support the world’s largest wild salmon run. The watershed is home to hundreds of species, thriving subsistence-based Indigenous cultures, and 31 federally recognized Tribes.

The watershed also supports a multi-billion dollar commercial and sport fishing economy that provides for over 15,000 local jobs annually.

But at the headwaters of the watershed, plans are underway to develop the Pebble Mine Project, which would irreparably impact the health of the waters, people, wildlife, environment, and culture. With support from First Nations, United Tribes of Bristol Bay is asserting their Indigenous rights through a grassroots movement of outreach, education, youth leadership programs, and advocacy. Supporting the collective sovereignty of its member tribes, the organization continues to support government-to-government relationships with state and federal lawmakers so that the region’s tribes engage directly with elected officials and decision makers. Working with and for the people of Bristol Bay, United Tribes of Bristol Bay is ensuring that the voices of the region’s tribes are heard, and that Indigenous values are brought to the table.

Building on tribal values and cultural practices, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe’s Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Recreation is working to re-introduce the black-footed ferret, a federally protected endangered species native to North America.

Historically and traditionally, ferrets were thought to have knowledge of underground medicines. In honor of this trait, Native peoples would often use ferret pelts in regalia or medicine bundles, or emulate ferrets through face painting. But, like many wildlife species, the black-footed ferret was nearly wiped out because of human activities. The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe knows it has a responsibility to bring back the species through a holistic approach in honor of the animal’s cultural significance.

By defining their own research goals and collecting data based on tribal priorities, the Tribe is not only saving the ferret, but also strengthening tribal sovereignty. Tribal representative and biologist Shaun Grassel, Ph.D., writes, “We don’t rely on a state agency or federal government to explain to us what’s going on with our wildlife resources. We collect, analyze, and interpret our own data and let it tell a story of what’s going on with our wildlife populations.”

“We’re managing wildlife for the sake of wildlife. Not for politics or just for revenue. Conservation is the top priority. It’s doing what is best for our wildlife resources and our land.” – Lower Brule Sioux Tribe

The lamprey, an ancient fish, is revered by the Nez Perce for its high oil content, exquisite taste, and ceremonial purpose. While the Nez Perce tribe was relocated to Idaho, many of their ancestral lands are in Oregon, where pollution, dams, unclean water and climate change are destroying fish populations.

The Nez Perce Fisheries Department knows that the loss of the lamprey not only indicates the deteriorating fish habitat, it also affects the cultural traditions of the tribe. If the fish die off, entire cultures would end as well.

Right now, the Nez Perce Fisheries Department operates fish hatcheries across a wide area in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. They are involved in cutting-edge fisheries research and monitoring of the lamprey. And, they are implementing multiple stream restoration and habitat improvement projects across over 13 million acres.

With support from First Nations, the department is working safeguard and increase the tribe’s traditional knowledge and practices centered on lamprey recovery. 

The Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute in Seward, Alaska, is one of only two fish hatcheries in the state that are managed by tribes, and the only one that focuses specifically on shellfish, which are imperative to the traditional subsistence lifestyle of the seven tribes of the Chugach region.

The Institute is managed by First Nations’ community partner Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC), an organization formed to ensure that Chugach Natives are involved in environmental decision making, and that Native stewardship and sound economic development are forever in place.

With the support of First Nations, CRRC is purchasing the Institute, providing for tribal sovereign jurisdiction. The purchase will make it possible for CRRC to expand the facility and create a coastal resiliency plan to protect the region, including the Institute and its water supply, from flooding and coastal erosion caused by climate change .

By calling on traditional knowledge, CRRC is mitigating climate risks and ensuring that shellfish can continue to be a part of the Tribes’ subsistence lifestyle.