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https://clearthis.page/?u=https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-03-17/california-pledges-to-open-land-waters-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 roughly 7% of the state’s land and waters. It also
corresponds with the amount of land the federal government promised it would
hold as reservations for Indigenous tribes after California joined the union in
1850. Congress ultimately rejected these treaties in a secret meeting — after
pressure from the state — and failed to notify tribes, many of whom upheld
their end of the agreement to relocate.
The new policy, set by the California Natural Resources Agency, aims to start
healing the harm caused by the state’s actions to bar tribes from their
homelands and criminalize their cultural and land management practices. These
actions not only harmed Native communities, whose cultures and ways of life are
intimately tied to the plants, animals and landscape of their homelands, but
also caused well-documented harm to ecosystems through the loss of
biodiversity, takeover of invasive species, degradation of water quality and
increase in wildfire risk.
“Tribal stewardship is so critical for all of us ... the natural resources and
everything that we rely on to live healthy, happy lives,” said Geneva E.B.
Thompson, deputy secretary for tribal affairs at the Natural Resources Agency.
“Getting Native people out into nature is going to bring that tribal
stewardship with it. The basket weaver, she can’t help herself; she’s going to
care for those basket weaving materials.”
Indigenous advocates applauded the policy announcement, but noted much more
work needs to be done.
“The California Natural Resources Agency is taking important steps forward” to
acknowledge and address the unratified treaties, 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 sustained commitment to land return, co-management, and meaningful
investment for all California tribes, repairing these historic injustices will
remain a long-standing effort that will take decades to fully address.”"
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-lessons-from-grandmother-cacao/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
