California's capital city of SACRAMENTO A first-in-the-nation program backed with $3.6 million in state money will allow five California tribes to regain control of coastal land important to their history.
Climate change and human activity have impacted the vast area and the tribes will rely on their traditional knowledge to protect it.
Some of the tribes' work will include monitoring salmon after the removal of a century-old dam in the redwood forests in the Santa Cruz mountains and testing for toxins in shellfish.
Three years ago, the governor apologized for the state's previous treatment of Indigenous people. The state should allow for more co-management of tribal lands.
According to Megan Rocha, who is on the Tribal Marine Stewards Network's leadership council, these coastal areas hold cultural significance for different tribes.
She said the focus was on tribal sovereignty. It allows each tribe to do it in the way that they see fit and respects each tribe's sovereignty, so how do we build a network where it provides for collaboration, but also allows each tribe to do it in the way that they see fit and respects each tribe's sovereignty?
Agreements will be created between tribes and the state government to manage these areas.
The Resighini Rancheria is a tribe that is part of the network.
She worked with other tribal leaders, members of nonprofits and the state's Ocean Protection Council to develop a pilot program for the network that was years in the making.
The staff of the Ocean Protection Council recommended that the agency set aside $1 million for a pilot program to support the network in conducting research, reaching out to tribes and creating plans for the future.
The council voted Thursday to provide an additional $3.6 million which will support the groups in their continued efforts to monitor coastal and ocean resources, offer educational opportunities to tribe members, and pass along cultural knowledge to younger generations.
Taking inspiration from similar partnerships in Australia and Canada, the groups hope other networks bloom across the U.S.
The network will be expanded to include more tribes. California has more federally-recognized tribes than any other state. Many tribes aren't recognized by the federal government.
Part of the reason the network's public launch is happening now is due to the public apology made by Newsom. In recent years, U.S. officials have worked with tribes to manage public lands.
Kaitilin Gaffney of the Resources Legacy Fund said that creating a network of tribes to steward areas breaks new ground in the United States.
We are going to look back in 20 years and say, 'Oh, we were there.' That's where it began. She said to look what happened after.
The Land Back movement restored ancestral lands for some tribes.
The network's public launch last week was celebrated by about 60 attendees from nonprofits, tribes and the Ocean Protection Council. Tribal leaders and public officials were thanked for making the launch possible.
Climate change has forced governments with a history of exploiting Indigenous lands to acknowledge tribes' knowledge of protecting the environment.
He said that they were in the crisis mode.
That's right.
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