Indigenous tribe reveals plan for 136 acres of reclaimed California coast

A panoramic 136-acre stretch of pristine Northern California shoreline newly handed again to Indigenous tribes is proposed to change into a spot for ceremonies — and for instructing youthful generations how you can stay off the land and sea.

The rugged Mendocino County property — which incorporates Blues Beach and an historical village website identified at Ok’etim — was transferred by California transportation officers to Kai Poma, a tribal nonprofit, after a decades-long battle to reclaim the ancestral land.

The nonprofit represents the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.

Now, tribal leaders have revealed extra about what they hope to do with their newly reclaimed slice of coastal paradise.

“We want to protect the natural habitat,” Eddie Knight, chairman of Kai Poma and historic preservation officer for Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, advised environmental information outlet Mongabay.

Knight, who’s of Coastal Yuki descent, stated leaders need to train younger tribal members “how to harvest our native foods, our sea foods, our seaweeds, our kelps and how to fish.”

“Allowing our youth to get an idea of how they can use it in the future and use it now,” he added. “It’s going to take a little time, but we do have a plan.”

The shoreline will stay open to the general public, and beneath the phrases of the deed switch from Caltrans to Kai Poma, the stretch of sand should keep accessible to everybody, with zero admission charges.

Commercial growth can be prohibited, and if the nonprofit fails to keep up the location or dissolves, the land reverts again to Caltrans.

For the Coastal Yuki, the plot of land was an historical village website reportedly holding centuries of buried ancestors and deep origin lore involving the Seaweed Woman and Coyote.

The tribe’s quest to manage the bluffs started in 2005, when members found that grave robbers and off-road truck drivers had been tearing by the dunes, pillaging artifacts and unearthing human stays.

Caltrans dismissed the requests to step in for years till state Senate chief Mike McGuire handed laws permitting the freeway authority at hand over the land without cost in 2021.

“It’s enormous from our tribal perspective that we are basically obtaining the land that our people once lived on before colonization,” J. Carlos Rivera, tribal chairman of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, advised the Los Angeles Times.

The state initially acquired the shoreline and cliffs within the Sixties to assist the enlargement of Highway 1 and set up a scenic overlook for motorists, in keeping with a California Coastal Commission report.

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