University of California at Davis – On and Of Land: Statewide Tribal and Native Views on Land Access, Land Returns and Emerging Land Use Policies Expressed During the CA Truth and Healing Council, December 2020 – November 2023

Overview

Following California Governor Gavin Newsom's 2019 apology for genocide and historical injustices against Native populations, the State established the California Truth and Healing Council (THC) to create a holistic understanding of the historical relationship between California Native Americans and the State and make recommendations aimed at reparation and restoration. Through THC meetings, Native communities shared their diverse experiences and proposed solutions for equitable land access, cultural preservation, and the recognition of Indigenous land relationships.

Key Findings

• Native Californian communities express a sacred and deeply embedded connection to land, grounded in stewardship and cultural continuity rather than ownership, in all kinds of Californian environments including urban areas.

• Bureaucratic and legal barriers restrict Native communities, especially urban and unrecognized tribes, from fully accessing or managing these lands, negatively impacting their ability to perform ceremonies and maintain cultural practices.

• Displacement and forced migration severed Native communities' physical and spiritual ties to traditional lands, disrupting essential cultural practices linked to food, water, and environmental stewardship.

• Water diversions and environmental restrictions continue to disrupt traditional relationships with the land, which, in turn, affect communities’ sustenance practices and preservation of cultural identity.

• The legacy of Native enslavement and dehumanization includes policies that forcibly removed Native children from their families, echoing treatment that cast Native individuals as alienable assets.

• Participants draw connections between land dispossession and the disproportionate incarceration of Native Californians during the termination era, reflecting a continuation of these practices in the justice system, where Native individuals experience high incarceration rates and limited rehabilitation opportunities.

• The trauma from these policies persists in Native communities and many groups are actively engaged in healing.

Policy Recommendations

Six policy areas have been proposed to advance Native land relations:

1. Land Back: Returning lands to Native ownership through title transfers and stewardship agreements.
2. Land Use Authority: Increasing tribal authority over land and ecosystem management, especially in ancestral territories, and expanding the boundaries where consultation should happen.
3. Funding for Tribal Recognition, Unrecognized, Urban and Landless Tribes -  Allocating resources for unrecognized tribes and urban Native populations to access land and conduct cultural practices.
4. Education on California Places and Native History: Increasing public knowledge of Native histories and California’s Indigenous cultures.
5. Incorporating Tribal Knowledge Through Hiring and Contracting: Enhancing Native representation in State land and resource management.
6. Public and Private Restitution: Encouraging restitution from organizations that have benefited from Native land dispossession.