California Natural Resources Agency

What is the Tribal Stewardship Policy and Toolkit?

In partnership with California Native American tribes, the California Natural Resources Agency has developed a goal of expanding tribal stewardship over at least 7.5 million acres of lands and waters.

The Tribal Stewardship Policy and Toolkit will provide policy and resources to institutionalize durable tribal-state partnerships and to advance durable tribal access, collaboration, and ancestral land return across California. The Tribal Stewardship Policy will provide standard practices to advance these partnerships in the implementation of each department’s respective missions, regulations, policies, and programs.

On this website, you can explore the Policy, its appendices, and can begin navigating Toolkit entries, which feature webinars, templates, case studies, and other resources.  

Tribal Stewardship Policy: Vision and Purpose

State leaders have sought to establish a new era of tribal-state partnerships grounded in the acknowledgement of historic wrongs and progressing in the spirit of truth and healing.

As the original stewards of the lands and waters in California, tribes have exceptional expertise managing our state’s environment and natural resources. Partnering with tribes is a core commitment of the California Natural Resources Agency in conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal 2030, expanding Nature-Based Solutions as a climate change solution, and creating safe and equitable access to the outdoors.

State leaders have sought to establish a new era of tribal-state partnerships grounded in the acknowledgement of historic wrongs and progressing in the spirit of truth and healing. 

Tribal Stewardship Policy: The Challenge

The State of California’s actions during its first three years of statehood began a long history of the state’s historic wrongs committed against California Native American tribes, including the attempted extermination of Native Americans resulting in the loss of entire families, communities, lands, and cultural traditions. This stark history established a framework that, until recently, directed state agencies to resist tribal landownership, ignore tribal stewardship, undervalue Traditional Ecological Knowledge as a legitimate science, and to criminalize traditional practices. The disruption of tribal expertise, stewardship, and relationship to the land not only impacts tribal communities’ way of life but also affects the health and wellbeing of ecosystems that all Californians rely on. Not only is returning to tribal stewardship practices the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do in the face of a changing climate and biodiversity crisis.

Tribal Stewardship Policy: The Opportunity

State leaders have acknowledged these wrongs, and set forth a vision for a new era of tribal-state partnerships rooted in an acknowledgement of historic wrongs and progressing in the spirit of truth and healing. At our Agency, we have the directive to collaborate with the original stewards of these lands and waters as we confront modern environmental challenges by advancing meaningful and durable tribal access, collaboration, and ancestral land return across the state.

Tribal Stewardship Policy: The Approach

The Agency and its departments, utilizing their existing authorities under California law and funding programs, will work to expand opportunities for tribal stewardship across the state. This draft Policy establishes the goal to expand tribal stewardship over at least 7.5 million acres of land and coastal waters in California by California Native American tribes. Agency has identified three key pathways which may be used to advance meaningful and durable tribal stewardship: (1) Ancestral Land Return, (2) Collaboration, and (3) Access.

Agency and its departments will actively pursue partnerships with California Native American tribes, the federal government, local governments, non-profit organizations, conservancies, land trusts, colleges and universities, philanthropy, other states, and private landowners to advance tribal stewardship.

 

 

Tribal Stewardship Toolkit 

About the Toolkit

The Tribal Stewardship Toolkit accompanies the Policy and is intended to build the capacity of California Native American tribes, state and local agencies, and non-government entities to do this work together.

The Agency will host regular webinars and trainings on specific topics to support a shared understanding of complex issues around tribal access, collaboration, and ancestral land return. Toolkit entries will be posted and will include webinar recordings, examples, templates, reading materials, and other resources that we hope will support tribes and non-tribal entities in advancing tribal access, collaboration, and ancestral land return.

See the yellow box on the right for a list of upcoming webinars and join our listserv to receive webinar invitations in your inbox.