Training: Rematriation of Ancestral Lands Through Land Trusts and Partnerships for Tribal Stewardship

Audience(s): Tribes, non-tribal government partners, NGO partners

Tribal Stewardship Policy Priorities: Strengthening Tribal Partnerships; Funding Stewardship; Navigating State Agencies; California History

Objectives: This toolkit entry highlights takeaways from the Tribal Stewardship Policy Training hosted by CNRA, Northern California Tribal Court Coalition, and California Council of Land Trusts on October 2, 2024. Tribal and non-tribal leaders share best practices for ancestral land return through tribally-owned land trusts, discuss funding strategies, and highlight methods for strengthening tribal partnerships with non-tribal partners.

Large conference room with multiple groups of people seated at tables in discussion, green balloons in the foreground and a presentation with a remote speaker displayed on screens at the front of the room.

This toolkit entry was developed to support the implementation of California Natural Resources Agency’s Tribal Stewardship Policy and Toolkit. This white paper and associated tools are intended to increase the capacity of tribes, state agencies, and non-tribal entities to advance tribal stewardship, including tribal access, collaboration, and ancestral land return according to the CNRA Tribal Stewardship Policy.

This toolkit entry highlights takeaways from the Tribal Stewardship Policy Training hosted by CNRA, Northern California Tribal Court Coalition, and California Council of Land Trusts on October 2, 2024. Tribal and non-tribal leaders share best practices and sessions focus on strengthening tribal partnerships and developing and implementing tribally-owned land trusts.

This toolkit entry features recordings of all public sessions from the training. Review the agenda and watch the videos to hear from tribal and non-tribal leaders on advancing tribal stewardship.

Recordings of the event sessions:

All session recordings can be found here.

Individual session recordings:

  1. Welcome and Keynote
  2. Session 1: Weaving the Future Confronting the Past: Historical Wrongs and Cultural Humility
    1. Hear from Atta Stevenson, Cahto Elder and Traditional Practitioner; Cutcha Risling Baldy, Cal Poly Humboldt Associate Professor; and Beth Rose Middleton Manning, UC Davis Professor.
  3. Tribal Session 2: Legal Considerations for Ancestral Land Return and Establishing Tribal Land Trust
    1. Hear from Sara Clark, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger Partner; Scott Williams, Berkey Williams Partner; and Michelle Lee, Circle Law Group Partner.
  4. Non-Tribal Session 2: State Polices to Strengthen Partnerships with California Native American Tribes
    1. Hear from Victor Bjelajac, State Parks District Superintendent; Rosie Clayburn, Yurok Tribe Cultural Resources Department and Tribal Heritage Preservation Offices; and Amy Hutzel, State Coastal Conservancy Executive Director.
  5. Tribal Session 3: Governing and Maintaining a Land Trust
    1. Hear from Bob Przeklasa, Native American Land Conservancy Executive Director; Emily Burgueno, Chair of the Kumeyaay Diegueno Land Conservancy; Bob Neale, Land Trust Alliance California Program Manager.
  6. Non-Tribal Session 3: Allyship Spectrum Training
    1. Hear from Taylor Pennewell, Redbud Resources Executive Director.
  7. Tribal Session 4: Funding Strategies
    1. Hear from Jennifer Norris, Wildlife Conservation Board Executive Director; Bridget Fithian, California Coalition of Land Trusts Chair and Executive Director of Sierra Foothill Conservancy; Kaitlin Gaffney Resources Legacy Fund Conservation Program Director; Keali’i Bright, Division Director Department of Conservation.
  8. Non-Tribal Session 4: Experiences of Meaningful Tribal Partnerships
    1. Hear from Merry Kate Droz, Northern California Tribal Courts Coalition Project Specialist; Karin Winters, California Coalition of Land Trusts Program Director; Ali Meders-Knight, California Open Lands Executive Director; Ben Blom, Save Redwoods League Director of Stewardship and Recreation; Shine Nieto, Tule River Tribal Vice Chairperson; William Garfield, Sequoia National Forest Tribal Relations Specialist and Former Chairperson for the Tule River Tribe; Jeanette Tuitele-Lewis Big Sur Land Trust President and CEO; Louise J. Miranda Ramirez, Tribal Chairwoman Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation; Tom Little Bear Nason, Tribal Chairman Esselen Tribe of Monterey County.
  9. Session 5: Commitment to Action and Partnerships
    1. Hear from Taylor Pennewell, Redbud Resources Executive Director.

Tools