Yurok Tribe will be first in the country to co-manage a national park

Last week, the Yurok Tribe signed a historic agreement with the National Park Service, California State Parks and Save the Redwoods League to transfer a 125-acre property back to tribal ownership. The site, known as ‘O Rew, is roughly in the center of Yurok ancestral territory and sits at the southern gateway to Redwood National Park. The agreement marks the first time that Native-owned land will be co-managed by the National Park Service and California State Parks.

Nika Bartoo-Smith recently wrote about the agreement for Underscore News and ICT. She joins us with more details.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that it is the first time in U.S. history that Native owned land will be co-managed by the National Park Service and California State Parks.

The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Dave Miller: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Dave Miller. The Yurok Tribe signed a historic agreement last week; for the first time ever, a portion of a National Park is going to be co-managed by a Native tribe. The Save the Redwoods League nonprofit will transfer a 125-acre property that sits at the southern end of Redwood National Park back to tribal ownership. The property will be managed by the Indigenous Nation alongside the National Park Service and California State Parks. Nika Bartoo-Smith wrote about this agreement for Underscore News and ICT, and she joins us now. Welcome back.

Nika Bartoo-Smith: Hi, Dave. I’m excited to be here again.

Miller: It’s great to have you on again. What does this tract of land, the ‘O Rew site, mean to the Yurok Tribe?

Bartoo-Smith: ‘O Rew is roughly the center of the Yurok Tribe’s ancestral homelands. It used to be home to a really culturally and historically significant village site. So the land returning to the Tribe is really an amazing example of Land Back in action.

Miller: Before we get to that, let’s go back a bit. When did colonial settlers seize this land from the Yurok?

Bartoo-Smith: During the gold rush of the mid 1800′s, the colonial settlers attempted to forcibly remove the Yurok peoples from their homelands, which included ‘O Rew. This was during a time where, across California, we saw this happening all across the state, and a massacre of Native people in the area. During this period, there was a strong exploitation of natural resources, which included the redwoods, hence why ‘O Rew was of particular interest to colonial settlers during that time period.

Miller: What happened later? What happened on this parcel of land in the 20th century?

Bartoo-Smith: For about 50 years, up until the mid-2000′s, it operated as a lumber mill, referred to as the Orick Mill Site. While the mill was in operation, a lot of the land was paved over, and parts of Prairie Creek, which runs right through the property, were covered up. It was really detrimental to a lot of the wildlife in the area.

Miller: Then in 2013, a conservation nonprofit called Save the Redwoods bought this 125-acre property. What have they done with it over the last decade?

Bartoo-Smith: They have done a lot of restoration work. That includes planting native species, and maintaining trails, and creating a habitat for animals and wildlife to return to. Also creating a space that is a gateway to the southernmost part of the redwoods for the public to be able to access those redwoods again, and be able to access those historic trails that so many of us know and love.

Miller: What role has the Yurok Tribe played in that work over the last decade?

Bartoo-Smith: They really got involved about three years ago, when Yurok Tribe restoration crews started helping with that work to create that habitat for fish to return to. That included connecting ponds and floodplains to Prairie Creek. It also meant planting a lot of native species. In the past three years, they’ve planted over 50,000 species, including black cottonwood and coastal redwood trees to help create that ecosystem health, to watch the animals and the fish in particular, return to that area.

Miller: How successful has that been? Have those species returned?

Bartoo-Smith: When I talked to the chairman of the Yurok Tribe, he said they are already seeing coastal salmon and steelhead back in that stream, which is a huge deal. The tribe continues to monitor those fish, to watch as that population continues to grow. They’ve also seen the return of other wildlife, like elk and waterfowl. I actually got to visit the property last September and it was pretty incredible to see that new life. I imagine, six months later, the trees are even taller. I just get so excited thinking about if that much is able to happen in the past 10 years of conservation, past three years since the Yurok Tribe got involved, what is that going to look like a generation from now? Now that the land is back under the stewardship of the Yurok Tribe?

Miller: That brings us to this recent announcement. What are the plans for these 125-acres going forward? What might it be like?

Bartoo-Smith: A big piece of that is going to be building new trails to connect to the Redwood National Park, to continue to welcome visitors who are coming to see the redwoods, the beautiful redwoods that we know. I think the most exciting thing is going to be multifaceted; one, they’re creating a visitor and cultural center which is going to tell some history of the land, some history of the redwoods, and some history of the Yurok Tribe. They’re also going to create what’s called a ‘living village,’ with access to plank and sweat houses to be used by citizens of Yurok Nation, hence why it’s called a living village. That’s kind of going to be a recreation of that traditional village site that used to be there and was really historically significant.

The other piece is they’re going to have signage all along those trails and all throughout, that’s going to be written first in Yurok and then translated into English, which we usually see the other way around, right? If we see something other than the English language. I think that’s amazing, because it’s truly a reclamation of the Yurok language, and an action that goes hand-in-hand with this Land Back.

Miller: How were tribal representatives that you spoke with feeling about this development? This announcement?

Bartoo-Smith: So excited. I mean, a lot of work also went into it, so that’s a piece of it. I don’t think I can say it better than them, so I’m just going to read a quote from the Chairman Joseph James of Yurok Nation, who said: “This is not just a good day for Yurok, but a good day for Indian Country. As we are healing the land, it’s healing ourselves, so it’s a very proud moment in the timeline of the Yurok Tribe.” I really just think that speaks to how this perhaps could be an incredible model for other tribes and other organizations to use across the country.

Miller: How might this be replicated in other national parks, for example?

Bartoo-Smith: Yeah, I really hope it is a model that is replicated, right? I can’t exactly say if it will be or not, but this is Land Back in action. There’s a lot of misconceptions about what that means; it’s working with the Native nations who have been the first stewards of the land. It’s returning land to people who have been here since time immemorial, and it’s really healing. The federal government displaced so many people from their homelands, and this is a chance for them to be able to begin some of that healing, giving land back to Indigenous people. We see that right by creating something like this. That is, a co-management agreement, but on land owned by the Tribe once again.

It also goes really hand-in-hand with what we’re seeing up and down the Klamath River right now, with the dams coming down as well. We’re seeing the ecosystem healing as a direct result of work that’s being led by tribes all along the river. And to me, again, that’s just concrete proof that we need Land Back, and Native people are the rightful stewards of their own homelands. We need more of this across the country.

Miller: Nika, thanks very much.

Bartoo-Smith: Thank you.

Miller: Nika Bartoo-Smith is a reporter for Underscore News and ICT.

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