On Friday, tribal and state leaders in California will meet in Arcata for a conference focused on the land back movement.
To learn more about these efforts in Northern California, Jefferson Public Radio’s Roman Battaglia talked to Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy, conference organizer and chair of the Native American Studies department at Cal Poly Humboldt.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Roman Battaglia: So for those who don't know, could you explain what land back is?
Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy: Land back is, I think, a movement that looks at what it looks like to build futures that are just and for everyone.
It starts from a perspective of all land being dispossessed or stolen indigenous lands; and that the spaces in which we occupy are likely dispossessed and stolen indigenous lands.
What has that meant for the cultures of indigenous peoples that exist to this day? What has that meant for people and the way that we live here on this planet?
And then what does it mean to build a future where land return actually demonstrates to you that we can build a climate just and climate resilient future if we return land to indigenous peoples and they're able to re-manage it and restore it in the way that I think should have been from the very beginning.
So it's kind of an opportunity to both address historical wrongs, but also think about a future where we're understanding how indigenous peoples know the management of this place in a really intimate long-term cultural as well as scientific way.
Battaglia: And so the reason I'm talking with you today is there's this symposium coming up on Friday about land back. Tell me a little bit about this symposium and the goal of it.
Risling Baldy: The real goal of this symposium is to bring people together in conversation, but also to inspire, hopefully, future collaborations.
We wanted to be able to demonstrate the good work that's going on with land return throughout the state. Also really demonstrating that the state of California and where we are is really leading the way and building momentum toward land return in important ways; with the governor setting actual policy that says that land return is an important way to contribute to climate resiliency, a way to address climate change. So that when we're talking about ‘what are the goals of the state’ part of it is we should be thinking about land return in that.
I also think we want to make sure that people understand that there are future things that need to be done so that land return is not inaccessible to people, but instead is made accessible because people understand the way to navigate it.
So we're really looking at what kinds of policies, what kinds of programs need to be introduced. How do tribes get the information? How do other people get the information? And then we're looking at potential future projects. We're hoping people think about how they can get invested and started with this work. And this is going to be a space of generative conversation.
Battaglia: What are some of the examples of land being returned to tribes here in Northern California?
Risling Baldy: Well, I'm really happy to be able to say is there's several examples and I get very excited about the fact that more and more of this is happening.
I actually was able to be a part of a recent return of a sacred island in Northern California in Eureka, Tuluwat, to the Wiyot tribe. This is sort of the center of the Wiyot world. It's a place of world renewal. And I was there when they returned that island to them.
I always tell people it was such a beautiful moment. Because it brought together all different peoples from the community in a place of great joy. There was a lot of joy in that room to see this return of this place and to know that the Wiyot had invested; they really invested their time, their money, their energy in restoring it because it was a site that was quite polluted because of what had happened during the period of time post it being seized from the Wiyot Tribe.
So I think for me it's a very personalized experience of having seen it happen in this space where I live. There's quite a few examples that I think we're going to talk about in this upcoming conference because we're seeing a really happy, momentous occasion in the time that we're living in where more and more people are thinking about this.
The symposium takes place Friday, March 23 on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus, with an option to attend virtually.
