California's Yurok Tribe gets back ancestral lands that were taken over 120 years ago
Source: AP
By DORANY PINEDA, TERRY CHEA and GODOFREDO VASQUEZ
Updated 12:07 PM CDT, June 5, 2025
ON THE KLAMATH RIVER, Calif. (AP) As a youngster, Barry McCovey Jr. would sneak through metal gates and hide from security guards just to catch a steelhead trout in Blue Creek amid northwestern California redwoods.
Since time immemorial, his ancestors from the Yurok Tribe had fished, hunted and gathered in this watershed flanked by coastal forests. But for more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed by timber companies, severing the tribes access to its homelands.
When McCovey started working as a fisheries technician, the company would let him go there to do his job.
Snorkeling Blue Creek ... I felt the significance of that place to myself and to our people, and I knew then that we had to do whatever we could to try and get that back, McCovey said.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/yurok-tribe-land-back-salmon-restoration-california-57632c4170995a0067eb89dbeb080f80

SheltieLover
(69,170 posts)Ty!
slightlv
(5,704 posts)who immigrated to the Native lands!
love_katz
(3,078 posts)Amid the bleakness of the Krasnov regime, these kinds of articles give me hope.
Drum
(10,341 posts)boy is so great to see some good news!
Bayard
(25,361 posts)Somewhat righting a terrible wrong. I'm glad to see nearly 3 million acres in 15 states have been returned to tribal nations.
It looks like federal funding for the Land Buy Back program ended in 2022. If it wasn't, I'm sure trump/Musk would have ravaged it. Oh--and if you click the link for, "federal program," this pops up:
"You are viewing ARCHIVED content published online before January 20, 2025. Please note that this content is NOT UPDATED, and links may not work. Additionally, any previously issued diversity, equity, inclusion or gender-related guidance on this webpage should be considered rescinded. For current information, visit https://www.doi.gov/news/newsroom"
madville
(7,731 posts)To go along with the Redwood Casino
mopinko
(72,635 posts)thats all that natives do?
madville
(7,731 posts)Can go walk through any casino and see people ruining their lives and the lives of their families.
mopinko
(72,635 posts)like thats what native ppl r about. they do it cuz its a niche in the economy theyre allowed to inhabit. same w tobacco.
and ftr, most tribes use the money they make for the benefit of their ppl. trying to rebuild what the tribe was about in the 1st place.
reducing that to casinos is just sad and wrong.