- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Real Estate
From landmark victories to local pushback, this month's tribal land moves show just how complex the path to sovereignty can be.
In Arizona, the Yavapai-Apache Nation closed a major deal with the Forest Service, adding 3,201 acres to their land base. Alaska Native organizations flexed their authority with new co-management rights over traditional territories, while California's Wiyot Tribe brought sacred ancestral lands back under tribal control. Not all news was celebratory though - Louisiana's Allen Parish is digging in its heels against the Coushatta Tribe's trust applications, spotlighting the thorny politics between tribal sovereignty and local tax revenues. Here's what's been happening on the ground in Indian Country.
Wiyot Tribe Reclaims 357 Acres of Ancestral Land
The Wiyot Tribe has secured permanent ownership of 357 acres of ancestral land known as Digawututklh in Eureka, California, following four years of temporary stewardship by Friends of the Dunes. The property, which includes diverse ecosystems of open dunes, coastal forest, wetlands, and estuarine habitats, was officially transferred to the Tribe during a ceremony on November 13, 2024.
Friends of the Dunes had held interim ownership of the land since October 2020, managing it as the Samoa Dunes & Wetlands Conservation Area while working toward permanent tribal ownership. The transfer strengthens the Tribe's connection to their traditional territories, where they once maintained villages throughout the Samoa peninsula.
The property, described by Tribal leaders as "the lungs" of their ancestral lands, will be managed through Dishgamu Humboldt, the Tribe's community land trust. The Wiyot plan to focus on ecocultural restoration, combining environmental conservation with the revival of traditional cultural practices. According to Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Ted Hernandez, the area historically provided shelter, food resources like clams and surf fish, and served as an important ceremonial site for the red woodpecker dance. The transfer was supported by conservation partners and state agencies.
Yavapai-Apache Nation secures land exchange with Forest Service
The Yavapai-Apache Nation of Arizona has completed a land exchange with the Forest Service. The Forest Service will receive around 4,800 acres of land in six parcels across four national forests - Prescott, Coconino, Kaibab and Apache-Sitgreaves. In exchange, the Yavapai-Apache Nation will receive 3,201 acres of federal lands, most of which are contiguous to the tribe’s Arizona reservation near Camp Verde.
The deal concludes a “multi-year, multi-agency planning effort” that began in 1996, per a Forest Service press release. Prescott National Forest supervisor Sarah Clawson said the deal would benefit both the Forest Service and the tribe.
“This decision is the culmination of many years of joint effort and will support the mission of the Forest Service as well as provide for the economic and social needs of the Nation’s growing population,” Clawson said in a statement.
Yavapai-Apache Nation Chairwoman Tanya Lewis said more tribal reservation lands would support the Nation “socially, economically, and culturally.”
“We are proud to share this historic land exchange for the Yavapai-Apache Nation with the U.S. Forest Service and our neighbors throughout the Verde Valley,” Lewis said in a statement. “[By] working together we can collectively achieve conservation of natural resources, preservation of cultural heritage, and cultivation of tribal and regional economies to ensure a future of hope and sustainability.”
Louisiana Parish objects to Coushatta Tribe's trust land applications
The Allen Parish Police Jury is opposing the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana's efforts to place land into federal trust, citing potential losses in tax revenue, according to a report in American Media.
The parish has received 16 non-gaming land acquisition requests from the tribe in the past 18 months, totaling 3,101 acres. The lands, primarily located near Kinder, La., currently generate $44,835 in annual property taxes for the parish, according to the story.
Parish Administrator Jacob Dillehay told officials that the Coushatta Tribe currently pays $82,761 in annual taxes for non-trust property, while their trust lands represent $1.2 million in tax exemptions. The latest round of applications would exempt an additional $22,000 in tax revenue.
The parish's opposition comes amid broader financial tensions after the tribe opted not to renew a decades-old gaming compact that expired earlier this year, resulting in nearly $7 million in lost revenue for local entities. The compact conflicted with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), according to Interior Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland.
The Police Jury has unsuccessfully appealed previous trust applications to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. District Attorney Joe Green indicated that federal authorities have insisted on reviewing trust applications separately from gaming compact issues.
Manzanita, Viejas Bands' off-reservation casino site faces new future
A 232-acre property once envisioned as an off-reservation casino development by the Manzanita and Viejas bands of Kumeyaay Indians could soon be released from its development agreement with the city of Calexico.
The project, which would have placed 60.8 acres into trust for a 459,621-square-foot tribal gaming facility, failed to advance amid California's cooling stance toward off-reservation casinos, according to this Calexico Chronicle news report. Despite the tribes documenting their historical migratory paths through Calexico to support their application, the project required both Bureau of Indian Affairs approval and the governor's sign-off.
The proposed casino and hotel complex would have joined California's robust tribal gaming market, which currently generates an estimated $9 billion annually across 76 casinos operated by 73 of the state's federally recognized tribes.
The property has since been divided into three parcels and returned to agricultural use, with Calexico officials now seeking to terminate the development agreement two years early to pursue other development opportunities.
Alaska Native groups gain land-management authority through BLM agreements
Eight Alaska Native organizations have secured co-management authority over traditional lands through agreements with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), spanning the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Norton Sound regions.
The agreements strengthen tribal input in discussions around wildlife, ecosystems, and fisheries management. A separate self-governance agreement will allow Alaska Native Corporation Ahtna, Inc. to directly administer land easements and manage access between public lands and private property within the area.
“Since time immemorial, the Yukon, Kuskokwim and Norton Sound regions have sustained Alaska Native people, fish, birds and other wildlife, supporting strong and resilient communities and traditional ways of life,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. “By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise, we can create effective strategies that benefit salmon and all living things who rely on them.”
LANDBACK
The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is adding 68.17 acres to its reservation in King County, Washington, following an Oct. 31 Bureau of Indian Affairs decision. The land addition, announced Nov. 12 in the Federal Register, includes several parcels in Township 24 North, Range 8 East of the Willamette Meridian. The properties will maintain their existing rights-of-way and easements. The expansion strengthens the Tribe's land base and sovereignty. Questions can be directed to Carla Clark at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Lower Elwha Tribal Community is expanding its reservation by 61.36 acres in Clallam County, Washington. The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced the addition on Nov. 13 in the Federal Register, following a Nov. 6 decision. The expansion includes two properties: a 21.4-acre parcel along the Elwha River and a 39.96-acre site near Little River. Both properties will maintain their existing easements and rights.
NOTEWORTHY
Fannie Mae has expanded its Mortgage Partnership Finance Program to include home loans under the Native American Conventional Lending Initiative (NACLI), creating new opportunities for homeownership on tribal trust lands. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago will administer the program, which opens a “new option” for banks hoping to support Native homeownership, per a Fannie Mae press release. The Chicago bank will administer the NACLI program in its own region and across five other regions including Boston, Dallas, Des Moines, Pittsburgh, and Topeka.
Roughly $6.4 million in grant funding through banking giant Wells Fargo’s Invest Native Initiative should create a total of 156 purchase homes and 102 rental homes, per a company press release. The funding went to 33 nonprofits supporting Native communities across Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In addition to creating homes, the funding aims to support work such as hiring staff for housing coalitions, providing loans to small businesses, and providing technical assistance to borrowers.
The Land Conservancy of New Jersey has received the 2024 National Land Trust Excellence Award, largely for establishing the state's first Indigenous land trust in Mahwah, according to northjersey.com. The organization purchased the 54-acre Split Rock Mountain site, known as Tahetaweew, for $500,000 and transferred it to the Ramapo Munsee Land Alliance in March 2023. The sacred site represents a milestone in tribal land preservation efforts in New Jersey.
WORTH A READ
Check out this Grist story for an in-depth look at how California tribes are mobilizing to protect 1 million acres of ancestral land. At the recent UN Conference on Biological Diversity, representatives from the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe and the Pit River Nation called for creating three new national monuments: Kw’tsán, Chuckwalla, and Sáttítla. The goal is to preserve these areas from extractive industries and contribute to California's 30x30 initiative, which seeks to protect 30 percent of land and waters by 2030. The nonprofit environmental news outlet captures the urgency of securing tribal lands amid changing federal policies (timely topic) and highlights Indigenous stewardship’s importance for conservation.
If you have news or information about landback acquisitions or deals involving tribal land, shoot me a note at [email protected].
