
The Blue Lake Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of
Wiyot
The Wiyot ( Wiyot: Wíyot, Chetco-Tolowa: Wee-'at xee-she or Wee-yan' Xee-she', Euchre Creek Tututni: Wii-yat-dv-ne – "Mad River People", Yurok: Weyet) are an indigenous people of California living near Humboldt Bay, California and a small ...
,
Yurok
The Yurok people are an Algic-speaking Indigenous people of California that has existed along the or "Health-kick-wer-roy" (now known as the Klamath River) and on the Pacific coast, from Trinidad south of the Klamath’s mouth almost to Cresc ...
, and
Hupa Indians located northwest of the city of
Blue Lake in
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka, California, Eureka.
Humboldt County compri ...
, on approximately .
[Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Court](_blank)
California Tribal Courts Directory, Judicial Council of California/ Administrative Office of the Courts, 2013, accessed April 20, 2013 As of 2007, there were 53 enrolled citizens.
As of the
2010 Census the population of Blue Lake Rancheria was 58.
History
An approximately area, named the Blue Lake Rancheria was set up by Executive Order on December 24, 1908, to provide a refuge for otherwise homeless native people, but the Rancheria was terminated in 1954 by the federal government.
[History](_blank)
, 2013, accessed April 20, 2013
In 1966, the United States government returned the Blue Lake Rancheria to the tribe and removed all Native rights from the tribe's citizens.
A class action lawsuit, ''Tillie Hardwick v. United States of America'', was won in 1983 by 17 rancherias, including Blue Lake Rancheria; the federal government was ordered to reinstate federal recognition for all the plaintiffs.
These rights were returned in 1989 and the tribe now operates under their own constitution.
In January 2008, the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Court was established to adjudicate both civil and criminal matters inside the reservation.
The area has a 55,000-square-foot casino and 102 hotel rooms. After the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
caused local panic and confusion among travellers (but little damage), the complex installed 420 kW solar panels, grid batteries and backup generators to retain electricity after expected storms, wildfires and earthquakes, and supply the grid during peak demand.
Education
The rancheria is served by the Blue Lake Union Elementary School District and
Northern Humboldt Union High School District.
Enrollment
The requirement to enroll into the Blue Lake Rancheria is
lineal descent
A lineal or direct descendant, in legal usage, is a blood relative in a person's direct line of descent – the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. In a legal procedure sense, lineal descent refers to the acquisition of estate b ...
, which means that there is no restriction on
blood quantum
Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws that define Native Americans in the United States status by fractions of Native American ancestry. These laws were enacted by the Federal government of the United States, federal government and S ...
.
See also
*
List of Indian reservations in the United States
This is a list of Indian reservations and other tribal homelands in the United States. In Canada, the List of Indian reserves in Canada, Indian reserve is a similar institution.
Federally recognized reservations
There are approximately 567 fed ...
References
External links
*
* Abate, Tom
The Little Casino That Could? ''North Coast Journal'', February 10, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Lake Rancheria
Hupa
Tolowa
Yurok
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
Native American tribes in California
American Indian reservations in California
Native Americans in Humboldt County, California
Blue Lake, California