The InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council is a consortium of

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

tribal nations focused on environmental and cultural preservation. The council, which includes members of 10 federally recognized tribes in Mendocino and

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

counties, has worked to protect lands of cultural importance along the

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, an urban area and major division in the parish of Saint John * North Coast, Barbuda, an administrative district of Barbuda Australia * New South Wa ...

within the traditional

Sinkyone The Eel River Athapaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or near ...

tribal territory since it was established in 1986. Nonprofit and governmental organizations have cooperated with the council in the restoration of property to descendants of its original inhabitants which is part of an effort to return Indigenous lands and autonomy to Indigenous communities. After the invasion of the traditional Sinkyone tribal territory by multitudes of Euro-American settlers in the mid-1850s, Sinkyone people eventually became enrolled members at several tribes located throughout the region. The council is made up of the Cahto Indian Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria, Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, Pinoleville Pomo Nation,

Potter Valley Tribe The Potter Valley Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Mendocino County, California. They were previously known as the Little River Band of Pomo Indians

, Redwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians,

Round Valley Indian Tribes The Round Valley Indian Tribe, originally known as the Covelo Indian Community, is a federally recognized confederation of Native American tribes. These include the Yuki, Wailaki, Concow (or Konkow), Little Lake and other Pomo, Nomlaki, and Pit R ...

, Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians. Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness on the

Lost Coast The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and undeveloped area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In a ...

of Mendocino County is considered the nation's first intertribal wilderness. The was acquired by the council in 1997 following a campaign led by

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

. Four Corners was donated to the council in 2012 by the

Save the Redwoods League Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') and giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees through the preemptive purchase of development rights ...

which is an organization focused on the protection and restoration of

coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

and

giant sequoia ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...

forests and connecting people to them. As part of their effort to return lands and autonomy to Indigenous communities, the league donated and transferred the forest land to the tribal council while retaining a

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental (muni ...

. The council designated Tc'ih-Léh-Dûñ, (pronounced "tsih-ih-LEY-duhn"), as a tribal protected area which recognizes that it is within the Sinkyone traditional territory and that it holds great cultural significance for the council and its member tribes as it was the hunting, fishing and ceremonial grounds of generations of

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. Tc'ih-Léh-Dûñ, which means "fish run place" in the Sinkyone language, was acquired from the Save the Redwoods League in 2022. Located west of the

Sinkyone Wilderness State Park Sinkyone Wilderness State Park is a state park in Mendocino County, California. The wilderness area borders the Pacific Ocean to the west and the King Range National Conservation Area to the north. The nearest settlement is the unincorporate ...

and north of the Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness, the remote (formerly known as Andersonia West) had been purchased by the league in July 2020. As part of their effort to return lands and autonomy to Indigenous communities, the league again donated and transferred the forest land to the tribal council while retaining a conservation easement.

References

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