Indigenous Governance Database
Yurok Tribe
UN 2023 Water Conference: Restoring Rivers, Restoring Sovereignty: Klamath River Dam Removals
A discussion about the impacts of the Klamath River Dams on water resources, cultural practices, climate change and what the upcoming dam removals will mean for Northern California Tribal Nations. Speakers: Shannon Holsey, President, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, Treasurer, NCAI…
Indigenous Governance Speaker Series: How to Build a Nation with Susan Masten (Yurok)
Susan Masten (Yurok), former Chairwoman and valuable leader of the Yurok Tribe, joins the Native Nations Institute's Executive Director, Joan Timeche (Hopi), for an engaging discussion on Native nation building, specifically, how she actually helped build the nation. She was critical to the…
The Klamath River Now Has the Legal Rights of a Person
This summer, the Yurok Tribe declared rights of personhood for the Klamath River — likely the first to do so for a river in North America. A concept previously restricted to humans (and corporations), “rights of personhood” means, most simply, that an individual or entity has rights, and they’re…
Yurok Tribe Constitution
Location: California Population: 6,000 Date of Constitution: 1993
Yurok Tribe: Jurisdiction/Territory Excerpt
ARTICLE I - TERRITORY , JURISDICTION AND AUTHORITY SECTION 1 - Ancestral Lands The Ancestral Lands of the Yurok Tribe extend unbroken along the Pacific Ocean coast (including usual and customary offÂshore fishing areas) from Damnation Creek, its northern boundary, to the southern…
Yurok Tribe to release condors in California
Yurok tribal tradition holds the California condor as sacred, with ancient stories saying the giant birds fly closest to the sun and are the best messengers to carry prayers. Now, after five years of research, the far northern California-based tribe has received permission to release captive-bred…
7 Tribal Programs That Protect Our Winged and Four-Legged Brothers
The news is full of sad stories about dying animals, species of all kinds being wiped out, and the random shooting of animals, among other depressing events. Amid all that it’s easy to forget that efforts aplenty are afoot to reverse the declines, save species, restore habitat and pull endangered…
Yurok tribe's wellness court heals with tradition
Lauren Alvarado states it simply: “Meth is everywhere in Indian country.” Like many here, she first tried methamphetamine at age 12. Legal trouble came at 13 with an arrest for public intoxication. In the years that followed, she relied on charm and manipulation to get by, letting her grandmother…
Revival of nearly extinct Yurok language is a success story
Carole Lewis throws herself into her work as if something big is at stake. "Pa'-ah," she tells her Eureka High School class, gesturing at a bottle of water. She whips around and doodles a crooked little fish on the blackboard, hinting at the dip she's prepared with "ney-puy" – salmon, key to the…
Reviving Yurok: Saving one of California's 90 languages
California is home to the greatest diversity of Native American tribes in the US, and even today, 90 identifiable languages are still spoken there. Many are dying out as the last fluent speakers pass away and English dominates. But one tribe is having success reviving the Yurok language, which was…
Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Agroforestry
Communities around the world have practiced diverse and evolving forms of agroforestry for centuries. While both Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners have developed agroforestry practices of great value, in this publication, we focus on the role of Indigenous, traditional ecological…