Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Tribe Regains Island It Calls Center of Universe
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 21, 2019

Share

Indian Island off the coast of Northern California was the site of a massacre, a place that was contaminated by a shipyard and flush with invasive species.
It’s also the spiritual and physical center of the universe for the small Wiyot Tribe, and it will belong to them almost entirely Monday after a city deeds all the land it owns on the island to the tribe.

“It’s a really good example of resilience because Wiyot people never gave up the dream. It’s a really good story about healing and about coming together of community.” tribal administrator Michelle Vassel
“It’s a really good example of resilience because Wiyot people never gave up the dream,” tribal administrator Michelle Vassel said. “It’s a really good story about healing and about coming together of community.”
The tribe was decimated in 1860, when scores of elders, women and children were wiped out during a raid by settlers while the tribe’s men were away gathering supplies. Since then, the now 600-member tribe has been making small strides toward regaining the land it lost.

This undated photo provided by the Wiyot Tribe shows a group of tribal brush dancers. On Monday, the city of Eureka will sign over the deed to the largest chunk, more than 200 acres in what was the historic village of Etpidolh. No money was exchanged. (Wiyot Tribe via AP)
The tribe sold art and fry bread and took in donations to buy 1.5 acres on the eastern tip of the island for $106,000 in 2000. Years later, the city of Eureka gave the tribe more land.
On Monday, the city will sign over the deed to the largest chunk — more than 200 acres in what was the historic village of Etpidolh. No money was exchanged.
“For our city, it’s the right thing to do, and that’s why we’re doing it,” said Councilwoman Kim Bergel, who was born and raised in the county. “Certainly, it’s been far too long.”

The U.S. Government Offered Sioux Tribes Money for Seizing the Black Hills

Tribes have lost millions of acres of land through treaties broken by the U.S. government, by force and in exchange for federal services such as health care and education. Rarely has it been restored, said Cris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. Most tribes resort to buying land as it comes up for sale.
The tribe with the largest land base of any, Navajo Nation in the Southwest, has purchased ranches in Colorado outside the boundary of its 27,000 square-mile reservation.
In New Mexico, Santa Ana Pueblo bought back a large swath of ancestral land in 2016 for an undisclosed price. Isleta Pueblo to the south added 140 square miles to its reservation the same year when federal officials agreed to put it into trust.
The U.S. government offered Sioux tribes money for seizing the Black Hills more than a century ago. The tribes refused the payment and have sought return of the land.
In California, a former Wiyot councilman unsuccessfully petitioned Eureka for part of Indian Island in the 1970s. The tribe started fundraising in 1998, watching for any properties that came up for sale.
The Wiyot knew the parcel it bought in 2000 had extensive contamination from a former shipyard that was established on the island shortly after the massacre, along with livestock grazing. That didn’t matter. People in the community asked what they could do to help.

The Ceremony Staged in 2014 to Renew the World and Restore Balance Lasted 10 Days

The tribe and community members came together to remove boat batteries, lead paint, chemicals, scrap metal, rusty buckets, a huge engine and contaminated soil. A 1,000-year-old clamshell mound containing burial sites, tools and things left over from ceremonies was restored.

“We knew our ancestors were still there. We can feel them, saying ‘we are watching you, we know that what you are doing is correct.’ It’s a peaceful feeling.” — Tribal Chairman Ted Hernandez
The land was deemed safe in 2014. The overall quality of water, plants and marine life have improved, the tribe says.
Vassel took the first group of children there and remembers the excitement.
“You could feel it in the air,” she said. “The feeling of coming home.”
The clean bill of health by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also meant the tribe could resume a ceremony it was forced to abandon after the massacre.
The ceremony staged in 2014 to renew the world and restore balance lasted 10 days. Sea lions came up on the beach and watched dancers and singers. Egrets stooped on cypress trees.
The last day started off clear and sunny, before heavy rain sent 100 people fleeing for shelter, which Tribal Chairman Ted Hernandez took as a sign the ceremony was complete.
“We knew our ancestors were still there,” Hernandez said. “We can feel them, saying ‘we are watching you, we know that what you are doing is correct.’ It’s a peaceful feeling.”

The City Had No Use for the Land It Declared Surplus Property

The tribe has been trying to revive its language and cultural practices that were driven underground after the massacre. The last person fluent in the Wiyot language died in the 1960s. Some elders who were sent to boarding school were afraid to teach Wiyot traditions to the younger generation, Hernandez said.
The massacre is a point of history third-graders learn during a ferry tour that passes Indian Island, Bergel said. Over the years, tribal members and the community have joined in a candlelight vigil around the anniversary to remember those lost.
The tribe’s reservation in Loleta is southwest of Indian Island, which can take hours to reach by boat. During the highest tide, the island can become submerged.
The city had no use for the land it declared surplus property and offered up to public agencies but had no takers. Few parcels on the island are privately owned.
The tribe imagines the island as a place where native plants can flourish and be used in ceremonies, where the community can gather and where its renewal ceremony can be practiced annually. The next one is scheduled in March.
Officials attribute the relationship built between Eureka and the Wiyot to communication and understanding that they all benefit from the health of the island.
“It was never vile, us versus them,” Vassel said. “It was more about healing the community, healing the land. We all live in this community together.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

DON'T MISS

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

DON'T MISS

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

DON'T MISS

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

DON'T MISS

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

DON'T MISS

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

DON'T MISS

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Learn the Latest on the Caleb Quick Murder Hearings

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

UP NEXT

Americans Worry Conflict With Iran Could Escalate, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

UP NEXT

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

UP NEXT

Amazon’s Prime Day 2025 Levels Up With Four Days of Deals Starting July 8

UP NEXT

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

UP NEXT

US Court Lets Trump Keep Control of California National Guard for Now

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

11 hours ago

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

11 hours ago

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

11 hours ago

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

12 hours ago

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

13 hours ago

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

14 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Learn the Latest on the Caleb Quick Murder Hearings

14 hours ago

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

14 hours ago

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Reboot Fast-Tracked to 2027

14 hours ago

Democratic Lawmaker Pleads Not Guilty to Assaulting US Agents at Immigration Center

14 hours ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule prohibiti...

10 hours ago

Tahoe National Forest
10 hours ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
11 hours ago

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

West Nile virus mosquito
11 hours ago

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

11 hours ago

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle patrols along the border wall, following the establishment of a 260-mile military zone along the southern U.S. border in New Mexico and Texas as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, in Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S., May 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

CIA Director John Ratcliffe speaks during an interview at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend