The precise parcel of land that the city will transfer back to the Wiyot Tribe next week. the portion northeast of the bridge already belongs to the tribe— the “cutout” portion to the southeast is in private hands.

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Nearly 160 years after a vicious massacre on Tulawat (or “Indian Island”) all but destroyed the Wiyot people, the city of Eureka is finally on the verge of restoring the land its original owners.

The Eureka City Council has called a special meeting to be convened at the Adorni Center at 10 a.m. one week from today — Monday, Oct. 21 — the sole point of which will be to authorize the transfer of the remaining 200 acres of city-owned land on Tulawat to the Wiyot Tribe. A signing ceremony is expected to immediately follow. (See agenda here.)

The city previously transferred approximately 40 acres of land north of the Samoa Bridge to the tribe back in 2004. There are still a few privately owned homes on the island.

Tuluwat is often described as the center of the Wiyot universe, and was home to two villages. It was the location of the annual Wiyot “World Renewal Ceremony” — an all-tribal spiritual gathering that was taking place on the island at the time of the 1860 massacre.

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