Today,
Yurok Chairman Joseph L. James will be testifying at a Subcommittee
for Indigenous Peoples of the United States hearing on the
much-anticipated Yurok Lands Act.
The
House of Representatives subcommittee has jurisdiction over Native
American issues. The 2pm (EST) hearing can be viewed at this link.
James.
The
paradigm-shifting Yurok Lands Act seeks to strengthen the Tribe’s
sovereignty and capacity to self-govern, as well as improve tribal
infrastructure. The bill also aims to revise the reservation boundary
to include land the Tribe purchased within its ancestral territory.
US Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) introduced the important piece of
legislation in February of this year. Its cosponsors include: Rep.
Norma Torres (D-CA), Rep. Darren Soto, (D-FL), Markwayne Mullin and
Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA).
“The
Yurok Lands Act puts us in a better position to determine our own
destiny,” said Joseph L. James, Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “We
sincerely thank Congressman Huffman and all of the bill’s
cosponsors for pushing the legislation forward.”
“This
bill is important to us because it improves our ability to protect
and preserve our cultural resources for future generations of Yurok
people,” added Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers.
The
Yurok Lands Act Accomplishes the following:
§
Transfers
1,229 acres of U.S. Forest Service land known as the Yurok
Experimental Forest into trust for the tribe
§
Redraws
the reservation boundary line to encompass the Yurok Experimental
Forest, recently purchased fee land and a U.S. Forest Service
property in proximity to the Blue Creek watershed, one of the Tribe’s
most sacred areas
§
Positions
the Yurok Tribe to directly participate in federal land management
decisions within the revised Yurok Reservation.
§
Mandates
federal land management agencies to consult with the tribe before
major actions on federal land that may affect the amended Yurok
Reservation boundary
§
Affirms
the Yurok’s governing documents to strengthen tribal governance and
sovereignty
§
It
does not alter the rights of neighboring tribes and local interests
Tribal
representatives will be travelling from Washington DC to New York
City to accept the United Nations Development Programme’s
prestigious Equator Prize. Selected
for its forward-looking approach to forest management, the Yurok
Tribe is one of the first indigenous nations in the United States to
receive the international accolade. This year’s 22 Equator
Prize winners
were chosen from a pool of 847 nominations spread across 127
countries. The 22 organizations will be honored at a gala on
September 24, 2019 as part of the 74th UN General
Assembly.
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