The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California has reclaimed 10,274 acres of its ancestral homeland north of Lake Tahoe, in what is being called the largest tribal land return in the Sierra Nevada, KUNR reports. The land stretches to around 20 miles north of Reno.
The purchase was completed in partnership with California’s Wildlife Conservation Board and the Northern Sierra Partnership. The tribe plans to restore the land, revive traditional practices, strengthen its language and culture, and care for its wildlife and resources while keeping safe public access.
Tribal chairman Serrell Smokey said the Washoe people had fought hard to win back every piece of land they could. Now, he said, they finally have something substantial to call their own.
Source: KUNR