WELDON, Calif. (KERO) — A historic land acquisition is taking place in the Kern River Valley this week with the ancestral lands of a Native American tribe coming back under their ownership.
Although the process started roughly four years ago it wasn't until August 31 of this year that the Tübatulabal Tribe took over ownership of roughly 1,200 acres of land that shows evidence of habitation of their ancestors going back at least 5,000 years.
The land is located north of Weldon at the original Fay Ranch.
"This is the first for the Wildlife Conservation Board for the state of California," said Robert Gomez, chairman for the Tübatulabal Tribe. "They have never done this. This is the first time that they've ever turned it over to a tribe.
In 2019, 2,200 acres of land that comprised the Quarter Circle Ranch went up for sale.
"Five million dollars. I said well that's totally out of my league. I couldn’t do anything with that," explained Gomez.
However, after meeting with the Western Conservancy, the process of acquiring the land was set in motion. The purchase was funded by the Wildlife Conservation Board and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, allowing the tribe to acquire about 1,200 acres of land with the other 1,000 going to the Kern County Heritage Foundation, a non-profit that aims to preserve natural areas.
"It has a conservation attachment to it, an easement to it, so the land is protected from any economic developments such as housing and commercial uses and things of that nature, which fits right in with our vision as far as the tribe is concerned, with our cultural values," said Gomez.
As part of the easement, the tribe will be creating hiking trails that will be open to the public.
"We are looking at restoring plant materials, indigenous plant material, using the land for cultural value and lifeways such as acorn pounding and grounding, salt grass gathering, pinon picking, making cultural items such as clap sticks bow and arrows, walking sticks, what have you, getting into some of the old cultural values, basket weaving and things of that nature," continued Gomez.
Gomez says the tribe plans to invite schools up to visit and learn about its history.
The tribe's language instructor already visits local schools to teach students about the Tübatulabal language, which is an isolate meaning it is entirely unique and has been untouched by other languages.
The land itself includes historic tribal areas.
"According to the research we’ve done, it's part of a villy site called Kwolokam Ap which means the place of the duck," explained Gomez.
As well as a natural hot spring.
Chris Sellers, whose family owned the property as Quarter Circle 5 Ranch and is consulting with the tribe as they asses the land says this was the best possible outcome.
"It's going to serve a great purpose and the people who that are involved are going to make a huge difference, it's gonna be really good for the valley. To watch it go back into the hands of the tribe, there's no greater feeling in the world at this point."
"It's a blessing for us to get this," added Gomez. "And now we gotta make sure that we use it in the appropriate way and the right way so we can sustain it."
Despite their rich history, the tribe has never been federally recognized. However, they are currently in the process of submitting paperwork to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to obtain that distinction.
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For those of you who may not know the background of the tribe, we have some of their history to share with you.
The tribe's name means "pine nut eaters." They are primarily located on the main and south branches of the Kern River.
They suffered a tragedy during the Keyesville Massacre of 1863 when 35 of both their members and people from the nearby Mono Tribe were killed by United States Army troops and American settlers.
The tribe's ancestral Spirit animal is the coyote and their ancestral language is very rare and part of the Uto-Aztecan family.
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