Plans to open a new gateway to Redwoods State and National Parks got a big boost Tuesday, paving the way for a key parcel of land to be returned to the Yurok Tribe.

The place is called 'O Rew in the Yurok language, on Highway 101, about 40 miles north of Eureka, at a former lumber mill site in Orick.

Joseph James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe, said this is a model for the "land-back" movement.

"We are able to share our culture, our knowledge as Indigenous people, first people, keepers of the land," James explained. "It's not driven by western society providing interpretation. It's being driven by Yuroks."

The nonprofit Save the Redwoods League bought the 125-acre property 13 years ago and has been restoring the mill site and nearby Prairie Creek alongside the tribe and the nonprofit California Trout. The area is closed for construction now, but will reopen in 2026 as the 'O Rew Redwoods Gateway with new trails, cultural signage and visitor facilities.

Steve Mietz, superintendent of Redwoods National and State Parks for the National Park Service, said it is the first-ever comanagement agreement for tribally-owned land with the National Park Service and California State Parks.

"This is just a recognition of their sovereignty," Mietz pointed out. "Their need to regain land that was taken from them years ago and turning it back, and creating greater understanding about the original people in this area."

In future years, the Yurok Tribe plans to build a full visitor center, including re-creating a tribal village with plank houses and a sweat lodge.


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Workforce watchers project the country could face critical worker shortages in many of the skilled trades in coming years.

The Nebraska Winnebago Tribe is taking a proactive approach to the issue. Its apprenticeship program helps high school juniors and seniors learn skills while helping the community build its skilled workforce. It is a collaboration between Ho-Chunk, Inc., Winnebago High School, the Winnebago Tribe Education Department and local businesses.

Willy Bass, manager of community impact and engagement for Ho-Chunk, Inc., said tribal leaders realized they needed programs for their youth who might not pursue higher education.

"This program was intended to get students interested, and a foot in the door, in the fields of construction, IT, nursing, education, etc.," Bass outlined. "Any of those sort of technical-related careers."

Bass explained the students earn credits for spending two hours at their worksite four days a week. On Fridays, they learn "soft skills," such as resume building, interviewing and the importance of a good attitude and good attendance. In the latest Harris Poll, more than 80% of employers reported many of their youngest workers lack these important soft skills.

Bass pointed out one of the tribe's priorities is ensuring its members have job opportunities. He noted some apprenticeship graduates choose to start working right after high school, while others pursue further training in their apprenticeship field.

"We want our kids to go off, get educated and come back and contribute to the tribe and make it a better place, and for them to be successful," Bass emphasized. "If they want to contribute those skills on a broader scale in other communities, they have that support system."

Kamau Turner, superintendent of Winnebago Public Schools, said they plan to build upon the program in the future. He hopes students interested in a skilled trade will eventually be able to graduate from high school fully certified, which would be a boon for the Winnebago community.

"I have to call a plumber from Sioux City; I have to call an electrician from Sioux City," Turner observed. "Our community is growing, our school is growing, and there'll be more of those people needed. Jobs will have to grow as the community grows."

Winnebago's population has increased 30% in the past eight years.

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Tribal Nations as Tribal stakeholders. It also did not mention the National Monument Designation would be within the National Park System. (8:37 a.m PST, May 1, 2024)

Native American tribes in Nevada are calling for designation of a new national monument within the National Park System in east central Nevada.

They say Bahsahwahbee, commonly known as Swamp Cedars in White Pine County, holds cultural and spiritual significance for tribal nations.

Alvin Marques, chairman of the Ely Shoshone Tribe, explained Bahsahwahbee was a place of religious gatherings, healing ceremonies and celebrations, which made it a target for settlers who expanded into Indigenous "Newe territories" of the Western Shoshone Tribe. It was also the site where the largest known Indian massacre in U.S. history took place.

Marques said the federal government now has the chance to stand with tribes and honor Bahsahwahbee.

"It, in the past, was a place of celebration and became a place of mourning," Marques emphasized "It means enough to me that it needs to be protected forever. It would mean a lot for all the tribes involved and it's way overdue."

He pointed out before the tragedies, Bahsahwahbee was a place of happiness and should be remembered for both the good and bad. He added people from across the Great Basin still go to the area to visit their ancestors, pray and hold ceremonies. Three tribes are collecting signatures with the goal of getting Bahsahwahbee designated as a national monument.

While he cannot speak for all Nevadans, Marques suspects many in the Silver State probably are not aware of what happened at Bahsahwahbee. He feels confident high-ranking government officials are demonstrating strong support to stand with the tribes to preserve and commemorate what Marques calls a "sacred place."

"Time is running out, so we need action now," Marques stressed. "It's time for the federal government and our representatives to center our tribes and our history, and do the right thing, which is how the tribes have proposed this monument."

He added a national monument designation within the National Park System also would help familiarize more people with the Bahsahwahbee story. Those opposed to the monument recognition argued Nevada already has too much public land where uses are restricted, but proponents argue this is false.


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A Nevada grassroots organization has launched its inaugural endorsement process for the 2024 elections in an effort to champion indigenous voices in the Silver State.

Taylor Patterson, executive director of the Native Voters Alliance Nevada, said the state is getting better about tribal and indigenous representation but contended there is still a long way to go. Nevada is home to 21 federally recognized tribes and 28 reservations, but only one Native legislator.

Patterson explained they saw the need to be more engaged with issues from the top to the bottom of the ticket.

"I think very easily we can forget that Native people are everyday people," Patterson observed. "I think it has been painted in a very specific way of 'still is very much a person of the past,' but there are people who are in all different spaces that are engaging with the government in a multitude of ways that need to be represented."

Patterson acknowledged the state does have elected officials who understand the needs of the Native community but hopes the new initiative will give those who are not familiar with the Native space an opportunity to learn more.

Last summer, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo expanded Nevada's Effective Absentee System for Elections program program, which requires election clerks to meet with all tribes located in their respective jurisdictions to coordinate voting locations prior to elections.

Patterson noted they have had a good response from candidates and she is pleased to know officials are starting to realize the meaning and value of an endorsement from Native Voters Alliance Nevada. She said her organization can help provide politicians with access to Indigenous communities.

"In recent years there has been so much made of sort of this 'BIPOC' label," Patterson emphasized. "I very often have to remind all sorts of people, whether those are federal agencies or elected officials, you're not truly working with the BIPOC vote share or BIPOC people if you're not working with the 'I.'"

Patterson added the endorsement process will be instrumental to shaping policy and governance in the Silver State.

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