When researching our Jan. 24 cover story “We’re Coming Home” about the city of Eureka returning Duluwat Island to the Wiyot Tribe 159 years after it was stolen, we came across a beautiful quote in a 1988 Humboldt Historian article about the island and the egret rookery on its western shore.
“The egrets, in graceful flight, are the spirits of those who were massacred so long ago,” reads the unattributed line. “Loathe to give up their island, they hover near, keeping vigil while the island fulfills its time of mourning.”
It is with great relief and gratitude that we report in this week’s issue that period of mourning is over, that the city of Eureka has finally returned the island to the Wiyot Tribe for whom it is the cultural and physical center of the universe, a place with the spiritual power to bring balance to all else. And while it’s important to recognize and applaud the Eureka City Council’s courage in taking this unprecedented step — as well as the continued grace the Wiyot Tribe has shown throughout this decades-long process — it’s also important to say that this was, in the grand scheme of things, a simple and necessary step.
After all, we’re talking about a piece of land that has tremendous significance to the tribe and little value to the city. It’s not as though city hall was built on the island or a line of developers was offering seven-figure sums for the land. Quite simply, returning the island was the actual least the city could do.
But that doesn’t mean the repatriation came without some courage on the city’s part. Quite the contrary, as the city council’s act — no matter how morally obvious or overdue — starts a local and national conversation about the return of Native lands. This is an uncomfortable conversation but a much needed one.
There is no skirting the fact that Native people lived for millennia in California until white people came and, with the full blessing of state and federal governments, killed them, removed them and took their land, commodifying it into a pillar of generational wealth. This systematic theft is the foundation for the rampant inequality we see around us. It’s why nationally 71 percent of white people own their homes compared to just 53 percent of Native people, according to the American Community Survey, and why the median household income for Native Americans was 31 percent less than their white counterparts.
This foundational theft — not to mention the ensuing 150 years of inequality and discrimination — has ramifications that remain unchanged by attempts to minimize, justify or erase it. Even the former Eureka city attorney’s panicked efforts to shield the city from legal liability are nothing in the face of this bare fact of history.
The unalterable truth is that if you own a home in Humboldt County, that house is built on land that was stewarded by generations of Native people until it was violently taken from them. What people individually do with that information and how we as a community make amends for the wrongs of the past is complex. It’s also largely unmapped and open to the possibilities of our imaginations, to what we could do and who we have the potential to be.
In reporting that story at the beginning of the year, we asked Wiyot Tribal Chair Ted Hernandez if he’d like to see the three parcels on the island that remain privately owned returned to the tribe, too. He shook his head.
“That’s individuals’ homes,” he said. “We know what it’s like to be taken off our land. Why would we do that to someone else?”
Speaking at the repatriation ceremony, Humboldt State University Native American Studies Chair (and Journal contributor) Cutcha Risling Baldy said when she’s often asked by well-meaning people what they can to do to make up for the wrongs of the past, her answer is simple: “You need to give all the land back.”
These are conversations we need to have. We can’t move beyond the atrocities of the past without speaking honestly about their continued reverberations. Eureka has taken a laudable first step. Let’s honor that by viewing it as such, the beginning of a local process to put land back into Native hands.
Jennifer Fumiko Cahill is the Journal’s arts and features editor. She prefers she/her/hers pronouns and can be reached at 442-1400, 320 extension, or Jennifer@northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @JFumikoCahill.
Thadeus Greenson is the Journal’s news editor. He prefers he/him/his pronouns and can be reached at 442-1400, extension 321, or thad@northcoastjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @thadeusgreenson.com.
This article appears in The Island’s Return.
Cant wait for everyone to see you ted hernandez,and his council and staff,look at all teds media videos,you will see the same very few people,you wont see all the tribe,because we dont support fake book indian ted and his crew,his head dancer william frank snake (sonny man) is sick,how he treats his gramma and how he cussed out a bed ridden 70 year old elder,calling him a mother fucker,in his own house.likes to touch himself,ask his gramma,she always use to tell everyone,go ahead ask her,see if shes an honest christian,i bet she will lie,they all lie for each other,see real indians believe in creator and karma and mother earth,these people are and will feel this one,most will go to jail,and as it continues its gonna get worse,all the proof they supplied and we collected is now all going public,about time.i do love transparency.these tribal government officials do not fallow the rules or the laws and constitution of the wiyot tribe.or do they honor there code of ethics as council members and staff.watch soon,you will all see the crimes covered up by ted hernandez and his wife rose and his kids,and his staff and council,they want everyone outthere to think they are victims,but they are on council and staff and the only ones violating the rules and laws,even penal code laws,u.s codes,constitution and tribal constitution.wait for you all will see.uhoh,someones goin to jail when all said and done,just for starters.we the people,havent ripped off our tribe,or covered up crimes,these idiots dont understand,when you work for any government office,federal tribe,or on council,you are an open book,these people didnt understand that upon moveing in our tribe and getting in our office or on council,and they think they cant be removed.but im guessing i know whats gonna happen when they are out,it will be to late to cry for forgiveness.hazel wont be able to cry her way out this time.its sad but its all necessary.and karma gaurantees the end of this,we the people arent the ones who broke any laws towards our tribe.see you all soon.dont admit hazel ok dont admit ted,we want you in court instead,too bad you also corrupted the outside communities and made them also responsible for your actions,they probably should listened to both sides and looked at all the evidence,but nope you all just listened to ted and his council and his staff and listened to useless dumb shit,that had nothing to do with tribal operations,but as i said,everythings comeing out all over social media.wait for it, Have a good day