Category Archives: Tribal Affairs

Articles, Emergencies, Local Government, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

Del Norte Supervisors Take Issue Tolowa Dunes SP Closure; Praise Tax Relief Bill Named For LaMalfa

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Tolowa Dunes SP Closure: Three county supervisors said they fielded calls and complaints regarding the temporary closure of parts of Tolowa Dunes State Park over the weekend.

The California State Parks North Coast Redwoods District authorized the closure of several access points and trails to allow the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation to observe the Lhuk Rite Ceremony. The annual ceremony celebrates the importance of salmon and its annual return to its river habitat.

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Articles, Parks, Tribal Affairs

Tolowa Salmon Ceremony Prompts Temporary Closure of Some State Park Access Points, Trails

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Thumbnail photo by Tim Rochte via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons license

Portions of Tolowa Dunes State Park will be closed to the public to allow the region’s original inhabitants space to celebrate a cornerstone of their nutritional health and culture.

The Lhuk Rite Ceremony signifies the importance of salmon and celebrates its annual return, according to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation website. Occurring before any fishing takes place, Tolowa Dee-ni’ adults attended the ceremony to pray for a plentiful harvest.

The partial park closure will take place from 7 a.m. Saturday through 5 p.m. Sunday, according to a Superintendent Order from the North Coast Redwoods District of the California State Parks. It will impact access points at Pala Road, Silva Lane and the Kellogg Trailhead Road, according to the order. 

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Articles, Environment, Fort Dick, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

San Bernardino Lawmaker Authors Bill to Cede Tolowa Dunes State Park To Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation

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Thumbnail photo: Rosa Laucci, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation marine program manager, led a hike down the Sweetwater Creek Trail during a 2023 celebration commemorating the reclamation of place names at Tolowa Dunes State Park. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Brie Fraley identified a divide between her community and those who see the land that’s now Tolowa Dunes State Park as just a public space.

A descendant of the Grimes family, one of the last to live at the village of Yontocket, Fraley said its current status as public land is a barrier to her being able to practice her spirituality in a safe way. 

Yet the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation tribal member agreed with Del Norte County District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey who, along with her colleagues on Tuesday, raised concerns about proposed legislation that would turn the state park over to the TdN.

“As a tribal member I was not afforded the information as well,” Fraley said of Assembly Bill 2356, which was authored by San Bernardino Assemblyman James Ramos. “I do think there should be a public engagement process so we can focus on this as an activity of healing. … There needs to be an empathy project for understanding the tragedies that have happened to my people.”

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Articles, Klamath, Tribal Affairs

Search Continues For 23-Year-Old Man Last Seen Near Old Klamath Townsite

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Thumbnail: Brandyon Salazar was last seen heading to the boat ramp at the old Klamath townsite early Sunday morning. | Courtesy of the California Highway Patrol

Yurok Tribal police are leading an investigation into the whereabouts of a 23-year-old man who was last seen heading to the boat ramp at the old Klamath townsite early Sunday morning.

Brandyon Salazar, a Pulikla Tribal member, was with a group of people at the Country Club Bar and Grill on Klamath Boulevard at about 2 a.m. when he drew the attention of law enforcement. According to YTP Chief Greg O’Rourke, Salazar had been drinking and was becoming aggressive, forcing his officer to make a determination to either arrest him for public intoxication or give him a ride home.

Before the officer could take action, however, Salazar fled on foot. O’Rourke said his officer followed Salazar, who had crossed U.S. 101 near Ehlers Avenue, before losing sight of him. Salazar’s family reported him missing later in the morning, the police chief said.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Tribal Affairs

Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Recap, March 24, 2026

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Thumbnail image: The 57-acre “Sand Spit Property” the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation is seeking to acquire. |Image courtesy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Trust Acquisition Opposition: County supervisors approved a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs opposing the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s efforts to acquire 57 acres of undeveloped land just outside its boundaries in Smith River.

Known as the “Sand Spit Property,” the parcel is located on the south side of the Smith River estuary near the river mouth.

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Agriculture, Articles, Environment, Tribal Affairs

Water Board Scientists Unveil Draft Easter Lily Bulb Order, Public Comment Period Extended

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Buchio Takano via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License.

State water quality scientists unveiled a proposed order they say will lead to a more robust means of monitoring and curtailing pesticide and copper contamination from Easter lily operations in the Smith River plain.

Currently in draft form, the Lily Bulb Order adds to a voluntary framework that growers have participated in since 2021 — which, scientists say, has led to a decrease in pollutants in the area. 

But for conservationists who spoke at a North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board public workshop on Wednesday, the proposed general waste discharge requirements weren’t strong enough. 

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Articles, Brookings, Curry, Economy, Infrastructure, Transportation, Tribal Affairs

US DOT Secures Funding to Keep EAS Service Going Till November; Local Airport Authority Still Assessing ‘Best Options’

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff

Though the federal government shutdown continues, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted a reprieve that will allow commercial air service in Del Norte County to continue through November.

In a notice Border Coast Regional Airport Authority Director Sean Rosenthal said he received Wednesday morning, the DOT stated that it has secured additional funding to support both the Essential Air Service and Alternative Essential Air Service programs. As a result, air carriers and communities receiving those subsidies must continue to fulfill their obligations “until such time as the Department notifies them otherwise.”

According to the notice, carriers who serve rural communities under the Essential Air Service — including Advanced Air, which flies from Crescent City to Oakland and to Southern California  — will be able to provide service through Nov. 2.

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Elections, In Media Res, Tribal Affairs

‘Voting As One Of The Solutions’; One Yurok Tribal Member’s Take On Candidates Forum

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Thumbnail photo: Candidates for Yurok Tribal Chair from left to right: Edward ‘Horse’ Aubrey, Susan Masten, Jewel Frank, Joseph L. James, Thomas P. O’Rourke Sr., Phillip L. Williams | Courtesy of True North Organizing Network

By Tamara Brooks

Disclaimer: I am a Yurok Tribal member, a Yurok Tribal employee, and a Leader with True North and one of the organizers of this event. All opinions expressed are my own, and not affiliated with any agency, organization, or employment. 

I firmly believe that participation in the process of politics is not just a right that we are afforded but is vital. I have organized a few candidates’ forums, canvassed, volunteered in campaigns, a California poll worker, and am currently a trustee on the Del Norte County Library Board. 

As a family when we got our ballots we would sit around the table and discuss the candidates and the referendums, we would discuss the whys of our vote, and I have continued that tradition with my child: Voting as a family event; voting as an ongoing discussion of what we see to be the challenges and the strengths within the system; and voting as one of the solutions to the ongoing struggles that we see in our community, our tribe, our state, our country. 

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Articles, Community News, Emergencies, Klamath, Tribal Affairs

Del Norte Ambulance Will Station A Vehicle, Crew In Klamath

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte Ambulance

(Updated at 5:07 p.m. to clarify that it was Walter Lara Jr. that helped facilitate a partnership between the Yurok Tribe and Del Norte Ambulance to open a station in Klamath.]

Del Norte Ambulance’s operations manager confirmed a statement District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson made earlier this month — the emergency medical provider will have an ambulance and a crew stationed in Klamath.

“We are working with the Yurok Housing Authority on a partnership for securing housing for us on a trial basis of one year while we place one of our four ambulances there,” Charles Tweed told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. “Two people will be staffed in that ambulance at any given time.”

This news comes about two weeks after an independent consultant, EndPoint EMS Consulting LLC, delivered an analysis of Del Norte County’s emergency medical system, finding that Klamath residents often waited up to 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive during an emergency.

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government, Tribal Affairs

Crescent City Officials Say $2 Million Grant Will Complete Tolowa Interpretive Trail

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Thumbnail photo: A $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation will allow Crescent City to finish the Tolowa Interpretive Trail, city officials said Wednesday. | Screenshot

Crescent City received a $2 million grant that officials say will extend the Tolowa Cultural Trail in Beachfront Park to Battery Point where many Tolowa were imprisoned in the 1850s.

Councilors unanimously accepted the grant from the Mellon Foundation at a special meeting Wednesday. They also approved an agreement with T.B. Penick & Sons Inc. to install lithomosaic basket patterns at the entrance to the visitor center and as a welcome to the Tolowa Cultural Trail.

T.B. Penick & Sons will also create a special lithomosaic pebble pattern at the Tolowa Cultural Trail welcome station, City Manager Eric Wier said.

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