{"id":423404,"date":"2026-08-04T07:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T07:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/423404\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T07:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T07:46:16","slug":"california-organization-returns-84-acres-of-land-to-indigenous-tribe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/423404\/","title":{"rendered":"California organization returns 84 acres of land to indigenous tribe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Big Sur Land Trust<\/a> returned an 84-acre land full of rich wetlands and natural resources in Northern California to a Native American tribe. <\/p>\n

The nonprofit group transferred the property near Highway 68 in Monterey to the Ohlone\/Costanoan-Esselen Nation (OCEN) <\/a>after purchasing the land for $2.75 million in 2024.<\/p>\n

The Big Sur Land Trust hands a picturesque 84 acres, including a major highway, to an indigenous tribe.<\/p>\n

An 84-acre parcel, formerly known as the Hiss property across from the Monterey Airport, is now being stewarded by the Ohlone\/Costanoan-Esselen Nation after the Big Sur Land Trust handed the land over to the indigenous tribe. Facebook\/@lorraine.yglesias<\/p>\n

Rachel Saunders is the Vice President of Conservation for the Big Sur Land Trust.<\/p>\n

The 84-acre property \u2013 known as the Hiss Parcel \u2013 was acquired as part of a conservation and restoration effort with the goal of returning the area back to its ancestral owners, OCEN. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe tribe is really interested in being able to celebrate their culture here and to provide a gathering space for their people,\u201d the Vice President of Conservation for the Big Sur Land Trust told KSBW 8.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time that our tribe actually acquired some land for us to have for ourselves to do something, you know, here in Monterey, where our tribe is located,\u201d she continued. <\/p>\n

As a non-federally recognized tribe, OCEN did not have any designated reservation land. However, the OCEN people lived in Monterey County for thousands of years, before the arrival of Spanish colonizers.<\/p>\n

Arroyo Seco, California. Instagram\/Arroyoseco_official<\/p>\n

Located on the south side of Highway 68 across the Monterey Regional Airport, the land serves as a vital corridor between protected areas such as Fort Ord National Monument and Jacks Peak County Park, while safeguarding parts of the Canyon Del Rey watershed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conservation values of this acquisition are substantial. By preventing potential development, we are protecting important habitats that are part of a valuable wildlife corridor. Deer, coyote, and black bears have been spotted on the land,\u201d the CEO of Big Sur Land Trust said in a press release back in 2024. <\/a><\/p>\n

Jeannette Tuitele-Lewis is the President\/CEO of Big Sur Land Trust. Big Sur Land Trust<\/p>\n

California Governor Gavin Newsom attends the U.S. Conference of Mayors\u2019 94th Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California, on June 4, 2026. David Buchan for Ca Post<\/p>\n

This comes after California approved the transfer of a popular 136-acre coastal land to three Indigenous tribes in July. <\/a><\/p>\n

The coastline, which includes Blues Beach and surrounding bluffs in Mendocino County, was returned to Kai Poma\u2013a non-profit entity managed by three local tribes. <\/p>\n

Three local tribes are the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Big Sur Land Trust returned an 84-acre land full of rich wetlands and natural resources in Northern…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,457,156718,4182,22264,266,3586],"class_list":["post-423404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-indians","tag-metro","tag-native-americans","tag-northern-california","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}