LAKEPORT, Calif. – Representatives from the county government and three local tribes gathered on Monday to sign an agreement meant to help increase protections for native cultural resources.
The memorandum of agreement between the county and the tribal consortium Ancestors 1 was signed on Monday morning in the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.
Tribal representatives on hand for the event included Dino Beltran, Darin F. Beltran, Drake Beltran and Judy Morgan-Faber of the Koi Nation; Eddie Crandell and Jaime Boggs of Robinson Rancheria; and Sherry Treppa, Angelina Arroyo and Ida Morrison from the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake. Supervisors Anthony Farrington and Jim Steele represented the county.
Dino Beltran, treasurer and tribal administrator for the Koi Nation, said the agreement is historical.
“It's only the sixth agreement of its type in the state of California, according to the Native American Heritage Commission,” Beltran said, adding that the fifth such agreement was between the Koi Nation and the city of Clearlake in August 2014.
“These things don’t happen all that often,” Beltran added.
Ancestors 1 was formed in April 2014. Beltran said it's one of only two organizations of its kind working to protect native cultural resources in California.
Beltran worked to start the effort to forge the agreement with the county, getting support in the early days from Habematolel, other local tribes and, then, from the county.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved entering into the agreement at its Dec. 1 meeting.
Community Development Director Rick Coel told the board that the collaborative effort between the tribes and the county to create the agreement began in the spring, and had involved considerable staff time.
Deputy County Counsel Shanda Harry explained that AB 52 – signed in September 2014 – added a new category for cultural resources to the California Environmental Quality Act. AB 52 went into effect July 1.
The memorandum of agreement says that the new “tribal cultural resources” category includes – but is not limited to – archaeological sites, traditional cultural properties, funerary objects, human remains, and burial and ceremonial sites, “and considers tribal cultural values in addition to the scientific and archaeological values when determining impacts and mitigation.”
The agreement also explains that AB 52 sets forth a process that clarifies California tribal government involvement in the CEQA consultation process, including requirements and timing for lead agencies to consult with tribes on avoiding or mitigating impacts to cultural resources.
Harry said AB 52 essentially requires consultation with tribes regarding cultural resources encountered during development, and deals with local issues such as what experts are to be used and how the Community Development Department alerts tribes when there are cultural resource issues with projects.
She said the agreement is meant to codify a working relationship between the tribes and the county.
Beltran told the board at the Dec. 1 meeting that the goal was to create an agreement that, among other things, would protect private property owners' rights and promote development.
He said he arranged a meeting of representatives from the county and the city governments with the governor's land use council to discuss how they are to adhere to the new rules established by AB 52.
“This is all about community building,” he said, as well as respect for sites and objects sacred to local tribes.
Treppa said her tribe supported it, explaining that many tribes in the area have lost control and ownership of lands through misguided policies of the federal government.
The Habematolel were landless until 2008, when they reestablished tribally held property of just over 11 acres, which Treppa said is well below the amount of land the tribe once held.
She called the agreement “a positive step forward” the county and tribal governments are taking in the effort to protect the cultural and archaeological sites the tribes value.
Beltran told Lake County News that the cultural resources management plan that the new legislation requires is something that's going to be worked on by the tribes, Coel and Harry. He said that document will describe how items that are uncovered will be handled.
He said the tribes already have established excellent working relationships with Sheriff Brian Martin and District Attorney Don Anderson, and are working together on addressing archaeological crimes.
Those strengthening relationships are part of the effort to continue to expand upon government to government relations between the tribes and local agencies, Beltran said.
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Tribes, county sign agreement to protect cultural resources
- Elizabeth Larson
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