In CA: Big Sur tribe gets back land stolen centuries ago
In CA: Big Sur tribe gets back land stolen centuries ago
Arlene Martinez, USA TODAY
,USA TODAYJuly 27, 2020
Big Sur tribe gets land taken 350 years ago
They nearly died out after Spaniard soldiers and missionaries arrived, bringing fatal diseases and forcing slavery upon members of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County.
Their land was gone by the late 1700s.
On Monday, the tribe got some of it back, closing escrow on nearly 1,200 acres of land in Big Sur, part of a $4.5 million acquisition involving California and an Oregon-based environmental group.
It is beyond words for us, the highest honor, Tom Little Bear Nason, the tribe's chair told the San Jose Mercury News. The land is the most important thing to us. It is our homeland, the creation story of our lives. We are so elated and grateful.
Tribe members say they will use the site, about 20 miles south of Monterey and five miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, to "reinvigorate tribal culture, conduct traditional ceremonies and teach the public about their culture and history."
https://news.yahoo.com/ca-big-sur-tr...005622906.html
